What is the Building Safety Act 2022, and which buildings does it apply to?

In England, the Building Safety Act 2022 is best understood as several linked regimes, not one height rule for every building. The core Act extends mainly to England and Wales, but the occupied higher-risk-building duties are England-only.

What is the Building Safety Act 2022?

The Building Safety Act 2022 is a UK Act, mainly for England and Wales, that reforms building safety law after Grenfell and creates England-only duties for occupied higher-risk buildings. Section 1 says: “This Act has 6 Parts, and contains provisions intended to secure the safety of people in or about buildings and to improve the standard of buildings.” Part 4 is narrower than the Act as a whole: “Part 4 is about occupied higher-risk buildings in England, and imposes duties on accountable persons.” That is why a Building Safety Act 2022 summary must separate general building-control reform from the accountable-person, registration and safety-case regime. Wales does not use Part 4 for occupied higher-risk buildings; the Welsh Government says: “Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022, which relates to higher-risk buildings and management of building safety risks in occupied higher-risk buildings, does not apply to Wales.” Scotland and Northern Ireland are not generally covered, although some UK-wide provisions exist; Northern Ireland has said a new Act is likely to be needed.

When did the Building Safety Act 2022 come into force?

The Building Safety Act 2022 did not come into force on one single date: it received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022, leaseholder protections began on 28 June 2022, major England higher-risk-building controls began on 1 October 2023, and further Part 4 duties began in January 2024. The Act itself uses staged commencement, saying: “The following provisions come into force on the day on which this Act is passed—” and, for other provisions, commencement depends on regulations. GOV.UK records the Act as “granted Royal Assent on 28 April 2022.” For landlords and managing agents, the most practical Building Safety Act come into force date is often 1 October 2023, when “The following provisions of the 2022 Act come into force on 1st October 2023—” brought in registration-related occupied-HRB rules in England. But saying BSA 2022 came into force only on 1 October 2023 is incomplete, because the leaseholder protections in England “came into force on 28 June 2022.”

Which buildings does the Building Safety Act apply to?

The Building Safety Act applies differently by Part, but the main occupied higher-risk-building regime in England applies to buildings at least 18 metres high or at least 7 storeys, containing at least 2 residential units, unless an exclusion applies. Section 65 starts: “In this Part ‘higher-risk building’ means a building in England that—” and then gives the height/storey limb: “(a)is at least 18 metres in height or has at least 7 storeys, and” the residential-use limb: “(b)contains at least 2 residential units.” That answers whether the Building Safety Act applies to all buildings: no, not for registration, accountable-person and safety-case duties. A different England leaseholder-protection regime starts lower, at 11 metres or 5 storeys, and design-and-construction rules also differ: GOV.UK says higher-risk buildings for that phase include “buildings with at least two residential units, care homes, and hospitals which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least 7 storeys.” In Wales, design-and-construction higher-risk buildings can include “at least one residential unit.”

What is the 11 metre rule in the Building Safety Act?

A rival landlord guide claiming every landlord with a flat in an 11m-plus building becomes a duty-holder or leaseholder is wrong: 11 metres or 5 storeys is the England leaseholder cost-protection threshold under section 117, while duty-holder registration, accountable-person and safety-case duties need an occupied higher-risk building at 18 metres or 7 storeys in England under section 65. Section 117 says a “Relevant building” is a self-contained building or part in England containing at least two dwellings and then gives the height test: “(a)is at least 11 metres high, or” the storey test: “(b)has at least 5 storeys.” That is the 11m Building Safety Act rule for leaseholder protections, not the gateway or occupied-HRB trigger. The measurement rule is precise: “The height of a building is to be measured from ground level to the finished surface of the floor of the top storey of the building.” Separate fire-door duties above 11 metres sit in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, not in the BSA.

Which buildings are exempt from the Building Safety Act?

No building is exempt from the whole Building Safety Act in a single universal sense; instead, each Part has its own exclusions, and the occupied higher-risk-building exclusions in England are not the same as the design-and-construction rules. For occupied higher-risk buildings, a whole building used as a hospital, care home, secure residential institution, hotel or military barracks is outside Part 4 even if it reaches 18 metres or 7 storeys. GOV.UK states: “This applies unless the entire building is used as a hospital, care home, secure residential institution, hotel or military barracks, or if the building contains any living accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence for military personnel.” But hospitals and care homes are not simply Building Safety Act 2022 exemptions: the explanatory note to the regulations says “care homes and hospitals” are excluded from the 2022 Act occupied-HRB definition “but not in the 1984 Act.” Commonhold land is also carved out of the England leaseholder-protection definition of relevant building.

What has to happen at each Building Safety Act gateway?

