ºÚÁÏÍø

Building Safety

The Building Safety Act has fundamentally changed the expectations placed upon our sector. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will no longer measure success by compliance alone. Instead, the focus has shifted to competence – the capability of individuals and organisations to understand, apply, and evidence the right decisions at every stage of the building lifecycle.

What’s the difference?

Key Message: Compliance can be passive; competence is active, continuous, and owned by individuals at every level.

Compliance vs Competence

Key Message: Compliance is no longer enough. The BSR will ask: “Are you competent?”

Why this shift matters

• Resident Safety: Competence ensures not only that rules are followed but that risks are understood and mitigated.
• Legal Responsibility: The BSR can require demonstration of competence at all levels.
• Reputation and Trust: Competent organisations attract residents, investors, and regulators’ confidence.
• Sector Resilience: Competence builds the ability to adapt to evolving standards and complex challenges

What The ARL is doing

We will challenge, guide and support you in embedding competence across your organisation:

What you need to do now

• Map the skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for each key role in your organisation.
• Assess your current competence levels and identify gaps.
• The ARL’s Competence Roadmap provides a clear, step-by-step pathway for implementation.

This is a pivotal cultural shift for our sector.

The ARL will be with you every step of the way – challenging you to raise the bar and supporting you to get there.

ARL at the heart of driving culture change around Building Safety

ARL response to House of Lords Enquiry into the Building Safety Regulator

For Updates from the Health & Safety Executive and Building Safety Regulator:

Click Here