Who must apply for a building assessment certificate (BAC)

The principal accountable person (PAP) for a high-rise residential building must apply for a BAC when told to do so by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

A high-rise residential building has at least:

• 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high
• 2 residential units

The building must be registered with BSR before people live there. These buildings are known as higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022.

When BSR will tell you to apply for a BAC

If you are the PAP, BSR will tell you to apply for a BAC in one of the following circumstances:

• after the building is registered
• when the building’s current BAC needs to be reassessed

BSR will use the contact details it holds for the building to:

• give you information about applying for a BAC
• tell you when to apply for a BAC
• give you updates about your application

You must make sure the contact details held by BSR are up to date. If another individual or organisation is going to become the new PAP, you must notify BSR as soon as possible.

If you do not submit your BAC application by the deadline:

• you are in breach of your duties
• BSR can take enforcement action in line with its enforcement policy statement on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website

After the building is registered

A high-rise residential building does not need a BAC before people can live in it.

The length of time between registering the building with BSR and being asked to apply for a BAC depends on the building information supplied at registration. The buildings currently prioritised for a BAC meet at least one of the following criteria, they are:

• over 30 metres to 49.99 metres high with more than 227 residential units
• over 50 metres high with more than 11 residential units
• clad with combustible aluminium composite material
• large panel systems built between 1957 and 1973 with a gas supply, and it is unclear if reinforcement work has been carried out

You must keep the building information held by BSR up to date.

Reassessments

BSR aims to reassess a building’s BAC every 5 years. For some buildings this may be sooner because:

• significant changes have been made to the building
• issues have been identified with the management of building safety risks
• there has been an incident that highlights problems with the management of building safety risks
• work has been done to improve the building’s safety and BSR needs to check that it has been completed

Information BSR will assess

For the BAC application you must provide:

• the resident engagement strategy
• information about the mandatory occurrence reporting system
• the safety case report

BSR will ask you to confirm that you, and any other accountable persons for the building are providing building information to relevant individuals and organisations.

After submitting the BAC application, BSR may ask you:

• to provide additional records or other documents
• for a meeting, either virtual or in person, to discuss parts of your application or the management of building safety risks
• to provide a demonstration of systems used to manage building safety risks, for example maintenance of control measures

BSR will make reasonable efforts to work with you, gather more information and hold discussions before determining the outcome of your application.

Other information you must provide

For the BAC application, you must provide serial numbers of any compliance notices issued by BSR that are currently in force. This includes compliance notices issued to you or other accountable persons for the building.

Payment information

You will need to provide payment card or invoice details to pay:

• the application charge of £288 (including VAT)£302
• for the work done by BSR to assess the application as set out in the BSR charging scheme on the HSE website

If you need to include a purchase order number on the invoices, provide it with your application.

Tell BSR when you update your safety case report

You must tell BSR as soon as possible if you update your safety case report to include:

• new or increased building safety risks that have been identified
• further measures taken to manage risks

BSR will ask you for:

• the date the update to the safety case report was made
• a brief description of the update
• the reason for making the update

BSR may ask you to provide the updated safety case report. There is a charge you will need to pay if BSR decides to review the updated safety case report. This is set out in the BSR charging scheme on the HSE website.

Application decisions

Approved

BSR will provide you with a BAC when it is satisfied you’re meeting the legal duties of a PAP under Part 4 of the Act.

You must display the BAC in a prominent place in the building where residents can easily see it, such as a shared lobby.

Action is needed to correct issues with your application

If there are issues with your application that can be fixed promptly, BSR may give you the opportunity to fix the issues.

BSR will tell you the issues you need to fix and the deadline you must fix them by.

If you fix the issues by the deadline, BSR may provide you with a BAC. If you do not fix the issues by the deadline, BSR will refuse your BAC application.

Refused

BSR will refuse a BAC application when it is not satisfied you’re meeting the legal duties of a PAP under Part 4 of the Act.

BSR will send you either a contravention letter or a compliance notice telling you:

• why the application is refused
• the issues you need to fix and the deadline you must fix them by

If you receive a compliance notice you must display it in the building where residents can easily see it, such as a shared lobby.

You must provide evidence to BSR that you have fixed the issues set out in the letter or notice, by the deadline. BSR will tell you when to re-apply for a BAC.

If you do not fix the issues by the deadline, BSR can take enforcement action. Find out more about the enforcement action BSR can take in the enforcement policy statement on the HSE website.

Request a review of a decision

If you disagree with your BAC application decision, you can request a review. BSR will tell you how to request a review when it sends you the application decision.

If after the review you still disagree with the decision, you can appeal to a First-tier Tribunal.