Building safety – legal responsibilities for residential estate management
The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) places a range of new statutory duties on those responsible for residential buildings; duties that can extend to Right to Manage (RTM) or leaseholder owned freehold companies (a resident management (RM) company) where they hold management and repair obligations for an estate or block of flats.
Understanding these obligations is essential for RTM and RM directors, leaseholders, and managing agents to ensure legal compliance and, importantly, the safety of residents.
Accountable Persons and Principal Accountable Person
Under the BSA, liability is determined by the concept of an ‘accountable person’ (AP) and ‘principal accountable person’ for higher-risk buildings (HRB) (defined generally as buildings at least 18m high or with seven or more storeys).
An AP is a person or organisation that is responsible for repairing any of the common parts of an HRB. Where there is only one AP, that AP is also the principal accountable person (PAP). If there is more than one AP, it is important to identify which AP is the PAP.
RTM and RM companies that hold legal repairing obligations for the common parts of such buildings will be an AP and are also typically the PAP.
The role and responsibilities of the AP and PAP
A range of statutory duties are introduced under Part 4 of the BSA with details contained in a raft of secondary regulations. These duties are focused on proactively managing and reducing building safety risks.
The key obligations are:
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Risk management and safety cases
APs must identify, assess, and manage fire and structural risks to ensure residents’ safety. PAPs must prepare and maintain a building safety case; a comprehensive, evidence-based document that demonstrates how risks are controlled.
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Golden thread of information
The law requires the retention and updating of key building information (referred to as the ‘golden thread’) that records the building’s design, construction, maintenance, and alterations. This information must be accurate, up to date, held digitally, and made available to relevant parties.
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Reporting duties
APs must report safety occurrences and certain incidents to the Building Safety Regulator. It is the PAP’s responsibility to establish and operate on a mandatory reporting system through which reports can be made.
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Resident engagement
APs must engage with residents about the building’s safety through a resident engagement strategy prepared by the PAP. This involves ensuring residents understand safety measures, can raise concerns and know how safety decisions are communicated.
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Maintaining safety measures
APs must regularly monitor, maintain, and review all safety measures (e.g., fire alarms, emergency lighting, compartmentation), and make necessary changes when risks evolve.
These duties are non-delegable: while RTM or RM companies can appoint managing agents or consultants to carry out tasks to assist compliance, ultimate legal responsibility remains with the AP and PAP. It is therefore essential that directors of RTM and RM companies fully understand their statutory responsibilities as failure to comply may constitute a criminal offence.
Interaction with the Fire Safety Order
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as amended by the BSA (FSO) places responsibilities for fire safety on the ‘responsible person’ (RP). This is a separate and distinct role from the AP and PAP, but there will inevitably be some overlap in responsibilities.
The RP is anyone in control of the common parts of all residential buildings, which will typically be the RTM or RM company.
The RP must ensure that fire risk assessments are completed and acted on, fire and precautions are implemented, and emergency plans are in place.
Practical and governance obligations
Beyond statutory compliance, RTM and RM companies should observe best practice in governance and communications:
- ensure directors and appointed agents are competent and understand their safety obligations;
- maintain robust accounting and record-keeping practices, particularly around service charges and expenditures tied to safety works;
- consult leaseholders on major works and safety-related decisions and organise Annual General Meetings to foster transparency and accountability.
In conclusion: know your obligations
RTM and RM companies must manage estates in line with both traditional property management duties and the heightened safety obligations introduced by the BSA. These include proactive risk management, compliance with reporting and information duties, and ensuring residents are engaged and protected. Navigating this framework requires diligence, competence and, in many cases, specialist support to ensure both legal compliance and the safety of building occupants.
If you are a new RTM or RM company, a group of leaseholders exploring right to manage or collective enfranchisement, or are an established organisation considering your responsibilities, RWK Goodman’s specialist building safety team provides training and guidance to RTM and RM companies on their duties and responsibilities under the BSA and FSO to ensure that directors are fully informed and equipped to fully comply with their statutory building safety obligations.
Read more on building safety.
The Building Safety Act (BSA) is the most significant legislative and regulatory change to the construction industry in a generation. Find out how it affects your business.
Find out more about how our team can support you with regulatory compliance and read insights into specific aspects of the BSA on our dedicated building safety page.
