The Building Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) Regulations 2023

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These regulations establish the Responsible Actors Scheme (“the scheme”) and the prohibitions under the Act. They identify certain developers who are eligible to become members of the scheme, and, as a condition of membership, require such developers to enter into and comply with a contract with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities under which they are to, among other things, remediate relevant residential buildings for which they are responsible at their own expense and reimburse to the government amounts paid out by government remediation funds to remediate buildings for which they are responsible.

Part 1 (regulations 1 to 4) contains introductory provisions.

Part 2, Chapter 1 (regulations 5 to 12) establishes the scheme, sets out the description of the persons who are eligible to become members of the scheme, and those who may choose to become members of the scheme.

Chapter 2 (regulations 13 to 20) makes provision for applications to join the scheme and for lists to be published by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is required to publish two lists: a list of the persons who are members of the scheme, and a list of those persons who, though eligible, are not members of the scheme, and the persons whom they control (“the prohibitions list”) (regulation 20).

Chapter 3 (regulations 21 to 23) sets out the conditions with which members of the scheme must comply and gives the Secretary of State power to require scheme members to produce certain information.

Chapter 4 (regulations 24 to 27) makes provision for the revocation of a member’s membership of the scheme and for a member’s membership to end where the member has fulfilled its obligations under the scheme.

Part 3 (regulations 28 to 42), with the Schedule to the regulations, set out the consequences which apply to those persons who are included on the prohibitions list. They are prohibited from carrying out major development in England (regulation 29), except for development for which planning permission has been granted before the regulations come into force (regulation 32). They are required to notify the relevant local authority of certain circumstances (regulation 30). Persons on the prohibitions list are also subject to the building control prohibitions set out in regulation 33. The effect of things done in contravention of the building control prohibitions (regulation 39) and the effect of the prohibitions on the validity of documents given or accepted in relation to building control before a person was prohibited is set out (regulation 40). Regulation 41 and the Schedule to the regulations modify Part 7 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to take account of the prohibition on development provided for in these regulations. The prohibitions are subject to certain exceptions (regulations 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 42).

Part 4 contains a review clause (regulation 43).

A copy of the International Accounting Standard 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures the Financial Reporting Standard 102 and the Self Remediation Terms, which are referred to in these regulations, are available for inspection during office hours at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Environment, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF. The Self Remediation Terms are also available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/developer-remediation-contract.

A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is available from www.legislation.gov.uk and from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.