Reforming building and fire safety has become paramount since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, where the Building Safety Act (2022) acts as a means of enforcing better safety regulations for residents and occupants of all buildings, particularly those classed as higher-risk buildings. 

But what defines a higher-risk building? And why are they reportedly taking longer to be approved for building works and occupation? 

In this blog, we’ll address how a higher-risk building is defined under the Building Safety Act legislation, types of buildings which may or may not be classed as a HRB, remediation efforts to make buildings (and residential buildings) safer and how we can help you navigate the Building Safety Act (BSA).

Building Safety Act Higher Risk Buildings 

How are Higher-Risk Buildings defined? 

Under Section 65 of the Building Safety Act, a Higher-Risk Building (HRB) is defined as: 

(1) In this Part “higher-risk building” means a building in England that—

(a) is at least 18 metres in height or has at least 7 storeys, and

(b) contains at least 2 residential units.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision supplementing this section.

(3) The regulations may in particular—

(a) define “building” or “storey” for the purposes of this section;

(b) make provision about how the height of a building is to be determined for those purposes;

(c) provide that “higher-risk building” does not include a building of a prescribed description.

(4) Regulations made by virtue of subsection (3)(a) may in particular define “building” so as to provide that it includes—

(a) any other structure or erection of any kind (whether temporary or permanent);

(b) any vehicle, vessel or other movable object of any kind, in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend this section (other than subsection (2) or this subsection).

(6) For the meaning of “residential unit” see section 115.

The legislation informs construction stakeholders what a HRB is, along with guidance provided by the UK Government on design and construction of new higher-risk buildings, building work in existing higher-risk buildings, and the occupation phase of the higher-risk regime; all which have touchpoints with the Building Safety Act Gateways, when it comes to designing, building and residing in a higher-risk building. 

As a result, it seeks to protect occupants with additional requirements to the Building Regulations 2010, by incorporating the Building Safety Regulator (HSE), Gateways and Golden Thread, all introduced after the Hackitt Review. 

On 26 February 2025, the Government responded to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report where it outlined ‘that the definition of a higher-risk building should be reviewed’, with the review scheduled for Summer 2025. This will help ‘strengthen the building system, reassure residents and identify whether the list of buildings currently subject to the enhanced regulatory oversight and requirements of the higher-risk regime should be amended in any way.’  

Types of buildings in the Building Safety Act 

The Building Safety Act applies to all building work as defined by Regulation 3 of The Building Regulations 2010. This includes new construction and extension of existing buildings; the provision or extension of a controlled service; material alteration of a building or controlled service; and work required due to a material change if use of the building, as well as other specifically defined activities. 

Does the Building Safety Act apply to Commercials Buildings? 

Regarding the Building Regulations (2010) and Building Safety Act, there is no clear mention of the legislation applying to commercial buildings, nor is there a clear distinction of what a commercial building is. This is a contrast to the requirements stated for Higher-Risk Buildings under the BSA. 

Does the Building Safety Act apply to Hospitals? 

Similarly, there is no clear mention of hospitals, however, where they meet the requirements of HRBs, the BSA applies. Hospitals are not exempt from the Act in terms of general duty holder and competence requirements, as outlined in Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010. They are defined as higher-risk buildings for building work, but not for the requirements for ‘in occupation’.

Remediation 

What is Remediation? 

The Grenfell tower tragedy proved a need for building and building safety reform; as a result, the government-imposed remediation measures to buildings to repair defects in line with the Building Safety Act without delay. Where remediation hasn’t been actioned in a timely fashion, complacent developers have paid the price with a fine and court ruling to fix safety issues through a legally binding requirement. Such measures are a signal to the industry that resident and occupant safety is paramount, to prevent atrocities from happening again. 

Tougher penalties have also been imposed for responsible people who refuse to act, including timelines to make buildings safer: 

How many higher-risk buildings are affected? 

As of January 2025, 5,025 buildings are in the overall remediation programme, with 52% in-programme (registered and awaiting remediation), 18% underway (on-site), and 29% completed. Additional remediation figures can be found via the Government’s interactive dashboard.

Building Safety Act Cladding

We know the BSA was introduced after the tragedy, mainly as a result of unsafe flammable cladding, which was the primary cause of the rapid spread of fire on the Grenfell Tower, as discovered in the Grenfell Phase 2 inquiry.  

Also, we now know much could’ve been done to prevent Grenfell’s fate: fortunately, there are now solutions and tools in place to reduce the likelihood of it happening again. For example, our BSA Assessments help construction main contractors see which subcontractors demonstrate the organisational competence to be on site up to BS 8670-1: 2024. By having this assurance, assigned dutyholders can prove their due diligence by working with competent people. 

By the end of 2029, under the Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP), ‘all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a government funded scheme will have been remediated.’ Consequently, the UK Building Safety Regulator (BSR) – Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – announced it will set up a new Remediation Enforcement Unit, effective from Summer 2025. 

This further supports remediation efforts to quickly assess the cladding risk of buildings with the BSR and hold people accountable to ensure the work is completed to remove unsafe materials. 

How we can help you navigate the Building Safety Act