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The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced the concept of a Building Safety Director for resident-led organisations (RMCs and RTM companies), recognising the potentially limited competence of some resident directors in managing and discharging their building safety duties under the new regime.
However, it is important to be clear about the current legal position:
While Section 111 of the Building Safety Act 2022 is in force and establishes a framework for the appointment of a Building Safety Director by Resident Management Companies (RMCs) that are accountable persons for higher-risk buildings, the section is dependent on secondary legislation to prescribe eligibility criteria, appointment and removal processes and entitlement to remuneration.
No such regulations have been made to date. As a result, arguably section 111 cannot currently be implemented in practice, and there is no underlying statutory framework by which an RMC can formally appoint a Building Safety Director in the manner envisaged by the Act.
Related provisions in the Act that rely on the appointment of a Building Safety Director such as service charge recovery of costs (section 112), and relief from personal criminal liability for unpaid officers (section 161(4)) are therefore not currently available.
While the legislation makes clear the intention to support resident-led organisations by enabling them to appoint a suitably skilled director for building safety purposes, this intention has not yet been given full legal effect. Until the necessary regulations are made, RMCs and RTM companies remain responsible for ensuring they have access to competent advice and support, typically through engaging a competent person or organisation directly, or via their managing agent.
A spokesperson from MHCLG provided TPI with the following update:
“We are aware that there are companies offering Building Safety Director services and that these people don’t take on the legal liability from existing resident directors. We will highlight this when we publish the consultation response.
We are pleased that TPI have raised awareness of this issue so that existing resident directors are less likely to be uninformed.”
What RMCs and RTMs Should Do Now
In the absence of the regulations, resident directors remain fully responsible for discharging their duties under the Building Safety Act, the Fire Safety Order, and associated legislation.
Where RMCs or RTMs lack the competence, capacity, or confidence to manage building safety effectively, they are strongly encouraged to engage a competent person or organisation, either:
- directly by the company, or
- through their appointed managing agent,
to support them in fulfilling their statutory duties as Accountable Persons (APs) or Principal Accountable Persons (PAPs). This reflects the “intelligent customer” principle embedded within the building safety regime.
Next Steps
Government has confirmed that a future consultation will set out the detail of proposals to be included in regulations to formally introduce the Building Safety Director role. Until those regulations are made, the role remains conceptual rather than legally actionable.
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New fire safety rules are coming into force to support disabled and vulnerable residents in high-rise buildings. From 6th April 2026, the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 will require Responsible Persons to identify residents who may need help evacuating in a fire and to take steps to support them. These residents, referred to as relevant residents, may have mobility, sensory, or cognitive impairments.
The Regulations introduce Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (Residential PEEPs), which include:
- Identifying relevant residents
- A person-centred fire risk assessment
- An agreed emergency evacuation statement
- Optional consent-based sharing of information with the local Fire and Rescue Authority
- Ongoing review of plans and evacuation procedures
These duties are legally enforceable and apply to residential buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys, or 11 metres and above with a simultaneous evacuation strategy.
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In December 2024, the BSR updated its Making Buildings Safer webpage, featuring essential information on Building Assessment Certificate applications.
The updates include a new video presentation by Tim Galloway, delivered at The Property Institute’s Annual Conference in October, highlighting some of the common pitfalls in certificate applications. You can watch the video here.
- Building Safety Regulator
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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.
- Building Safety Regulator
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HSE’s second building safety conference, which took place in May in Birmingham was attended by over 1,400 industry leaders, regulators and resident representatives.
The conference featured almost 40 sessions and panel discussions providing detailed information on a breadth of topics including:
the building control application process for high-rise residential buildings
ways of working for the building control profession
more information on how to build a safety case and a resident engagement planIf you missed the opportunity to attend the BSR conference in May, you can watch back all of the key note speeches and sessions on HSE’s Youtube channel.
Amongst the many topics covered, sessions include updates on : Building Control Assessment process, Resident Engagement, Building Control profession, the Golden Thread, and Planning Gateways.
- Building Safety Regulator
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Guidance Note B02: Fire Safety
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Home Office: A guide for persons with duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
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Updated Guidance: Safety in high-rise residential buildings: Accountable Persons
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Key Changes to Leaseholder Protections and the Certificates Regime brought about by The Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections etc) (England) (Amendments) Regulations 2023
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HSE Webinar: Introduction to Building Assessment Certificates (July 2023)