If you own or manage a residential building of significant height, you will have encountered the term Accountable Person in the context of the Building Safety Act 2022.
It is one of the central concepts introduced by the Act, and understanding what it means, who it applies to, and what it requires is essential for anyone with legal responsibility for a higher-risk residential building.
Where Does the Term Come From?
The Accountable Person is a legal role created by the Building Safety Act 2022 (c.30), which received Royal Assent on 28th April 2022.
The role was introduced as part of a fundamental overhaul of building safety regulation in England, following the Grenfell Tower fire of June 2017 and the subsequent Hackitt Review.
The Hackitt Review identified a critical lack of clarity about who was responsible for the safety of residential buildings and the people living in them.
The Building Safety Act sought to address that by creating clearly defined, legally accountable roles with specific duties attached to them.
The Accountable Person is the primary duty holder for the ongoing safety of a higher-risk building during its occupation.
What is a Higher-Risk Building?
The role of the Accountable Person only applies to higher-risk buildings, a category defined under Section 65 of the Building Safety Act 2022.
A higher-risk building is a building in England that is at least 18 metres in height or has at least seven storeys, and contains at least two residential units.
This definition captures the majority of tall residential blocks, including purpose-built blocks of flats and mixed-use buildings with residential accommodation above commercial premises.
Who is the Accountable Person?
Under Section 72 of the Building Safety Act 2022, the Accountable Person is the person or organisation that holds a legal estate in possession of the common parts of the building, or that is under a relevant repairing obligation in respect of those common parts.
In practice this means the Accountable Person is most commonly the freeholder of the building, a head leaseholder with repairing obligations for the common parts, a residents management company, or a right to manage company that has taken over management of the building’s common areas.
It is important to note that there can be more than one Accountable Person for a single building.
Where different parts of a building are owned or managed by different parties, each of those parties may be an Accountable Person for their respective areas.
Where this is the case, one of them must be designated as the Principal Accountable Person, who takes on the most significant duties under the Act and is the primary point of contact with the Building Safety Regulator.
What are the Duties of the Accountable Person?
The duties of the Accountable Person are substantial and ongoing.
They are not a one-off administrative exercise but a continuous legal obligation that must be actively managed throughout the life of the building.
The first and most fundamental duty, set out under Section 83 of the Building Safety Act 2022, is to take all reasonable steps to prevent building safety risks from materialising, and to reduce the severity of any incidents that do occur.
Building safety risks are defined in the Act as risks to the safety of people in or about the building arising from the spread of fire, or structural failure.
Under Section 88 of the Act, the Principal Accountable Person is required to produce and maintain a safety case report.
This is a document that sets out the building safety risks present in the building and demonstrates how those risks are being managed to ensure they are as low as reasonably practicable.
The safety case report must be kept up to date and must be provided to the Building Safety Regulator when requested.
The Accountable Person is also required under Section 87 of the Act to apply for a Building Assessment Certificate from the Building Safety Regulator.
The Regulator will assess the building’s safety case and, if satisfied, issue a certificate confirming that the Accountable Person is meeting their duties.
The certificate must be displayed in a prominent place in the building.
If the Regulator is not satisfied, it can require improvements and ultimately take enforcement action.
The Golden Thread
Under Sections 88 to 91 of the Building Safety Act 2022, the Principal Accountable Person is required to create, maintain, and keep up to date the golden thread of building information.
This is a comprehensive digital record of information about the building, including its design, construction history, fire strategy, structural details, any changes made over time, and the safety measures currently in place.
The golden thread must be kept current throughout the life of the building and made available to the Building Safety Regulator and, where appropriate, to residents and other relevant parties.
The golden thread concept was introduced in direct response to one of the key lessons of Grenfell, where the absence of reliable and accessible information about the building’s construction and modifications was identified as a critical failure.
The Act makes it a legal obligation to ensure that this information is never lost or inaccessible again.
Resident Engagement
One of the most significant cultural shifts introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 is the requirement for meaningful resident engagement.
Under Section 96 of the Act, the Principal Accountable Person must establish and operate a resident engagement strategy.
This must set out how residents will be involved in and informed about decisions relating to the safety of their building, and must give residents a genuine opportunity to influence those decisions.
Residents of higher-risk buildings also have the right under Section 97 of the Act to request information about the safety of their building.
Under Section 99, residents can raise safety concerns directly with the Building Safety Regulator if they feel those concerns are not being adequately addressed by the Accountable Person.
This represents a fundamental change in the relationship between building managers and residents, placing residents at the centre of the building safety regime rather than at its periphery.
Registration of Higher-Risk Buildings
Before a higher-risk building can be occupied, it must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator under Section 75 of the Act.
For existing buildings, a registration period opened in April 2023 and registration became mandatory by October 2023.
Failure to register a higher-risk building is a criminal offence under Section 76 of the Act.
How Does the Accountable Person Relate to the Responsible Person?
This is a question that causes considerable confusion, and it is important to understand the distinction clearly.
The Responsible Person is a concept that comes from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541), and relates to the day-to-day operational management of fire safety in an occupied building.
The Responsible Person’s primary obligation is to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment under Article 9 of the RRO and to implement and maintain appropriate fire safety measures.
The Accountable Person is a concept that comes from the Building Safety Act 2022 and relates to the strategic management of building safety risks, including structural safety, over the life of the building.
The two roles are distinct but closely related, and in many cases the same individual or organisation will hold both.
Where this is the case, the duties of both roles must be met simultaneously, and the documentation produced under each regime should be consistent and complementary.
What Happens if You Don’t Meet Your Duties?
The consequences of failing to meet the duties of an Accountable Person are serious.
The Building Safety Regulator has extensive enforcement powers under the Act, including the power to issue compliance notices requiring improvements within a specified timeframe.
The Regulator can also apply to a court for a special measures order transferring management of the building to a court-appointed manager.
It can prosecute individuals and organisations for breaches of the Act’s requirements.
Under Section 125 of the Act, certain offences carry a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.
Beyond the regulatory consequences, failing to meet building safety duties puts residents at risk.
The Building Safety Act was born out of a tragedy in which 72 people died in a building where the safety failures had been systemic and longstanding.
The duties it imposes exist to ensure that such a tragedy cannot happen again.
We Can Help
Understanding and meeting your duties as an Accountable Person requires a thorough grasp of both the Building Safety Act 2022 and the wider fire safety legislative framework.
At ESI: Fire Safety, we work with freeholders, residents management companies, right to manage companies, and managing agents to support compliance with the Act, from fire risk assessments and fire door inspections through to advising on safety case requirements and the golden thread of building information.
If you are uncertain about your duties as an Accountable Person, or if you manage a higher-risk building and need support getting your compliance framework in order, our team is here to help.
This post is intended as a general guide to the role of the Accountable Person under the Building Safety Act 2022. The Act is complex and its implementation is ongoing. Always seek advice from a qualified fire safety or legal professional for guidance specific to your building and circumstances.
