What Is An Accountable Person Under The Building Safety Act 2022?

Following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, regulations for High-Risk Buildings tightened significantly and from this came the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022).

While the Grenfell enquiry made recommendations that directly related to High Rise Residential Buildings in England, the BSA 2022 now has a broader remit and covers any High-Risk Building in England.

The BSA 2022 outlines that an “Accountable Person” is responsible for managing the fire and structural safety risks of High-Risk Buildings, but who exactly is an Accountable Person, and what are their specific legal obligations?

At SFG20, the industry standard for building maintenance specification, it’s part of our job to translate complex legislative information into easy-to-understand information. So, if you’re searching for simple answers to what an Accountable Person is, how they differ from a Principal Accountable Person and what each of their responsibilities are, you’ll find them right here.

What Is The Definition Of A High-Risk Building?

A High-Risk Building in England is any building that:

• Is at least 18 metres in height or has at least 7 storeys, and
• Contains at least 2 residential units.

It’s important to note that Regulation 8 sets out the buildings which are excluded from part of the higher-risk regime, such as hospitals and care homes. They are only exempt during occupation and not in the design and construction phases.

The only reason exemptions have been given was on the basis that another Regulator was already in place, and they would have responsibility for assuring building safety rather than the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). In the case of hospitals and care homes, that is the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

If you have mixed-use buildings, you will need to determine if they are covered by the higher-risk regime. For example, if a hospital site has staff accommodation, then it is a higher-risk building, provided it meets the height or storey threshold as this accommodation is covered by a CQC inspection.

Another example of a High-Risk Building is a shopping complex that meets the height or storeys threshold but also has two residential units above it.

Buildings such as boarding accommodation in schools and university accommodation would also be considered higher-risk buildings, provided that they meet the height or storeys threshold for a higher-risk building, as they contain residential units.

Read here if you need further guidance on the criteria for determining whether a building is considered high risk.

APs and The Golden Thread

APs have the responsibility of maintaining crucial building information (also known as the Golden Thread) in digital form from the design phase and throughout the building’s life cycle, including recording who has made key decisions.

The Golden Thread comprises two parts: building work and maintenance. This ensures that any modifications or enhancements to the building are accurately documented, enabling building owners to proactively identify potential risks or hazards and take corrective action.

The exemption will not protect APs in the event of a fatality, as a Coroner retains powers under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. Due consideration will be given to the Golden Thread. Any verdict of unlawful killing may lead to some form of prosecution.

Roles Explained: Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person

If you own or are responsible for repairing any of the common parts of a property designated as a High-Risk Building, then you have legal responsibilities under the Building Safety Act 2022. 

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced two new roles for people who are responsible for managing building safety risks in High-Risk residential buildings in England.  

They are known as the “Accountable Person” (AP) and the “Principal Accountable Person” (PAP) which we explain in more detail below.  

What Is An Accountable Person (AP)?

An AP is an organisation or individual who owns or has a legal obligation to repair the Common Parts of a building both inside and outside. Or, they may be a person or organisation required under the terms of a lease, or by any formal piece of legislation (local or national), to repair or maintain common parts.  

Depending on the ownership of the building, a person with the role of AP may be a:  

• Freeholder
• Estate owner
• Landlord
• Management company
• Resident management company
• Right to Manage company
• Commonhold association

Where the AP is an organisation, an individual within the organisation will need to be authorised as the Single Point of Contact for the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). However, this does not make that person the AP, as the organisation itself will still be the AP.

The types of organisations that hold the role of AP may be a:

• Local Authority/registered Social Housing provider
• Resident Management Company
• Commonhold Association
• Right to Manage Company

Where there is only one AP, they are responsible for managing the structural and fire safety risks in:

• The common parts
• Residential units
• Commonhold units
• Balconies (including those attached to individual residential units)
• Any other part of the building that is not covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order

If there is more than one AP for your building, each AP is responsible for managing the structural and fire safety risks in:

• The common parts they own or must repair and maintain under a lease
• Balconies (including those attached to the outside of the building that they own, or must repair and maintain)
• Any residential unit that can be let to a tenant excluding lets on a long lease

High-Risk Buildings with multiple APs must work with all other APs to deliver building safety to residents who live there.

What Is A Principal Accountable Person (PAP)?

Each High-Risk Building in England must have one clearly identifiable Accountable Person known as the Principal Accountable Person (PAP).

If there is just one AP for a building, then that organisation or person would be the PAP.

Where there are multiple Accountable Persons, then whoever owns or is legally responsible for the repair of the exterior and structure of the building is the PAP.

A PAP is usually an organisation such as a:

• Commonhold association
• Local authority
• Social housing provider

In some cases, an individual can be the PAP. They may be:

• The owner of the building
• Named on the leasehold as responsible for the repair of the structure and exterior of a building

If there is just one AP for a building, then they would be the PAP.

