Building Safety Act: Critical Insights for Hotels Developers and Owners
Despite its introduction in April 2022 as a landmark overhaul of building safety regulations, the Building Safety Act has received limited attention from hotel developers and owners. Many in the sector mistakenly believe they are exempt from its provisions, largely due to the exclusion of hotels from the “Higher Risk Buildings” category. This assumption is both risky and inaccurate.
The Act has been described as the biggest change in building safety regulation in a generation. It introduces new legal responsibilities for those who undertake work to any building where building regulations apply, and with significant additional duties on those who develop, own, and manage certain types of buildings – what are referred to in the legislation as Higher Risk Buildings.
The Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023 specify that hotels are excluded from both parts of the new regime, and this has led some in the hotel sector to believe that the Building Safety Act does not apply to them. But it is not that simple.
Whilst some hotels may not fall under the stricter requirements for Higher Risk Buildings – defined as structures over 18 metres tall or with seven or more storeys and containing at least two residential units – the Act’s broader legal obligations do apply.
Firstly, The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023, which came into force on 1st October 2023, introduced a new regime into building regulations with legal responsibilities for clients and those they appoint.
The client under the new regulations must ensure that those individuals or organisations they appoint are competent to carry out the design work and the building work, that they only undertake work within the limits of that competence, and that they allocate sufficient time and resource to ensure compliance with building regulations. These duties apply to any building project where building regulations apply, and the regulations cover the refurbishment and adaptation of an existing building as well as new buildings.
The requirements for Higher Risk Buildings both during design and construction, and in occupied buildings, are considerably more onerous plus a failure to comply with certain legal duties can result in prosecution. This includes a failure by the building owner, known in the legislation as the Accountable Person, to register a higher risk building and apply for and display a building assessment certificate.
Which is why it is important for hotel developers and owners to be aware that a hotel can come under the definition of a Higher Risk Building if:
- (a) It is part of a residential building, and
- (b) It contains serviced apartments.
This may well come as a surprise to many hotel stakeholders. It also serves as a wake-up call to these stakeholders to rethink their approach to compliance and prioritise building safety.
And while hotel owners and operators will be aware of their legal duties as the Responsible Person under existing fire safety legislation, they might not be aware that the Building Safety Act 2022 also makes a number of amendments to this legislation to improve fire safety in all regulated buildings through the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
Developers and owners must stay vigilant, informed, and proactive to avoid costly pitfalls and ensure the safety of their buildings. Engineers play a crucial role under the Act, as their expertise in designing and assessing structural integrity and fire safety systems is essential to meeting the stricter compliance requirements set out by the legislation.
Failure to adapt to these requirements could lead to project delays, increased costs, or legal liabilities. Moreover, the Act highlights the importance of long-term safety and sustainability, urging developers to integrate innovative design and materials that align with these goals. By reassessing their approach to building safety, hotel developers can not only meet regulatory requirements but also demonstrate their commitment to guest welfare and operational excellence, fostering trust and competitive advantage in an evolving UK market.
Fact Box
The duties and competence requirements for building regulations that clients must meet.
A client can be an organisation or an individual and must,
- make suitable arrangements for planning, managing, and monitoring a project to ensure compliance with building regulations.
- allocate enough time and resource for the building work to comply with building regulations.
- establish, review, and maintain systems and arrangements to meet building regulations.
- co-operate with others working on the project so they can comply with their duties
- enable co-operation between designers and contractors
- provide building information to every designer and contractor working on the project.
- take all reasonable steps to appoint designers and contractors with the necessary competence or organisational capability to carry out their roles.
For a Higher Risk Building, the client must also,
- Manage the application for building control approval.
- Make sure the principal designer and principal contractor have a mandatory occurrence reporting system in place.
- Allow for a periodic review of the building and design work to identify whether it is higher-risk building work.
- Provide information to designers and contractors so they are aware the project involves higher-risk building work
- Put in place a record of information about the building (known as the golden thread).
Design and building work: meeting building requirements – GOV.UK
