BRAE 2023 Regulations under The Building Safety Act 2022

On 1st October 2023, the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 (BRAE2023) officially came into force. This amendment provides crucial clarity on how the UK government intends to implement the new regulatory framework introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022.

For our clients in East Anglia and further afield, this means a shift in how Building Regulations applications are handled, particularly with regard to the appointment of duty holders.

Any project requiring a new Building Regulations application must now appoint duty holders in a manner similar to the process mandated by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM2015).

While this alignment may seem straightforward, there is one significant challenge – the roles under both regulations share the same titles, but their responsibilities differ considerably.

To put it simply, while CDM Regulations prioritise health and safety, the BRAE2023 Regulations focus on design. This distinction is critical for project teams and stakeholders to understand.

The government’s assumption appears to be that the same individual or organisation would generally undertake both the CDM and BRAE roles. However, the legislation makes it clear that duty holders must possess the requisite skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours needed to fulfil their responsibilities under each regulation. In practice this seems to be creating a potential issue.

One specific challenge relates to the Principal Designer role. Under BRAE2023, the Principal Designer’s duties are design-focused, while under CDM2015, they are health-and-safety-focused. Finding professionals with the competencies to fulfil both roles has proven difficult. Many Architects, Designers, Engineers, and Surveyors may meet the design criteria but feel less equipped to handle the health and safety obligations required under CDM2015 or simply don’t want to. As a result, some professionals are reluctant to take on both roles simultaneously.