The measures contained in the Building Safety Bill just published are unlikely to come into force until 2021, and while long lead-in times may be built into the legislation, we need to start preparing now. A lot of the detail in the bill, which aims to improve building and fire safety in higher-risk buildings, has been left to the regulations that will follow once parliament has passed the bill. However, there is some guidance that we can consider now.

The bill – which is designed to enact the recommendations in Dame Judith Hackitt’s 2018 Building a Safer Future report following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire – overhauls the building control regime for all multi-occupied residential buildings of a prescribed height, which is likely to be 18 metres above ground level or six storeys. Its key measures are as follows …