From 1 October 2023, new rules made under the Building Safety Act 2022 introduced dutyholder roles for Building Regulations compliance on building work in England. Anyone commissioning building work, from an extension to a major refurbishment, now has defined responsibilities, and so do the designers and contractors they appoint.
The roles
- Client. The person or organisation for whom the work is done. The client must make suitable arrangements for the work to comply, appoint competent people, and give them the time and resources to do it properly.
- Principal Designer. Where more than one contractor is involved, or it is reasonably foreseeable that there will be, the client must appoint a Principal Designer in writing to plan, manage and monitor the design work so that it complies with Building Regulations.
- Principal Contractor. Where more than one contractor is involved, a Principal Contractor does the same for the building work on site.
Two different Principal Designers
Since 2015, projects have also had a Principal Designer under the CDM Regulations 2015, responsible for health and safety in design. The new Building Regulations Principal Designer is a separate role, focused on compliance with the regulations. The same person or firm can hold both, but they are two appointments with different duties, and both should be clear in writing. Each appointment should set out its own scope of services.
What clients should do
- Appoint the dutyholders in writing at the start, and check they are competent for the work.
- Allow enough time in the programme for design to be completed and checked.
- Keep records of the appointments and the arrangements made.
On smaller projects we can take these roles as part of an end to end appointment. See our Planning and Heritage and Contract Administration services.