Cladding developments – legislation update

Cladding and its remediation is an ever-changing and developing area. The Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) set in train amendments to related legislation such as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO). The Fire Safety Act statutorily incorporated doors, windows, and balconies within the scope of the RRO. Due to come into force on 1 October 2023 is the extension of the legal duties of a “responsible person” as defined by the RRO and amended by the BSA section 156.

From October, the duties of the responsible person are enlarged as follows:

1. Their fire risk assessment must be recorded and include the measures that have either already been taken or will be taken to record those who the fire risk assessment has identified as especially at risk.
2. Making sure that anybody appointed to assist the responsible person is competent. Competency will be assessed on the basis of the person having “sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable the person properly to assist in making or reviewing the assessment”.
3. Where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises, specific fire safety information about how fire safety is managed in that building must be provided to residents about fire safety matters, and records must be kept.
4. If there is more than one responsible person within a building, each responsible person must take steps to identify themselves to those other responsible persons and co-ordinate and co-operate with them.
5. All responsible persons must co-ordinate and co-operate with a building’s “accountable person”.
6. An outgoing, responsible person must provide specific fire safety information to an incoming one.

Government guidance has been produced, which can be found here, and this gives more detail as to what is required under each of the points 1 – 6 above.

If you have any questions about the issues raised in this article, please get in touch with Charlotte McMurchie on 0191 211 7816 or email [email protected]