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Roles And Responsibilities Under The BSA

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced new roles and responsibilities in the UK to improve building safety, particularly for high-rise residential buildings. The terms "accountable person" , “principal accountable person” and "duty holder" refer to different roles under this legislation.

Aspect Accountable Person (AP) Principal Accountable Person (PAP) Duty Holder
Definition

Organisation or individual who owns or has legal obligation to repair any common parts of a building

Each building must have one clearly identifiable AP, known as the PAP.

Various roles during design, construction, and refurbishment phases

Number per building

Can be multiple

Only one

Multiple, depending on project phase

Primary responsibility

Manage structural and fire safety risks in the parts of the building they are responsible for

Overall safety management for structural and fire safety for the whole building

Ensure competence of workforce and building regulations compliance are met during their phase of work

Timing of role

Ongoing, during occupation

Ongoing, during occupation

During design, construction, or refurbishment

Registration duties

None specific

Must register the building with BSR

None specific

Safety case

Contribute to safety case and ‘golden thread’

Prepare and update the building's safety case and ‘golden thread’

Contribute to the "golden thread" of information

Resident engagement

Participate in resident engagement

Prepare and update resident engagement strategy

Limited direct resident engagement

Reporting

Report safety occurrences to BSR

Operate mandatory occurrence reporting system

Report issues within their phase of work

Complaints handling

Participate in complaints system

Operate a complaints system

Handle complaints related to their work phase

Oversight of others

No oversight of other APs

Oversee all APs' safety management

Oversee work within their area of responsibility

Building assessment

Contribute information

Apply for building assessment certificate

Not typically involved

Examples

Freeholder, landlord, management company

Housing association, local authority

Designer, contractor, client

Legal accountability

Cannot delegate legal obligations

Cannot delegate legal obligations

Cannot delegate legal obligations Responsible for their phase of work

The main difference is that the accountable person has ongoing responsibility for an occupied building, while duty holders have responsibilities during specific phases of a building's creation or major renovation. However, duty holders responsible for building works must maintain detailed records of their competence and compliance for the projects undertaken, as legislation like the Defective Premises Act may require records of work completed up to 30 years ago. It's worth noting that in some cases, an entity might be both an accountable person and a duty holder, depending on their role and the stage of the building's lifecycle.

What are each Key Duty Holders responsibilities under the Building Safety Act?

Client Responsibilities:

  • Appoint competent principal designer and principal contractor
  • Make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring a project, including the allocation of sufficient time and resource
  • Cooperate and share information to all other duty holders
  • Ensure a golden thread of information is created and maintained
Roles and responsibilities regarding the Building Safety Act by BESA

Principal Designer Responsibilities:

  • Plan, manage, and monitor the design work during the design phase

  • Ensure the design work complies with all relevant requirements of the building regulations

  • Ensure designers comply with their duties
  • Prepare and provide relevant information for other duty holders

Principal Contractor Responsibilities:

  • Plan, manage, and monitor the construction phase

  • Ensure the construction or refurbishment work complies with all relevant requirements of the building regulations• Ensure all contractors co-operate, communicate and co-ordinate their work with the client, Principal Designer and other dutyholders
  • Assist the client in providing information to others
  • Liaise with Principal Designer and share information relevant to the building work

What are competence requirements for Duty Holders?

All duty holders must have the skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours necessary to fulfil their roles effectively. More information can be found on the Competence page

Explore More:

Behind-Built-Environment-Podcast-Reversed

In this episode, David Frise, Chief Executive for BESA, chats with Lorna Stimpson, Chief Executive at LABC, about the Building Safety Act and its impact on the construction industry. 

SFG20 Webinar

The landscape of building maintenance has changed. Legislation is evolving and the consequences of non-compliance are greater than ever before. It has never been more important to understand your responsibility.