Nigel Thomas, national specification and projects sales manager at ABB Electrification, discusses the changes coming to the BSA in the coming year
In 2017, Grenfell was the ultimate shock to the systems of government, emergency services, and commercial construction in the UK. The severity of the casualties was sharpened by the revelations of failures at every level – from flippant political attitudes to individual circuit failures in emergency lighting that hindered occupants’ escape. We’re approaching the 10-year anniversary of that day, and the legislation is still catching up.
Alongside a wave of ongoing prosecutions, fines, and serious reflection from the industry, the 2022 Building Safety Act (BSA) was a transformative piece of regulation that put the Golden Thread at the heart of the issue. This is the idea that every installed piece of material and technology in the final build is documented and accounted for in planning. It’s a paper trail (now rapidly becoming digital) of what you did at every stage of development.
Pursuit of that standard continues today. The next piece of the BSA is imminent, and it’s a crackdown like no other. But having talked to specifiers and engineers in the industry, there seems to be a shocking lack of awareness. One of my customers reached out to their supply chain partners to ask for third-party test certificates and find out who was ready to meet the upcoming compliance criteria. Only one-fifth even knew what they were talking about.
This July, ABB welcomed guests to an open evening chaired by a panel of experts from CIBSE Fire Safety Group, Skanska, and the BCIA. The aim was to talk candidly about what industry leaders and partners need to do to prepare for the new BSA updates. Here is what came to light during the session.
A misconception or two
First, the BSA applies to all building work, not just high-rises. While it creates a more rigorous regime for Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs) above 18 metres, it also introduces new requirements that extend the duties of the client, Principal Designer, and Principal Contractor, while introducing the concept of ‘Accountable Persons’.
Do not assume that the roles and responsibilities are someone else’s problem. Although subcontractors will not be undertaking the PC/PD dutyholder role, they will be expected to demonstrate their competencies – skills, knowledge, experience, behaviours and training – to undertake other roles. Everyone has skin in this game.
What’s changing, and when?
The Building Safety Regulator moved out of the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and became a standalone arm’s-length body in January 2026. The Building Regulations (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 were made in March 2026, with main compliance applying generally from 24 March 2027, and HRB provisions from 24 September 2027.
This escalates existing duties, with sharper teeth. The obligation to design and build in accordance with Building Regulations has not changed since 2010. What has changed is the scrutiny, the accountability, and the consequences.
The Gateway process
Gateway 2 is a hard stop before construction. Construction cannot begin without BSR approval. You must submit full design information, demonstrate compliance, and justify fire and structural safety decisions.
Changes to legislation mean the design must be fully understood much earlier in the process. For a Building Control submission, design effectively equals RIBA Stage 2; for a Gateway 2 BSR submission, design effectively equals RIBA Stage 4, including contractor design portions. Factor this into cost and programme.
The practical lesson for a PC/PD is that compliance is now a workflow running alongside delivery rather than a retrospective box-check at the end of a project. This is the essence of the Golden Thread. Design review, competency checks, proactive BSR engagement, technical assurance, and approval of changes to the plan take more time.
Gateway 3 is then a hard stop before occupation. The Regulator inspects the completed building; a completion certificate is required, and the building must be registered. Occupation without this certificate is an offence.
Compliance is not a given; ask questions
There is a tendency to assume that if something is on the market, it must be compliant. That is not how the BSA works. The Principal Designer and specifier must ask the right questions and demand the right evidence. High-profile engineers like Dame Judith Hackitt have repeatedly called for honest, transparent marketing, citing weaknesses in the testing and certification systems that allowed misleading claims about products used in Grenfell.
This is particularly true for electrical systems. Emergency lighting systems at Grenfell were not properly maintained or tested, and many residents had unilluminated escape routes. That failure is now embedded in the regulatory response. For automatic transfer switches used in life safety applications, the secondary source of power shall be managed by an ATS in compliance with BS 8519:2020. ATS devices should conform to BS EN 60947-6-1 and should be based on switch technology (PC classification), rather than circuit breakers or contactors. The ATS should be a single component with an integrated controller from the same manufacturer.
If you are using or specifying a manufacturer that cannot provide irrefutable evidence of compliance with the relevant standards, you are falling short of your obligation under the BSA. Always ask for certificates of compliance and appropriate tests.
The Building Safety Levy
From 1 October 2026, developers face the Building Safety Levy. This is a charge on new residential building control applications that must be paid before completion or occupation. The levy applies to major residential developments of ten or more new dwellings, calculated per square metre of chargeable floorspace, with rates weighted by local average house prices.
Non-profit registered providers of social housing are exempt, as is social housing delivered by private developers under Section 106 obligations. Applications submitted before 1 October 2026 are unaffected, but any resubmission after that date will be liable. Commercial developers working on market-sale residential schemes should factor levy costs into project financials now.
The cost of getting it wrong
Operation Northleigh, the £150m probe into the Grenfell disaster, has examined the actions of 15,000 people across 700 organisations. Up to 57 individuals and 20 companies are in the firing line. Potential offences under consideration include corporate gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, health and safety breaches and misconduct in public office.
For building owners and Principal Accountable Persons, noncompliance can result in fines of £20,000 or more per violation, building closure orders, and Corporate Manslaughter charges carrying fines of £10–50 million or more. For individuals, personal criminal prosecution for gross negligence carries up to 15 years’ imprisonment, director disqualification, and unlimited personal liability in civil claims.
Programmes, contracts and budgets must reflect the new reality now, not in 2027. We cannot procure electrical product packages on price and programme alone, and then retrospectively ask the supply chain to evidence compliance. The firms that treat it as a delivery discipline will be faster, cleaner, and far less exposed than those who view it as last-minute homework. So ask yourself and your suppliers: are you truly ready for what’s next?
