The Building Safety Pledge
The Building Safety Act allowed the government to set up building industry schemes for developers. The idea of the schemes was to get developers and construction products manufacturers to pay for remedial works to buildings covered by the Act, with the downside being that those who didn’t agree to do so would be prohibited from undertaking future developments, either by preventing them from applying for planning consent or preventing them from applying for building regs approval. The bodies were asked, on a voluntary basis, to sign the building safety “pledge” to pay for the remedial works. The majority of developers have now signed the pledge, but the government has yet to bring forward proposals in respect of products manufacturers.
Responsible Actors Scheme
The government has also now outlined its proposals for the RAS, which will be implemented through regulations by early summer 2023. The proposals include:
- Eligibility for the scheme
- Joining procedure
- Conditions of membership
- Enforcement of the membership conditions
- Planning restrictions for failing to join
- Building regs restrictions for failing to join
The RAS will start with major housebuilders and other large developers who developed buildings with life-critical fire safety defects as defined by the Act. The government intends that the RAS will, in time, cover other developers who developed affected buildings and who, in the government's opinion, should pay to fix them.
If you have any questions on the Building Safety Act, the Pledge or the RAS, our Construction and Engineering team will be happy to help. Please get in touch for further information.