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| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to consolidate certain enactments concerning building and buildings and related matters. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1984 c. 55 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 October 1984 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Building Safety Act 2022 |
| Relates to | Building (Scotland) Act 2003 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Building Act 1984 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Building Act 1984 (c. 55) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom consolidating previous legislation concerning the construction process, and the design and specifications for buildings and their component parts, and related matters, in England and Wales.[1] The Welsh Government may make its own building regulations for Wales under this Act.
This Building Act 1984 does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland, which both have similar but differing legislation.[1]: Section 135
The Building Act 1984 permits detailed regulations to be made by the UK Secretary of State and/or the Welsh Ministers (of the Senedd). The building regulations made under the Building Act 1984 have been periodically updated, rewritten or consolidated, with the latest and current version being the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/490).
More minor amendments have been issued, for example in 2019 and 2020 in respect of enhanced fire safety measures. (Building Regulation 7(2) placed a ban on the use of combustible materials in external walls, of high-risk buildings – over (six floors) 18 metres high).
Following the Grenfell Tower Fire of 2017, in which 72 people died in a 24-floor block of flats (without sprinklers and combustible external wall materials had been recently added to the block – for improved energy-efficiency and other building management reasons), an independent review into Building Regulations and fire safety was commissioned by the UK Government and chaired by Dame Judith Hackitt. The review's report was published on 17 May 2018.[2]
The UK Government surveyed 1,200 recently erected "high-rise" buildings and it was found that far too many were in fact not compliant with the pre-2017 fire safety requirements of the English building regulations. The government has now ordered many of these "dangerous" higher-risk buildings to be "remediated".
The government has asked many more 'older' high-rise building owners to examine their stock for safety risks. Some 12,000 blocks have now been reviewed.
Local housing authorities and regional fire authorities have been instructed to ensure remediation of recently erected blocks is carried out as quickly as possible.[3][4]
- ^ a b UK Legislation, Building Act 1984, accessed 16 February 2021
- ^ Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: final report, published 17 May 2018, accessed 16 February 2021
- ^ Fire Safety Order 2005
- ^ Fire Safety Act 2020