The Building Safety Act 2022 led to changes to the Building Regulations 2010, including a new Part 2A, which came into force in England on 1 October 2023. It applies to all building work, not only higher-risk buildings.
The dutyholders
| Dutyholder | Main duties |
|---|---|
| Client | Make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring the project so that the work complies; appoint a principal designer and principal contractor where there is more than one designer or contractor; give them the information they need. |
| Principal designer | Plan, manage and monitor the design work so that it complies, and coordinate the other designers. |
| Principal contractor | Plan, manage and monitor the building work so that it complies, and coordinate the other contractors. |
| Designers and contractors | Only take on work they are competent to do, cooperate with the others, and report anything that would not comply. |
Competence
Every dutyholder must have the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to carry out the work in compliance with the regulations, and organisations must have the right systems in place. Clients must take reasonable steps to check this before making appointments.
Domestic clients
As with CDM, a domestic client's duties pass to the contractor or principal contractor, or to the principal designer by written agreement. In practice, on a domestic extension, the main contractor usually takes on the client's building regulations duties as well as its own.
How it fits with CDM 2015
CDM is about health and safety during and after construction. Part 2A is about compliance with the building regulations. The principal designer and principal contractor roles under each are separate, though one firm can hold both if it is competent to do so. We confirm in writing at appointment which roles we hold under each regime.