The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) is the most significant change to building safety regulation in England since the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force. It creates new dutyholders, new documentary obligations, and a new regulatory pathway for the buildings to which it applies. For anyone who owns, manages, or is responsible for a higher-risk building, understanding what the Act requires — and when — is no longer optional.
This article focuses on the duties that fall on principal accountable persons (PAPs) once a building is occupied. It does not cover the full scope of the Act or the design-and-construction gateway regime, though it touches on both where they connect to the occupied-building duties.
Which buildings does the Act apply to?
The BSA 2022 established a new regulatory regime for "higher-risk buildings" (HRBs). In England, an HRB is broadly defined as a residential building of at least seven storeys or 18 metres in height that contains at least two residential units. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) oversees these buildings. Established originally as a function within the Health and Safety Executive, the BSR became a standalone body sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 27 January 2026.
Buildings below this threshold are not subject to the HRB regime, though the Act still introduced changes to the regulatory framework for all buildings through amendments to the Building Act 1984 and — via section 156 — the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. If you are uncertain whether a particular building meets the HRB definition, that question should be resolved early — the obligations that follow from it are substantial.
Who is the accountable person?
The Act creates two categories of dutyholder for occupied HRBs: the accountable person (AP) and the principal accountable person (PAP). The AP is whoever holds the legal obligation in relation to the common parts of a building — typically the freeholder, head leaseholder, or resident management company. Where there is more than one AP for a building, one must be designated the PAP and registered with the BSR.
The PAP carries several obligations that the Act places squarely on them rather than on any AP collectively. These include the duty to register the building, to apply for and maintain a building assessment certificate, and to produce and maintain the building's safety case and safety case report.
The safety case and safety case report
The safety case is the core of the occupied-building regime. A PAP must prepare and keep up to date a safety case for each HRB they are responsible for. The safety case is the totality of the information, analysis, and evidence that demonstrates the building's fire and structural risks are being managed to a level that is "as low as reasonably practicable" (ALARP).
The safety case report is the document that summarises the safety case for submission to the BSR. It is not a snapshot — it is a live document that must be updated whenever there is a material change to the building or its management arrangements. Getting the report right at first submission is important, but ongoing maintenance of the underlying safety case is what actually manages the risk.
The BSR has published guidance on what a safety case report should contain. In practice, producing a credible report requires a systematic assessment of the building's fire and structural risks, clear evidence of how those risks are controlled, and a genuine commitment to keeping the information current. A report assembled from disconnected documents, or one where the underlying data is out of date, will not satisfy a BSR inspection and — more importantly — will not actually make the building safer.
Registration and building assessment certificates
The registration window for existing occupied HRBs opened on 6 April 2023, with registration required by 1 October 2023. If a building that meets the HRB definition has not yet been registered, that is a regulatory breach that needs to be corrected as a priority.
Following registration, the PAP must apply for a building assessment certificate. The BSR will then carry out an assessment of the building, which can include a review of the safety case report, an inspection of the building, or both. A building assessment certificate is issued only where the BSR is satisfied that the PAP is meeting their duties. The certificate must be displayed in the building. PAPs who are refused a certificate, or whose certificate is suspended or cancelled, face significant consequences — including the power for the BSR to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for an order appointing a special measures manager.
The resident engagement duties
The Act gives residents of HRBs specific rights that PAPs are obliged to support. These include the right to request information about the building's safety case, the right to make complaints that the PAP must consider and respond to, and the right to be involved in the development of a residents' engagement strategy.
The engagement duties are sometimes treated as an afterthought in discussions about the Act. They should not be. A well-run building with confident, informed residents is easier to manage, and the BSR will take a dim view of a PAP who has the documentation right but has failed to engage with the people who live in the building.
The gateway regime and the golden thread
For new HRBs and those undergoing refurbishment, the Act introduced a gateway regime administered by the BSR. The three gateways sit at planning, before construction begins, and before occupation. Gateway 1 operates through the planning system; a building cannot progress through Gateway 2 or Gateway 3 without regulatory approval. Gateway 2 (pre-construction) and Gateway 3 (pre-occupation) are the substantive technical hurdles. At Gateway 3, the PAP must demonstrate that the as-built building is safe to occupy and that the golden thread of information — the fire and structural safety information generated throughout design and construction — has been captured and will be maintained.
For occupied buildings, the golden thread obligation means that the PAP must hold accurate, current, and accessible records of the building's safety-relevant features. The information must be available to residents and, in an emergency, to the fire and rescue service — not just the BSR. A golden thread that exists only in a document archive and cannot be interrogated quickly is not serving its purpose.
What should a PAP do now?
The immediate priorities for a PAP managing an occupied HRB are: confirm the building is registered; confirm whether a building assessment certificate application has been submitted; assess the currency and completeness of the building's safety case and safety case report; and check that the resident engagement strategy is in place and working.
Beyond those immediate steps, the ongoing discipline is one of active management rather than periodic document production. Fire and structural risks change as buildings are altered, maintained, and occupied in different ways. The safety case must reflect those changes. Buildings where the safety case is treated as a one-off submission rather than a living management tool are the ones most likely to face difficulty with the BSR — and, more fundamentally, are the ones most likely to develop the kind of unmanaged risk the Act exists to prevent.
Apex's Building Safety Act compliance service supports PAPs through registration, safety case development, safety case report preparation, and ongoing maintenance. Because Apex holds no installation or remediation arm, the advice reflects what a building genuinely needs rather than what generates follow-on work.
Common questions
Does the Building Safety Act apply to all residential buildings?
No. The higher-risk building regime applies to residential buildings of at least seven storeys or 18 metres in height with at least two residential units. The Act does introduce some changes for all buildings, but the safety case and registration obligations apply only to HRBs as defined.
What is the difference between the accountable person and the principal accountable person?
An accountable person (AP) is anyone who holds a legal obligation in relation to the common parts of an HRB. Where there is more than one AP, one must be designated the principal accountable person (PAP). The PAP is responsible for registering the building with the Building Safety Regulator and producing the safety case report.
How often does the safety case report need to be updated?
The safety case report must be kept up to date. In practice, this means reviewing it whenever there is a material change to the building, its management, or its safety arrangements — and at regular intervals even if no specific change has occurred. The Building Safety Regulator can inspect the safety case at any time.