At Gateway 1 a fire statement is required at planning stage, but Gateway 1 is not in the Building Safety Act itself; at Gateway 2 higher-risk-building work in England must have building control approval before work starts; and at Gateway 3 the relevant residential units cannot be occupied before a completion certificate is issued. The Act’s own notes say of the planning stage: “This description is provided here for information purposes only; this Act contains no provisions in relation to this stage.” The planning duty comes from planning regulations: “An application for planning permission to which this paragraph applies, must, except where paragraph (6) applies, be accompanied by a statement (‘a fire statement’) about the fire safety design principles, concepts and standards that have been applied to the development.” For Gateway 2, the 2023 regulations require the client to “be granted building control approval for the work,” and the statutory decision period is 12 weeks unless a longer period is agreed. For Gateway 3, the Act says: “If a relevant residential unit is occupied before a completion certificate relating to a relevant part of the building is issued, the relevant accountable person commits an offence.”

What is the principal contractor's role under the Building Safety Act?

The principal contractor’s Building Safety Act role in England is really a Building Regulations dutyholder role: from 1 October 2023 the principal contractor must control, plan, manage, monitor and coordinate building work so it complies with building regulations. The Act enables appointments rather than setting the job description itself: “Building regulations may require prescribed appointments to be made in relation to any work.” The regulations then make the principal contractor “a contractor with control over the building work as the principal contractor for the purposes of these Regulations.” Regulation 11N says the principal contractor must “plan, manage and monitor the building work during the construction phase” and must “coordinate matters relating to the building work comprised in the project to ensure the building work is in compliance with all relevant requirements.” If there is only one contractor, that contractor is treated as the principal contractor. The CDM principal contractor can also hold the building-regulations role, but the two roles are not identical; no PAS certificate or professional-body scheme is a statutory condition of appointment.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Building Safety Act 2022 s.1 — “This Act has 6 Parts, and contains provisions intended to secure the safety of people in or about buildings and to improve the standard of buildings.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.1 — “Part 4 is about occupied higher-risk buildings in England, and imposes duties on accountable persons.” Source
• Welsh Government, Building Safety Act 2022 handbook for Wales — “Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022, which relates to higher-risk buildings and management of building safety risks in occupied higher-risk buildings, does not apply to Wales.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.170 — “The following provisions come into force on the day on which this Act is passed—” Source
• GOV.UK, The Building Safety Act — “Information relating to the Building Safety Act, which was granted Royal Assent on 28 April 2022.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 commencement regulations, SI 2023/993 reg.2 — “The following provisions of the 2022 Act come into force on 1st October 2023—” Source
• GOV.UK, leaseholder protections on building safety costs — “The leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act came into force on 28 June 2022.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.65 — “In this Part ‘higher-risk building’ means a building in England that—” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.65 — “(a)is at least 18 metres in height or has at least 7 storeys, and” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.65 — “(b)contains at least 2 residential units.” Source
• GOV.UK, criteria for determining whether a new building is a higher-risk building — “For the design and construction part of the regime, higher-risk buildings are defined as buildings with at least two residential units, care homes, and hospitals which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least 7 storeys.” Source
• Wales SI 2023/1210 reg.3 — “(i)at least one residential unit,” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.117 — “‘Relevant building’ means a self-contained building, or self-contained part of a building, in England that contains at least two dwellings and—” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.117 — “(a)is at least 11 metres high, or” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.117 — “(b)has at least 5 storeys.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.118 — “The height of a building is to be measured from ground level to the finished surface of the floor of the top storey of the building.” Source
• GOV.UK, criteria for being a higher-risk building during occupation — “This applies unless the entire building is used as a hospital, care home, secure residential institution, hotel or military barracks, or if the building contains any living accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence for military personnel.” Source
• SI 2023/275 explanatory note — “The same types of building are excluded for both parts of the new regime apart from care homes and hospitals which are excluded from the definition of ‘higher-risk building’ in the 2022 Act but not in the 1984 Act.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 explanatory notes — “This description is provided here for information purposes only; this Act contains no provisions in relation to this stage.” Source
• Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 art.9A — “An application for planning permission to which this paragraph applies, must, except where paragraph (6) applies, be accompanied by a statement (‘a fire statement’) about the fire safety design principles, concepts and standards that have been applied to the development.” Source
• Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 reg.3 — “(b)be granted building control approval for the work,” Source
• Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 reg.5 — “(b)determine it within 12 weeks beginning with the date the application is received by the regulator or within such longer period as at any time the regulator and the applicant agree in writing.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.76 — “If a relevant residential unit is occupied before a completion certificate relating to a relevant part of the building is issued, the relevant accountable person commits an offence.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 s.34 — “Building regulations may require prescribed appointments to be made in relation to any work.” Source
• Building Regulations 2010 reg.11D — “(b)a contractor with control over the building work as the principal contractor for the purposes of these Regulations.” Source
• Building Regulations 2010 reg.11N — “(a)plan, manage and monitor the building work during the construction phase” Source
• Building Regulations 2010 reg.11N — “coordinate matters relating to the building work comprised in the project to ensure the building work is in compliance with all relevant requirements.” Source