The Building Safety Act requires Accountable Persons to take all reasonable steps to prevent a building safety risk materialising and to reduce the severity of an incident if one occurs.
What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances of the particular building and risk. It requires consideration of the available risk reduction measures, their effectiveness, practicality and proportionality.
The safety case should therefore explain not only what controls exist, but why the measures in place are considered appropriate for the risk.
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- How do you demonstrate that building safety risks are being managed effectively?
Effective risk management requires more than identifying that a control exists — the Accountable Person needs confidence that important controls actually work.
- How do you assess whether a building safety control is effective?
Control effectiveness should consider whether the control is appropriate for the risk, correctly implemented and working as intended.
- Who is responsible for the building safety case?
Legal responsibility sits with the Accountable Persons, with the Principal Accountable Person holding specific responsibilities for the safety case report and Building Assessment Certificate process.
Building safety legislation, regulation and Building Safety Regulator guidance can change. This page is general information, not legal advice — always refer to current legislation and official guidance for your building.