Building Safety Act and Higher-Risk Buildings

The Building Safety Act has fundamentally changed how Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs) are designed, assessed, refurbished and managed. Duty holders now have legal responsibilities to understand their buildings, identify and manage risks, and demonstrate this to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

While much of the early focus across the industry has been on fire safety and cladding, the Building Safety Act (BSA) also places significant emphasis on structural safety. Duty holders must be able to demonstrate that structural risks are understood, assessed and appropriately managed throughout the life of a building.

We support our clients in understanding their buildings, managing structural risk and meeting the requirements of the BSA.

We work with:

Local authorities
Housing associations
Student accommodation providers
Private residential developers
NHS trusts
Mixed-use residential building owners and operators

Our work covers both existing and new-build HRBs and we regularly support clients in preparing information for submission to the BSR.

Our Services

Our team provides both structural and façade engineering services for HRBs in four key areas:

Structural Assessments for Safety Case Reports

Structural assessments are not optional. We can help you with compliance by
assessing structural risk, carrying out gap analysis and producing a clear report to support your structural Safety Case Report submission.

Cladding Remediation

We provide structural and façade engineering support for cladding remediation projects, including structural assessments, design of support systems and temporary works.

Refurbishment, Alterations and Change of Use in HRBs

Our team provides structural engineering advice, assessments and design services for refurbishment, alterations and change of use in existing HRBs, including support through the BSR approvals process.

New-Build HRBs

We provide structural engineering for new-build Higher-Risk Buildings, including design support for Gateway submissions and structural information for the Golden Thread.

Supporting you Through the New Legislation

The BSA introduces new processes, new terminology and a new regulator. For many organisations, the challenge is not just technical – it’s understanding what is required, when it’s required and how to demonstrate compliance in a clear and appropriate way.

We work closely with our clients to: