FEATURE
THE BUILDING SAFETY ACT 2022:CHANGES TO THE BILL
David Mayor, Partner in the insurance team at Forbes Solicitors, explores the new regulatory bodies brought in to oversee the construction industry and the impact changes to the Building Safety Act 2022 will have on the sector.
The Building Safety Act 2022 is the Government’s response to, primarily, cladding safety issues publicised most evocatively by the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The first instalments of the bill predominantly focused on enhancing safety measures in the design and construction of new high-rise buildings. However, the bill developed to include a legislative framework for the entire lifecycle of the built environment, from the pre-construction planning stage through to post-construction, occupation, and property management stages.
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will oversee safety and performance, the National Construction Products Regulator (NRCP) will govern more effective market surveillance and enforcement in the sector, and the New Homes Ombudsman Scheme will allow relevant owners of new-build homes to escalate complaints.
22 | TOMORROW’S FM
One of the most radical changes in force since the 28th June 2022 is the extension of limitation periods for claims involving dwellings unfit for habitation. Previously, claims under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 had a limitation period of six years following the completion of works, or the completion of any subsequent rectification works (either being when the cause of action accrued), but that period has now been increased to 15 years for claims accruing after 28th June 2022. Where the defective works were completed before that date, the limitation period is retrospectively extended to 30 years. With this reform comes the concerning result that claims previously considered out of time may now still be brought.
For instance, property work completed, defectively, in 2010 would normally have been statute barred by 2016, but as the cause of action accrued before 28th June 2022,
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