Higher risk buildings definition 2023

Regulations to define higher risk buildings.

The Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) 2023 have been published, in support of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA). Subject to parliamentary acceptance, the new Regulations, which apply in England and Wales, will come into effect from 6 April 2023.

The new Regulations define “higher-risk building” for that part of the incoming BSA regime that will regulate building design and construction as: “of a specified description (see below) that is at least 18 metres or has at least 7 storeys”.

Further, a “higher-risk building” for that part of the BSA regime that will regulate occupied buildings is: “at least 18 meters in height or has at least 7 storeys and contains at least 2 residential units”.

Regulation 2: specifies that hospitals, care homes and buildings containing at least two residential units will fall within the design and construction part of the new regime - where they are over 18 metres tall or have 7 or more storeys.
Regulations 7 and 8: exclude certain types of buildings from the definition of “higher risk building”. Hotels, secure residential institutions (e.g. prisons) and military premises (e.g. barracks) will be excluded from both parts of the new regime. (Hotels and secure residential institutions are already regulated by the Fire Safety Order.)

Additionally, hospitals and care homes will be excluded from the in-occupation part of the BSA regime.

According to Paul Reeve, ECA Director of CSR, "the new Regulations are in line with the definitions proposed in 2022 consultation and further changes, while still possible, seem unlikely. It is worth repeating however, that the many requirements of the Building Safety Act go beyond those planned for higher risk buildings. The provisions for higher risk buildings are additional to wider forthcoming requirements that will affect work covered by building regulation".

For more information visit ECA's dedicated Building a Safer Future webpage, here.

The 2023 Regulations can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2023/9780348242812/contents

This article appears as "The Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023" on the ECA news and blog site dated January 11, 2022.

--ECA