Following the initial statement issued on 18 October 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has carefully considered the views expressed by the Tribunal in the First-Tier Tribunal decision dated 03 July 2024.
The department recognises the need for greater clarity within the legislation. We are consulting the Building Safety Regulator and other relevant stakeholders on a proposal to amend the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023.
The aim is to clarify that roof gardens are not considered storeys when determining whether a building is a higher-risk building under section 120D of the Building Act 1984 and section 65 of the Building Safety Act 2022.
In the meantime, the department’s view remains that roof gardens are not storeys for these purposes. This is the basis for current government guidance, which the sector and regulatory bodies should continue to refer to.
Click here to check the criteria for higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act.
The BSR has now published important updates to Building Assessment Certification guidance - with a key addition. They have now integrated the specific assessment criteria used by HSE's multi-disciplinary teams when assessing BAC applications.
For your convenience, the BSR has created a streamlined summary of these changes, focusing on the Building Safety Regulator's core requirements for successful building assessment certificates - see here - please use this summary in conjunction with the full updated guidance.
On 2 December 2024, the government published its plan for increasing the pace of remediation for buildings in England with unsafe cladding.
The plan consists of a number of measures to:
Access the full collection of documents and supporting policy papers here
The Home Office has published its post-consultation response to the Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing Plus consultation.
The Minister of State, Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP, said:
"We will move to lay Regulations to deliver the Residential PEEPs policy. Our engagement with key stakeholders, including disability stakeholder organisations, will continue, to help to ensure a smooth road to implementation, including the production of supporting guidance that will sit alongside the Regulations."
You can read the full response here