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Building Safety

Our multidisciplinary team helps designers, developers and contractors to navigate the new building safety regime.

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Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it was recognised that the property and construction industry required wholesale changes to ensure that people’s homes — particularly those identified as higher risk — were safe.

As a result, the Building Safety Act 2022 and its accompanying secondary legislation introduced a wave of groundbreaking reforms — known as the ‘building safety regime’ — relating to quality, safety management, record keeping and competency. 

Its ultimate objective is to vastly improve the way in which quality and safety is managed in the design, construction and maintenance of residential and mixed-use properties.

With this comes greater dutyholder responsibilities — including updated competency, supervision and cooperation requirements, alongside revised roles and responsibilities — as well as enhanced oversight, with three new regulating bodies.

Navigating the regime requires designers, developers, contractors and those dealing with higher risk buildings to partner closely with legal experts in real estate, construction and health and safety to ensure compliance.

Your one-stop-shop

By bringing together leading experts from our construction, housing and regeneration, real estate litigation, regulatory and health and safety teams, we offer a truly multidisciplinary service and one-stop-shop for your legal needs. 

We understand the industry and provide answers, not options. Dynamic and proactive, client satisfaction is our top priority. We’re fully committed to providing an outstanding service for our clients and always looking at innovative ways to add further value. 

With deep industry knowledge and tailored, commercially sensitive advice, our aim is to build a close, long-term relationship with you — acting as an extension of your in-house legal team. 

We regularly provide training and workshops and present on recent updates in the law to give you the tools you need to understand your rights and obligations — driving education through your business and encouraging a culture of continued professional development. 

We’re fortunate to work alongside some of the biggest names in construction and development, including tier one construction companies, national retailers, local authorities and property owners as well as one of the largest global construction material suppliers.

Building Safety Act — your legal obligations

We have always had excellent and considered advice and see Jennie [Jones] and her team as one of our preferred sources for legal assistance and sage counsel. The additional benefit is that Jennie has always presented herself in a practical, approachable and accessible manner, making the often stressful situation of dealing with legal issues a calmer experience.

Client feedback

[We] regularly engage with [Brabners] for advice on a wide range of non-contentious and transactional construction and engineering matters. Advising across the Group, Jennie [Jones] continues to build wide-ranging relationships of trust and confidence, which are enhanced by her excellent customer service, communication and all-round responsiveness… this is helping to drive education within the business which represents excellent value for money.

Client feedback

The training session delivered by Brabners was very informative and delivered in an interactive and engaging format… [it was] great to refresh the key talking points/ information on the contracts that we use… great insight into contracts and Building Safety Act.

Tier one construction company

Jennie [Jones] is an extremely professional and competent lawyer with particular expertise in drafting contracts and associated documentation. Her experience and ability to deliver is formidable. I would certainly recommend Jennie for any contractual related issues.

Client feedback

[We] always receive an excellent service from Jennie [Jones], her professional approach is efficient, reliable and has an extensive knowledge of our associated industry. We would have no hesitation in giving the highest possible recommendation.

Client feedback

Building safety insights

Get the latest news and views in building safety from our insights hub.

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Case highlights

Construction client

Advising a defendant architect in a large multiparty claim before the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) in two separate cases (worth £70m and £50m respectively) relating to the remediation of extensive defects in the external cladding systems and the firestopping and fire compartmentation at a large mixed-use residential development in London. The dispute considered the new cause of action against cladding manufacturers under s149 of the Building Safety Act (BSA) as well as whether the dwellings were rendered uninhabitable for the purposes of the Defective Premises Act 1972 (as amended by the BSA). The complex litigation involved multifaceted contractual and factual matrices involving an analysis of the legal principles regarding the apportionment of liability between multiple designers, sub-contractors and product suppliers. We advised our client on its legal position and provided practical and strategic advice, resulting in settlement at mediation.

Regulatory client

Advising a global construction materials supplier on the impact of the new Building Safety Regulator in relation to high-risk products such as cladding, including around preserving its position to avoid liability for claims.

Real estate litigation — Wirral Borough Council

Preparing Section 20 notices relating to roof works and applicable service charges, including advising on relevant elements of the Building Safety Act.

Construction client

Acting for the underwriting insurer in a claim related to inadequate fire safety measures on a high-rise residential dwelling. The ~£1.5m claim was brought against the design and build contractor and Architect under the Defective Premises Act 1972. We advised our client on its legal position and provided practical and strategic advice, resulting in settlement.

Regulatory client

Advising a national sofa retailer on in-store health and fire safety matters, including identifying and instructing a competent expert with the requisite skills and expertise to undertake an independent inspection of the internal store structures to ensure that they meet fire safety requirements.

Construction client

Advising a management company on its application to the Building Safety Fund for the remediation of defective cladding and recovery of sums paid out in excess of the de minimis cap on funding provided to ‘economic actors’.

Regulatory client

Representing one of the commercial core participants in the Grenfell Tower public inquiry. This complex case involved transactions and communication between many different companies and individuals with a colossal volume of material concerning the UK construction industry and its regulation as a whole.

Construction client

Providing training and workshops for a number of high-profile construction companies on the Building Safety Act to help them stay up to date with changes in the law and give them the tools they need to understand their rights and obligations.

Regulatory client

Providing urgent advice to a trustee who owned property that had been used for 20 years as a community youth club and skate park. In the absence of a formal lease and any recent maintenance records, our client was unclear who was responsible for repairs and had liability under health and safety legislation in the event of a serious incident or fatality. We ensured that the building was secured and access prevented while the trustees and tenants worked together to undertake more detailed inspections and ensure safety.

Construction client

Advising clients at the front-end of development projects and preparing suites of contractual documents adhering to the requirements of the Building Safety Act and the latest updates around building safety.

Dutyholder FAQs

Dutyholder FAQs for developers

Dutyholder FAQs for contractors

Dutyholder FAQs for designers

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