Course Duration: 25+ minutes
Introduction to the Building Safety Act 2022 helps teams understand how the Act regulates higher-risk residential buildings in England. Where many households share one structure, a fire or structural failure can affect them all.
The Act places clear duties on Accountable Persons, but those duties are met or missed through the daily work of many people. This training gives everyone involved a shared understanding of the framework, so building safety risks are recognised, recorded and acted on.
| Course Duration | 25+ minutes |
|---|---|
| Approval body | IIRSM |
| Format | Fully online |
| Assessment | Multiple choice |
| Certification | Same-day digital certificate |
| Certificate Valid For | 3 years |
This course is for organisations managing occupied higher-risk residential buildings within England’s building safety regime. Relevant sectors include housing associations, registered housing providers, local authority housing, residential property management and build-to-rent. Freeholders, managing agents, high-rise residential asset managers and student accommodation providers are included where the relevant regime applies.
The Introduction to the Building Safety Act 2022 course includes the following sections:
Understand why the Act followed the Grenfell Tower fire, which buildings and people it affects, and the enforcement, penalties and extended defect liability it brings.
Recognise who counts as an Accountable Person or Principal Accountable Person, what their duties involve, and how roles that share CDM 2015 titles carry different duties.
See how the Building Safety Regulator, Architects Act changes and a construction products regulator strengthen oversight, and why reporting, the golden thread, change control and gateways matter.
Understand how the safety case, maintenance schedules, regular inspections and risk assessment reviews after changes in use or structure help duty holders manage building safety risks.
This course provides awareness of specific duties under the Building Safety Act 2022. Completion does not constitute a formal assessment of competence to undertake statutory dutyholder responsibilities.
The course certificate includes:
An IIRSM-approved course certificate will be available for download and printing instantly upon course completion.
Users must complete a final theory test before earning their certificate.
The end-of-course test is:
A score of 80% is required to pass.
The Grenfell Tower fire claimed 72 lives. Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review, published in 2018, called for a complete overhaul of the regulatory system. The government accepted all of its recommendations, and the Building Safety Act 2022 is the direct result.
In a higher-risk building, many households depend on the same structure and the same fire safety measures. An unassessed alteration, a missing record or an unanswered resident concern can affect all of them.
The Act sets clear duties for higher-risk buildings in England: those at least 18 metres or seven storeys high with at least two residential units. Under the regime:
The Act also amends the Housing Act 1996 to strengthen residents’ access to the Housing Ombudsman, and provides for a New Homes Ombudsman scheme.
The duties above sit with a small number of duty holders. They are met through the work of many people.
Housing officers hear residents’ concerns. Asset teams commission works that change materials or systems. Procurement teams appoint designers and contractors whose duties differ from their roles under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. If any of them misunderstands the framework, safety information fails to reach the people accountable for acting on it.
Non-compliance carries serious consequences. The Building Safety Regulator can inspect, issue notices requiring corrective action and halt work until compliance is achieved. Penalties include fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment, alongside reputational damage.
The Act also extended limitation periods for building defect claims. For work completed before 28 June 2022, claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 can now be brought up to 30 years later, rather than 6.
Organisations need to keep comprehensive records for far longer, hold adequate professional indemnity insurance and recognise that historic projects can still give rise to claims.
Training gives everyone involved the same clear understanding of the framework. Teams can recognise when their work affects building safety and understand why changes must be recorded and issues reported. That shared understanding helps turn legal duties into everyday practice.
How This Training Helps Your Organisation
Give everyone involved in managing your higher-risk buildings a clear, shared understanding of the Building Safety Act 2022. Training your teams now helps them recognise when their work affects building safety and understand why changes must be recorded and concerns raised early. For people who hold Accountable Person or Principal Accountable Person duties, the full course builds on this introduction and examines each duty in detail.
