Building Safety Act briefing 2022

UNISON welcomes the Act as a step toward stronger building‑safety regulation after Grenfell. However it notes the following:

• Leaseholders are still not fully protected from fire‑safety remediation costs.
• Buildings under 11 metres are unfairly excluded from funding support despite facing similar risks.
• Social housing providers and councils risk being made liable for historic defects.
• Government funding for cladding remediation is inadequate, which will affect housing services and the building of much needed new social rented housing.
• Local authorities, fire services and building control teams will face major new duties without guaranteed funding.
• The new Building Safety Levy risks diverting money from social housing budgets, harming services and new‑build programmes.
• The new  ‘accountable person’ role brings significant responsibility, cost and insurance implications.
• Maintaining the required ‘golden thread’ of building information will require robust digital systems and data‑sharing capacity.