Again, where the PAP is an organisation, an individual within the organisation will need to be identified as the single point of contact.

However, it is still the organisation that is the PAP and therefore responsible for the repair of the structure and exterior of the building.

What Are The Responsibilities Of An Accountable Person?

An Accountable Person must take all reasonable steps to prevent building safety risks from happening and to reduce the severity of any incidents if they happen. Below, you’ll find the full list of Accountable Person responsibilities.

• Ensure measures are in place to prevent building safety incidents from occurring and reduce the severity of accidents if they do occur
• Report certain fire and structural safety risks and incidents
• Ensure building residents are kept informed about the building’s safety and carry out duties relating to the resident engagement strategy
• Keep information about the building, also known as the Golden Thread of information
• Prepare the building’s safety case to prove to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) that the building’s safety is being properly managed
• Provide building information to relevant individuals and organisations
• Ensure all building safety information is with the correct regulatory body
• Notify the BSR about any changes to an AP
• Transfer building safety information to any new AP

What Are The Responsibilities Of A Principal Accountable Person?

The Principal Accountable Person must also ensure that fire and structural safety is properly managed within a building. Alongside their duties as an Accountable Person, the Principal Accountable Person has the following responsibilities:

• Register existing high-risk buildings with the BSR
• Register all new buildings and receive a completion certificate before they are lived in
• Apply for a building assessment certificate (BAC) when required by the BSR and display in the building
• Keep, update and provide information about the building for the building’s safety case. The PAP must report any changes to the building’s safety risks and safety case report to the BSR
• Prepare and update the safety case report for the building to assess building safety risks carried out by the APs, including what they have done to address risks and reduce the severity of incidents
• Report safety occurrences to the BSR
• Operate a mandatory occurrence reporting system to enable information on building safety risks to be captured and reported to the BSR
• Operate a complaints system relating to building safety risks or the performance of an AP’s duties
• Clearly display required information and documentation within the building, including information about the building’s APs with their full contact details and a summary of their roles and duties
• Prepare and update a resident engagement strategy
• Provide building information to relevant individuals and organisations

The PAP also has the duty of checking whether all APs in a building have:

• Identified and assessed the fire and structural risks in the parts of the building that they are responsible for
• Taken steps to prevent accidents from happening
• Put measures in place to reduce the severity of incidents

Can APs And PAPs Delegate Their Legal Responsibilities?

APs and the PAP cannot delegate their legal obligations to others.

While APs and the PAP can employ an organisation or individual such as a managing agent to carry out duties on their behalf and become the single point of contact, this does not make them the AP or PAP.

The accountability for making sure all legal duties are carried out and the liability for a building’s safety remains with the APs and PAP.

In the circumstance that an AP leases part of the building and the lease contains an obligation to repair any part of the common parts, the lessee will become the AP for those parts.

What Is A Building Safety Risk?

"Building safety risk" means a risk to the safety of people in or about a building.

The Building Safety Act 2022 defines building safety risks as the risk of structural failure or the spread of fire.

An AP and PAP can be accountable for the fire and structural safety risks of more than one building.

What Is Considered Common Parts Of A Building?

Common parts mean the structure and exterior of the building, or any part of the building provided for the common use by residents.

This includes:

• The structure and exterior of the building
• Corridors
• Lobbies
• Staircases

This does not include parts of the building leased to individual residents or premises occupied for business purposes.

Common parts are defined by section 72(6) of the Building Safety Act 2022. They include the structure and exterior of a building to be occupied for the purposes of a business, or any part of the building provided for the use, benefit and enjoyment of the residents of more than one residential unit.

The easiest way to consider this is any area that may be the cause of a fire or impact any residents’ ability to evacuate in the event of fire safely. Therefore, plant rooms are deemed to be a common part of a High-Risk Building.

The Accountable Person for the plant room will therefore be the AP who holds the legal estate in possession or has the repairing obligation for that plant room.

Outsourcing Work Doesn’t Mean Outsourcing The Risk

When outsourcing work to Service Providers/Contractors on your behalf, there’s no guarantee that you’ll have full visibility over what maintenance activities are being carried out and if compliance is being achieved.

By using SFG20’s new software solution Facilities-iQ and ensuring that your chosen Service Provider/Contractors are using it too, you’ll be able to define and maintain oversight of exactly what works will be carried out. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your buildings are being serviced to the best possible standard in full compliance with the law.

This means you’ll be placed in the best possible position to avoid detrimental non-compliance risks such as financial penalties, prison time and more.

For real-life examples of what happens when organisations fail to comply with their legal duties, take a look at our Top 5 Risks Of Non-Compliance blog post below. Or, to learn more about your compliance responsibilities, download our free e-guide below.

The Risks Of Non-Compliance Are Real