Legislation and regulation

Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017, the government committed to overhauling the building safety regulatory system to make new and existing buildings safer and minimise the risk of fire in high-rise buildings.

The regulatory landscape before the Grenfell Tower fire:

• The Building Regulations 2010 set out rules in England and Wales for minimum standards for the design, construction, and alteration of building.
• Approved Documents provided practical guidance and examples on how to meet the legal requirements set out in the Building Regulations 2010.
• The Fire Safety Order 2005 governed fire safety in non-domestic premises and shared areas of multi-occupied residential buildings in England and Wales

Dame Judith Hackitt concluded in her Interim report of her Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety that the regulatory system for high-rise and complex buildings at the time was ‘not fit for purpose’. Key failings included: 

• Regulations and guidance were too complex and unclear, including Approved Document B, the guidance document for fire safety.
• Clarity of roles and responsibilities is poor
• means of assessing and ensuring the competency of key people throughout the system is inadequate
• Compliance, enforcement and sanctions processes are too weak
• The route for residents to escalate concerns is unclear and inadequate.
• The system of product testing, marketing and quality assurance is not clear.

The review published its final report in May 2018, setting out more than 50 recommendations for the government on how to deliver a more robust regulatory system for the future.

Key legislation and regulations introduced since the Grenfell Tower fire:

• The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2018: An amendment to the Building Regulations 2010 banned the use of combustible materials in external walls of buildings.
• The Fire Safety Act 2021: Clarified that the Fire Safety Order 2005 applies to structure, external walls and flat entrance doors.
• The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: made it a requirement for responsible persons of high-rise blocks of flats to provide information to Fire and Rescue Services to assist them to plan and, if needed, provide an effective operational response.
• The Building Safety Act 2022: significant reform to building safety legislation, including a new regime for higher risk buildings and the introduction of the Building Safety Regulator.
• Residential PEEPs Regulations (2026): Made Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans mandatory for vulnerable residents living in certain buildings who would struggle to evacuate independently

Find out more about:

• The Fire Safety Act
• The Building Safety Bill
• The Building Safety Regulator 
• Approved Document B
• RPEEPs