Overview
Two ways the Act affects fire safety
First, Part 4 creates an in-occupation regime for higher-risk residential buildings in England, overseen by the Building Safety Regulator. It identifies accountable persons and requires ongoing assessment and management of building-safety risks.
Second, section 156 amended the Fire Safety Order for all premises within that Order’s scope. Those changes include full recording of the FRA and fire-safety arrangements, enhanced cooperation and information duties, and requirements on handover. Most section 156 changes took effect on 1 October 2023; subsection 156(4), concerning assessor competence requirements, has not yet been commenced.
Scope
What is a higher-risk building in occupation?
For the Part 4 occupation regime, a higher-risk building is a building in England with at least two residential units that is at least 18 metres high or has at least seven storeys. Detailed regulations define how buildings, storeys and height are treated and exclude certain building descriptions.
The design-and-construction definition is not identical: it can include hospitals and care homes meeting the height or storey threshold. “Relevant building” for leaseholder protections is another distinct definition. Never transfer a threshold from one part of the Act without checking its purpose.
| Term | Meaning for this guide |
|---|---|
| Higher-risk building in occupation | At least 18m or at least 7 storeys, with at least 2 residential units, subject to detailed definitions and exclusions. |
| Higher-risk building during design/construction | Height/storey threshold plus prescribed use; can include qualifying hospitals and care homes. |
| Relevant building | A separate definition used for leaseholder protections; it is not interchangeable with higher-risk building. |
| High-rise residential building under 2022 fire regulations | A separate but similar 18m-or-7-storey test used for particular Fire Safety Order duties. |
Dutyholders
Accountable and principal accountable persons
An accountable person is an organisation or individual that owns or has a legal obligation to repair a higher-risk building’s common parts. There can be several. The principal accountable person is the one responsible for the structure and exterior, or the one accountable person where there is only one.
These roles differ from the Fire Safety Order’s responsible person. The same organisation might hold both roles, but the legal tests and duties are not the same. Responsible and accountable persons must cooperate and share relevant information.
- Identify every accountable and responsible person
- Confirm control and repair obligations from legal documents
- Register the occupied higher-risk building with the BSR
- Maintain accurate key building information
- Coordinate fire risk assessments with the whole-building safety case
Ongoing assurance
Safety case, golden thread and resident duties
Accountable persons must assess building-safety risks—spread of fire and structural failure—and take all reasonable steps to prevent an incident and reduce its severity. The safety case is the body of evidence; the safety case report summarises and explains how risks are being managed.
The golden thread is the accurate, accessible and up-to-date information needed to understand and manage the building. Principal accountable persons also have duties concerning resident engagement, complaints, mandatory occurrence reporting and building assessment certificates.
Risk assessment
Identify possible building-safety incidents and evaluate the measures controlling them.
Safety case report
Explain and evidence the case that risks are being managed on an ongoing basis.
Golden thread
Maintain controlled digital information throughout the relevant building lifecycle.
Residents
Provide safety information, engage residents and operate a complaints process.
Joined-up compliance
How the Act connects to an FRA
A fire risk assessment under the Fire Safety Order focuses on relevant persons and general fire precautions within that regime. A Building Safety Act safety case addresses the risk of fire spread and structural failure across the higher-risk building and must be supported by wider evidence. One document does not automatically satisfy the other duty.
The responsible person should share the FRA with accountable persons where required and both should reconcile building descriptions, external-wall evidence, fire strategy, maintenance information, resident communications and actions. Conflicting records are a warning that the golden thread is not working.
- Use consistent building and system information
- Cross-reference FRA actions in the safety management system
- Escalate changes and incidents across both regimes
- Keep evidence of decisions, limitations and completed work
- Obtain legal or specialist advice where building scope is uncertain