New safety requirements for building control bodies

Reforms to establish a building control profession overseen by Building Safety Regulator (BSR). 

The BSR will set Operational Standards Rules (OSRs) to further the reforms for building safety for high-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022. 

These rules will affect local authority building control bodies, registered building control approvers (currently approved inspectors) and individual inspectors. 

Under the new regime, building control bodies will need to seek out services and advice from a registered building inspector to carry out specific building control activities or functions. 

Inspectors will also need to register with the BSR, showing that they meet the criteria to provide advice to those bodies. 

Registration is to open in October 2023 and is expected to become mandatory by Spring 2024. 

This comes after £42 million in funding across the next three years was secured to recruit and train 110 Building Inspectors and 111 new Fire Protection Officers in England. 

Between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and until new registration begins, building control bodies can still adhere to the current Building Control Performance Standards developed by the Building Control Performance Standards Advisory Group (BCPSAG). 

Inside the scheme 

The OSRs were developed under section 58Z of the Building Act 1984 and will be enforced in Spring 2024. 

The rules will apply to local authorities and registered building control approvers when exercising building control functions. 

The BSR will also set monitoring arrangements to collect information so that they can assess the performance of building control bodies and provide feedback. 

On Monday, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in its role as BSR, published its final draft of the OSRs, giving building control bodies at least a year to prepare for the new requirements. 

If you enjoyed this article, we also recommend Utility firms face repair crackdown with new regulations.