Building safety: Applying for a building assessment certificate

It has been announced that the Building Safety Regulator will start to require principal accountable persons of existing Higher-Risk Buildings to apply for a Building Assessment Certificate.

We understand that the first tranche of principal accountable persons was contacted in early April and that more are to be contacted this week.

The Regulator, which is part of the Health and Safety Executive, has stated that the buildings that will be called first are those that fall into at least one of the following categories:

• over 50 metres high with more than 11 residential units.
• over 30 metres to 49.99 metres high, with more than 217 residential units.
• clad with combustible aluminium composite material. 
• large panel systems built between 1957 and 1973 with gas networks, and it is unclear if reinforcement work has been carried out.

The application for a building assessment certificate has to be submitted within 28 calendar days of the Regulator requesting the principal accountable person to apply for one and must include the safety case report, the mandatory occurrence reporting system and the resident engagement strategy – see my blog from last July for more information on these.

For more information generally see the government’s guidance on preparing a building assessment certificate and its guidance on applying for a building assessment certificate.