Building Safety Act 2022 — Higher-Risk Buildings, the Building Safety Regulator and Maintenance Contractors

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) is the most significant reform of building safety regulation in England since the Building Act 1984. Introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, it establishes a new regulatory framework for higher-risk buildings, creates the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) within HSE, and places new duties on building owners, principal accountable persons and contractors working in higher-risk buildings. For maintenance and cleaning contractors working in high-rise social housing, residential tower blocks and other higher-risk buildings, the BSA 2022 introduces a compliance environment that is significantly more demanding than the pre-Grenfell framework — and which is still being actively implemented and enforced through 2025 and 2026.

The Building Safety Act 2022 is closely connected to Awaab's Law for social housing contractors — both frameworks apply to the same high-rise social housing stock and both are being actively enforced from 2025 onwards. See: Awaab's Law guidance

What is a higher-risk building?

Under the BSA 2022, a higher-risk building (HRB) is defined as a building in England that is at least 18 metres in height or has at least 7 storeys, and contains at least 2 residential units. This definition captures the vast majority of high-rise residential tower blocks in the UK — the same stock that is subject to Awaab's Law, that has the highest concentration of pre-2000 construction with asbestos-containing materials, and that requires the most intensive maintenance and cleaning programmes.

Commercial buildings over 18 metres are subject to separate fire safety requirements but are not HRBs under the BSA 2022 for the purposes of the occupied buildings regime. However, higher-risk buildings under construction or undergoing major refurbishment are subject to the BSR's new building control regime regardless of whether they are residential.

The Building Safety Regulator

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) was established within HSE under the BSA 2022. The BSR is responsible for implementing and enforcing the new higher-risk buildings regime, overseeing the safety and standards of all buildings, and improving the competence of those working in the built environment. The BSR has powers to register higher-risk buildings, approve building control applications for HRBs, investigate safety concerns, and take enforcement action against accountable persons and contractors who fail to meet their obligations.

The BSR began registering existing higher-risk buildings in 2023. All occupied HRBs in England were required to be registered by October 2023. The BSR publishes a register of HRBs and can take enforcement action against accountable persons who fail to register or who fail to meet their ongoing safety obligations.

Principal accountable persons and accountable persons

The BSA 2022 introduces the concept of the accountable person (AP) and principal accountable person (PAP) for occupied HRBs. The PAP is responsible for the external walls and structure of the building. APs are responsible for common parts. For social housing tower blocks, the housing association or local authority landlord is typically the PAP. The PAP and APs have duties to assess building safety risks, implement a safety case, register the building with the BSR, and appoint a building safety manager.

For maintenance and cleaning contractors, the practical implication is that the organisations commissioning their services in HRBs — housing associations, local authorities, facilities management companies — are operating under significantly increased regulatory scrutiny and documentation requirements. Contractors working in HRBs will increasingly be required to demonstrate competence, provide detailed method statements and risk assessments, and contribute to the building safety case documentation that the PAP must maintain.

Competence requirements

The BSA 2022 introduces a duty on those appointing contractors to take reasonable steps to ensure that the contractor has the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary to carry out the work safely and in compliance with the Building Regulations. This competence duty applies to work on HRBs and means that housing associations and local authorities commissioning maintenance and cleaning services in their high-rise stock must satisfy themselves that contractors are competent — and must be able to demonstrate this to the BSR if asked.

For cleaning and maintenance contractors, this translates into increased scrutiny of accreditations, qualifications, training records and method statements when tendering for social housing framework contracts. Contractors who cannot demonstrate competence in the relevant compliance areas — COSHH, asbestos, mould remediation, working at height — will find it harder to win HRB contracts as the BSA 2022 regime matures.

The golden thread of information

One of the central concepts of the BSA 2022 is the golden thread — a digital record of building information that must be created, maintained and passed on throughout the lifecycle of an HRB. The golden thread includes the building safety case, structural and fire safety information, and records of all significant works carried out on the building.

For maintenance contractors, the golden thread requirement means that significant maintenance and refurbishment works carried out in HRBs must be documented and the records handed to the accountable person for inclusion in the golden thread. Method statements, risk assessments, COSHH assessments, asbestos disturbance records and completion certificates all feed into this requirement. Contractors who do not provide adequate documentation of their work in HRBs are creating a compliance gap for their clients.

Connection to Awaab's Law and damp and mould

The Building Safety Act 2022 and Awaab's Law are the twin pillars of the post-Grenfell social housing safety reform programme. Both apply most intensively to the same high-rise social housing stock. A housing association managing a portfolio of tower blocks must simultaneously comply with the BSA 2022 golden thread and building safety case requirements, and the Awaab's Law timescales for investigating and remedying damp and mould. Maintenance and cleaning contractors serving this market need to understand both frameworks and how they interact.

Mould remediation work in an HRB must be documented to the standard required by the golden thread. COSHH assessments, H-Class extraction records and completion documentation are not just good practice — in an HRB they are part of the building safety case record. See: Awaab's Law | Mould remediation guide | H-Class extraction

Upcoming — secondary legislation and further implementation

The BSA 2022 is being implemented in phases. Key milestones that affect maintenance contractors include the mandatory occurrence reporting system for safety occurrences in HRBs, the residents' engagement strategy requirements, and the ongoing development of competence frameworks for building safety roles. Contractors working in HRBs should monitor BSR guidance updates and ensure their compliance frameworks keep pace with implementation.

Related legislation and compliance

Related sector pages

Social housing hub | Construction hub | Facilities management hub | Cleaning trade hub

Trade accounts for HRB maintenance contractors

V-TUF supplies H-Class extraction, mould remediation equipment and industrial cleaning equipment to maintenance contractors working in high-rise social housing across the UK. Trade account terms available. Telephone: 01522 787978. Email through the contact page.

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Building Safety Act 2022 — Higher-Risk Buildings, the Building Safety Regulator and Maintenance Contractors