Member Article

Warwickshire businesses urged to prepare for 'huge changes' to construction industry

Warwickshire businesses have been urged to prepare for “huge changes” in the way the construction industry operates ahead of an overhaul on building safety legislation.

The Building Safety Bill, which was first announced in July 2020, is expected to come into force later this year and will put in place revised regulatory regimes for building safety.

The reforms are being introduced in the wake of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which propelled building safety to the forefront of people’s consciousness across the country.

The Bill is set to introduce a new framework to enhance compliance, tougher penalties for those who break the rules, and more protections to improve home safety for residents.

Businesses in the region met to discuss some of the changes being proposed at Wright Hassall’s Construction Lawbytes seminar held in collaboration with SOCOTEC Building Control, the UK’s leading private sector building control body.

One of the biggest changes includes retrospectively extending the legal right of building owners and leaseholders to seek compensation from a developer for safety defects for a period of up to 30 years, instead of the current six years.

Owen Edwards, Technical and Training Director at SOCOTEC Building Control, said: “We are almost coming to the end of this new process and could see the Bill receive Royal Assent and come into force in the coming months.

“It will have a huge effect on the way we work and the things we do, not just for contractors and designers but for all involved in the construction industry.

“The extension of the limitation period will have a significant impact on those in the industry as it means claims could be made against building developers going back as far as 1992.

“The Bill also aims to improve accountability and risk management on ‘higher risk buildings’ - that is buildings that are at least 18 metres in height or seven storeys and above. This introduces regulatory control on blocks of flats during occupation, for the life of the building, which is something we have not had before, and means every building in this category must be registered as such.

“At the heart of the reforms is the creation of a Building Safety Regulator to oversee the safety and performance of buildings, improve competence, and implement the new regulatory framework for high-risk buildings, which will help drive compliance.”

Michael Hiscock, partner and head of construction at Leamington-based Wright Hassall, said: “This was a really interesting discussion and it was great to get everyone together face-to-face.

“The amendments within this Bill will improve oversight of safety procedures and undoubtedly improve confidence for residents as well, with far greater communication between them and those accountable going forward.

“It ensures all in the industry, rightly, have safety at the forefront of their minds.

“Although our clients are working hard to ensure safe buildings during and after construction, Wright Hassall is able to support with the legal impacts of new rules and processes.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .