Building Safety Act: Duties of a Duty Holder – Client, Principal Designer or Principal Contractor

Chapter 4 of the BRAE Regulations highlights the general duties imposed on all duty holders.

Since the introduction of the regulations, all duty holders have the obligation to:

• ensure that any work, that is carried out by themselves or by any workers under their control, is planned, managed and monitored in accordance with the relevant requirements; and
• ensure that they cooperate with the client, designers and contractors (including the principal designer and principal contractor) to the extent necessary to ensure that the building work in which they are carrying out is compliant with the relevant requirements.

The client is identified as any person for whom the project is carried out. Often, they will be the developer of the building. Where there is more than one client, the parties may agree in writing which party is to be responsible for the role of ‘sole client’, for these duties.

The client will have several responsibilities mandated by the BSA, in addition to their current obligations. Generally, it will be the client’s role to establish the direction of the project, ensuring that an environment is created that adheres to the Building Regulations.

Their duties will include:

• Making suitable arrangements for the planning, management and monitoring of a project.
• Ensure that the planning, management and monitoring of the project is compliant with the relevant requirements of the building regulations and that they are maintained throughout the project.
• Ensuring that the individuals/organisations who are employed are competent to carry out the work which they have been contracted to undertake in accordance with the new competency requirements imposed by the British Standards Institution (BSI). For more information on duty holder competency, please see our blog 'Building Safety Act: Duty Holder Competency'.
• Providing building information as soon as is practicable to every designer and contractor on the project.
• Communicating with any other person working on or in relation to a project to the extent necessary to enable any person with a duty or function under these Regulations to fulfil that duty or function.

The Principal Designer will have several duties which they must carry out to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations.

The responsibilities of the Principal Designer include:

• Planning, managing and monitoring the design work during the design phase.
• Coordinating matters relating to the design work and ensuring all designers coordinate with the client, the designers, the principal contractor and each other.
• Liaising with the principal contractor and sharing any information in relation to the above to ensure the maintenance of the ‘golden thread’.
• When the principal designer’s appointment ends, no later than 28 days after the end of the appointment, they must give the client a document explaining the arrangements which they have put in place to fulfil the duties and any replacement principal designer must review the arrangements which the previous principal designer put in place for fulfilling the duties to ensure that the building work is compliant with the relevant requirements.

The principal contractor has several responsibilities during the construction of a building, with even stricter duties for higher-risk building projects.

The responsibilities of the Principal Contractor include:

• Planning, managing and monitoring the building work during the construction phase.
• Coordinating matters relating to the design work and ensuring all designers coordinate with the client, the designers, the principal contractor and each other.
• Liaising with the principal designer and sharing any information in relation to the above to ensure the maintenance of the ‘golden thread’.
• When the principal contractor’s appointment ends, no later than 28 days after the end of the appointment, they must give the client a document explaining the arrangements which they have put in place to fulfil the duties and any replacement principal contractor must review the arrangements the previous principal contractor put in place for fulfilling the duties to ensure that the building work complies with the relevant requirements.

It is important to note that duty holders will retain their existing duties provided to them under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

In addition to the new responsibilities and specific obligations, duty holders will retain the responsibility for:

• Co-operating with other duty holders.
• Communicating and sharing information.
• Co-ordinating and putting systems in place to plan and manage work.

Failure to comply with the new duties will not only result in repercussions for the progression of the building project but also potential sanctions on individuals.

Some examples of repercussions include:

• Failure to obtain a completion certificate and therefore delays in the occupation of a building.
• Rejection of an application for building control approval.
• Delays and additional costs for re-applications.

Regarding sanctioning, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will have the authority to enforce sanctions where a duty holder is in breach of their duties.

As a result, individuals may face up to an unlimited fine and/or a prison sentence of up to two years. Therefore, it is fundamental that duty holders are aware of the importance of complying with their duties, and the severity of non-compliance.

For more information on the enforcement powers of the BSR, read our blog ‘New Enforcement Powers for the Building Safety Regulator’ here.