Your LABC Building Control Team

21/12/2023Dutyholders from 1st October 2023

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) issued a suite of new regulations pursuant to the Building Safety Act 2022.  This new legislation included amendments to the Building Regulations (The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023,  which brought in a new dutyholder regime.

The new dutyholder regime applies to all "building work" (as defined in the Building Regulations) in England, with only limited exceptions for "exempt" work (as detailed in Regulation 9 and Schedule 2 of the Building Regulations) and minor works. This new regime focuses on dutyholders' responsibility for ensuring that building works comply with the Building Regulations. The dutyholders identified in the new Part 2A are:

The Client - any person for whom a project is carried out. There is an excepton for `domestic cilents' (any client for whom a project is being carried out which is not in the course or furtherance of that client's business). In such cases, the relevant duties are instead imposed upon the principal contractor (or sole contractor if there is only one contractor) or the principal designer. There may be more than one possible client in relation to any given project. If this is the case, the parties may agree in writing which of them will be treated as the `sole' client for these purposes.

Designers - any person (including the cilent, contractor or other person referred to in Part 2A) who, in the course of business (a) carries out any design work or (b) arranges for or instructs any person under their control to do any design work.

Contractors - any person (including the client, but not a domestic client) who, in the course of a business, carries out, manages or controls any building work.

Principal designer - a designer with control over the design works who is appointed to the role.

Principal contractor - a contractor with control over the building work, who is appointed to the role.

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