The stream of secondary legislation issued pursuant to the Building Safety Act 2022 continues to flow at pace, with the government this week passing into statute the Building Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) Regulations 2023, which brings the implementation of the Responsible Actors Scheme one step closer. As we summarised in our recent blog post and briefing note, the Scheme will require developers of at least one building exceeding 11m or five storeys and containing at least one residential dwelling to enter into a self-remediation contract with the government, if that building is found to be suffering from life-critical fire safety defects.
The Regulations that have been made are identical to those issued in draft in April of this year. In the press release confirming the making of the Regulations (with effect from 4 July 2023) the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has reiterated its intention to launch the Scheme in the Summer of 2023, and as such, those developers likely to be eligible for membership do not yet have to take any action in terms of applying for membership. However, it would be advisable for those entities which will fulfil the membership criteria to begin to familiarise themselves with the Regulations and (in particular for those developers which have not already signed a self-remediation contract with the government) the terms of that standard contract, which will be fundamental to the operation of the Scheme.
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