The Building Safety Act 2022 is usually discussed in the context of high-rise residential blocks, and a lot of self-builders have reasonably concluded it is not their problem. Some of it genuinely is not. But parts of the Act, and the regulations that followed it, reach a long way down into ordinary domestic projects.
Here is the practical shape of it for a self-build, renovation or conversion.
What the Act set out to change
The Act was the legislative response to Grenfell. It created the Building Safety Regulator, introduced a much stricter regime for the tallest residential buildings, raised expectations around competence, and significantly extended how long someone can be held liable for defective building work.
The part that matters most: longer liability
The Act extended the limitation periods under the Defective Premises Act 1972. Claims relating to work completed before the Act came into force can reach back considerably further than they once could, and for work completed afterwards the window is substantially longer than the old six years.
The effect is straightforward. Decisions made on your project, and the quality of the work done on it, can be revisited years after you have moved in. If you sell, the next owner inherits a property with that same long tail. That is a strong argument for two things: documenting what was built and who built it, and having a 10-year structural warranty that covers defects in design, materials, and workmanship rather than relying on being able to find and pursue a contractor a decade later.
The dutyholder regime
This is the change most likely to touch your project directly. Since October 2023, the Building Regulations have required formal dutyholder appointments on building work: a client, a principal designer and a principal contractor, each with duties around building regulations compliance.
Two points cause most of the confusion.
There are now two different principal designer roles. The Building Regulations Principal Designer is a new and separate role from the principal designer under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The CDM role is about planning and coordinating health and safety through the pre-construction phase. The Building Regulations role is about embedding regulatory compliance into the design. They are not the same appointment, and on many projects two appointments are needed, both confirmed before construction starts.
If nobody is appointed, the duties land on the client. That is you. On a domestic project where only one designer is involved, that person can carry out both sets of duties, and you can satisfy the Building Regulations requirement by appointing the same person who holds the CDM principal designer role. But it has to be an actual appointment. Silence does not transfer the duty, it keeps it with you.
We have written separately on the role of principal designer on a self-build project if you want the detail.
Higher-risk buildings: probably not you
The strictest part of the regime, with its gateway approvals and the golden thread of information, applies to higher-risk buildings. That broadly means residential buildings of at least 18 metres or seven storeys. A one-off house, an extension, a barn conversion or a renovation will not fall into that category. If your project is anywhere near those thresholds, take specific professional advice, because the process is a different animal entirely.
Competence
The Act pushed competence up the agenda across the industry. For a self-builder the practical read-across is to be able to show that the people you appointed were suitably qualified for what you asked them to do, and to keep the evidence of that. Qualifications, memberships, insurance, previous comparable work.
What to put in place on your project
- Make the dutyholder appointments in writing, and do it before construction starts. Be explicit about which principal designer role each appointment covers.
- Keep a project record. Drawings and revisions, specifications, product data sheets, building control correspondence and sign-offs, who did what and when. It is your evidence if a question arises in ten years.
- Work with building control from the start rather than presenting finished work for approval.
- Check the competence of who you appoint, and keep a note of why you were satisfied.
- Get a structural warranty. Longer liability periods make a 10-year warranty more valuable, not less, and most lenders will require one in any case.
- Make sure the site itself is insured. The Act is about compliance and liability; it does nothing for fire, theft or storm damage during the build. That is what site insurance is for.
Where this leaves you
None of this makes a self-build unviable. It does mean the informal approach, no written appointments, no document trail, a verbal arrangement with a designer, carries more risk than it used to, and carries it for longer.
If you want to talk through how a Protek structural warranty and site insurance sit alongside your building regulations obligations, call the team on 0333 456 8030 or request a quote. This article is general information rather than legal advice, so do confirm the specifics for your project with your building control body or professional adviser.
