The compliance clock is ticking on the Building Safety Act By Nigel Thomas, National Specification and Projects Sales Manager, ABB Electrification
The Grenfell tragedy exposed a chain of failures by government, dishonesty from building sector companies and manufacturers, and fire service shortcomings. Almost a decade later, the legislative response is still being built out. The 2022 Building Safety Act has been expanding in phases – and the next one is imminent. Yet awareness across the construction and engineering industry remains patchy.
I know this not just from industry conversation, but from direct experience. One of our customers recently contacted their supply chain to establish who was prepared to meet the upcoming compliance requirements, and could share third-party test certificates. Only two out of ten suppliers knew what they were talking about. That is concerning.
This July, ABB welcomed guests to an open panel discussion on the topic, featuring experts from CIBSE Fire Safety Group, Skanska, and the BCIA. Here are some of the key points covered during the session.
What is changing, and when
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) moved out of the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and became a standalone arm’s-length body in January 2026. The Building Regulations (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 were made in March 2026, with main compliance applying from 24 March 2027, and Higher-Risk Building (HRB) provisions from 24 September 2027.
The Act applies to all building work and creates a new, more rigorous regime for HRBs, extending the duties of the Client, Principal Designer and Principal Contractor, and introducing the concept of Accountable Persons. The Accountable Person is the individual or organisation legally responsible for managing building safety risks during occupation. They must register the building, maintain the Golden Thread, and face personal criminal liability for failures.
It’s essentially bumping the standard way up from ‘installed to spec’, to ‘proven to be competent, coordinated and compliant.’
The Gateway process is stricter
Gateway 2 is a hard stop before construction. Construction cannot begin without BSR approval, full design information must be submitted, BSR compliance must be demonstrated, and fire and structural safety decisions must be justified.
The changes to legislation mean that design must be fully understood much earlier in the process. For a Building Control submission, design effectively equals RIBA Stage 2. For a Gateway 2 BSR submission, it effectively equals RIBA Stage 4 – including contractor design portions. This needs to be factored into cost and programme, as more work must be undertaken and coordinated upfront to avoid delays caused by changes during the build.
At Gateway 3, the hard stop before occupation, the BSR inspects the completed building, a completion certificate is required, the building must be registered, and building information must be transferred for ongoing safety management. Occupation without this certificate is an offence.
The practical implication for Principal Contractors and Principal Designers is that compliance is now a workstream of delivery rather than a late-stage approval task. More time is needed for design review, competency checks, BSR engagement, evidence close-out and change approval.
Budgets must include competent resource, technical assurance, compliance narratives and digital records. Late substitutions or site changes can trigger redesign or approval delay. Golden Thread evidence must be built during delivery. It cannot be assembled retrospectively.
Competence has to be contracted
Although subcontractors will not be undertaking the PC/PD Dutyholder role, they will be assigned Designer and/or Contractor roles under the BSA. They are expected to demonstrate their SKEB competencies (skills, knowledge, experience, behaviours) and training to undertake these roles.
This applies directly to your MEP supply chain. For safety-critical systems specifically – emergency lighting, automatic transfer switches – the standards bar is unambiguous. The secondary source of power for life safety plant must be managed by an automatic transfer switch (ATS) in compliance with BS EN 60947-6, and ATS devices should conform to BS EN 60947-6-1 and be based on switch technology (PC classification), rather than circuit breakers or contactors.
The ATS should be a single component with integrated controller from the same manufacturer. If you are using or specifying a manufacturer that is unable to offer irrefutable evidence of compliance to the relevant standards, you are falling short of your obligation as required by the BSA. Always ask for certificates of compliance and appropriate tests.
The Building Safety Levy is a new financial reality
From 1 October 2026, developers also face the Building Safety Levy. This is a charge on new residential building control applications that must be paid before completion or occupation. The levy applies to major residential developments of ten or more new dwellings, calculated per square metre of chargeable floorspace, with rates weighted by local average house prices.
Non-profit registered providers of social housing are exempt, as is social housing built by private developers under Section 106 obligations – but commercial developers working on market-sale residential schemes should factor levy costs into project financials now. Applications submitted before 1 October 2026 are not affected, but any resubmission after that date will be liable.
What non-compliance costs
For building owners and Principal Accountable Persons, failure to comply can result in fines of £20,000 or more per violation, building closure orders, and Corporate Manslaughter charges carrying fines of £10 million-to-£50 million. For individuals, personal criminal prosecution for gross negligence carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment, director disqualification, and unlimited personal liability in civil claims.
Operation Northleigh, the £150 million probe into the Grenfell disaster, has already examined the actions of 15,000 people across 700 organisations. Up to 57 individuals and 20 companies could face criminal charges. That shows the machinery of enforcement is real, and it is ready to keep chugging along.
The bottom line
The construction and civil engineering industry cannot treat 2027 as a distant concern. The compliance clock is running down now. Programmes, contracts, budgets and supply chain appointments all need to reflect the new reality.
Get ahead of this. Ask your supply chain hard questions and demand test certificates. Build the Golden Thread from day one. The firms that treat compliance as a delivery discipline rather than an end-of-project task will be faster, cleaner, and far less exposed than those who don’t.
Nigel Thomas
www.abb.com/global/en
ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, with a purpose of enabling a more sustainable and resource efficient future. By combining its engineering and digitalisation expertise, the company helps industries achieve high performance while becoming more efficient, productive, and sustainable. This approach is encapsulated in its brand promise: ‘Engineered to Outrun’