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How well do you understand your responsibilities as a Principal Contractor under the Building Safety Act? This new legislation has reshaped roles and responsibilities across the construction industry, especially for those working on Design and Build contracts. With these changes come challenges—but the shift means it is also a great opportunity to adapt and ensure safety and compliance are your top priorities.
Our Director of Principal Designer and Compliance Services, Martyna Szypowicz, has experience delivering a range of projects under the Building Regulations and recently, she has been delivering industry-wide presentations on the key changes introduced by the Building Safety Act. Today, she focuses on the Essential Duties of Principal Contractors Under Building Regulations 2023, offering a breakdown of the key deliverables to ensure compliance with the regulations.
The Building Safety Act, along with its secondary legislation, marks a huge milestone for the construction industry. It’s been called a “regime change” and is widely seen as the biggest change in construction legislation to date. When the Building Regulations 2023 were introduced in August and came into effect in October, there was a lot of focus on the Principal Designer’s role and client responsibilities. But from my experience working on projects under these regulations, I’ve noticed there’s a real need to bring more clarity to the vital role of the Principal Contractor.
The role of the Principal Contractor has always been considered quite straightforward—taking charge of the construction phase, ensuring on-site health and safety, and maintaining work quality. On the other hand, the Principal Designer’s role has evolved a lot over time, which has understandably caused some confusion about its purpose; therefore, following the new duties under the Building Regulations the focus has remained on the Principal Designer role.
So, what does a Principal Contractor need to know about the new duties, and what do Principal Contractor companies at all levels need to do to ensure compliance?
The changes mean that as a Principal Contractor, you have more legal responsibilities to ensure building safety, compliance, and accountability throughout the construction phase.
You must now:
We’re seeing larger firms tightening up their processes, especially around managing and coordinating design, while construction activities are delivered in fairly the same way. As a contractor or a Principal Contractor company, you need to review how these changes impact you, particularly on design and build contracts, but also in construction delivery.
From my time spent on-site and working closely with Principal Contractors, I’ve seen firsthand the areas that can sometimes be overlooked or not given the attention they deserve. With that in mind, I’ve pulled together what I’ve learned about the regulations to highlight the essential steps you need to take to meet your responsibilities under the new rules.
To start, it’s important to define the key responsibilities of a Principal Contractor to ensure that all construction work fully complies with the relevant regulatory requirements.
It’s important to highlight here the crucial role competence plays in ensuring every aspect of the building work meets the required regulatory standards. The good news is, everything you need to know is outlined in The Competence Regulations, which clearly sets out the requirements for both companies and individuals involved in a project. For more guidance, take a look at PAS 8672:2022 – The Framework for Competence of Individual Principal Contractors. It’s a really helpful resource that explains how to assess and confirm the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to meet these standards confidently. When a client appoints you as the Principal Contractor, they’re responsible for checking that you have the right skills, knowledge, and experience to take on the role. These checks are crucial from the client’s perspective—the client needs to be confident they’ve chosen the right person for the job and that you can deliver the role effectively and in line with the regulations.
Being prepared for these checks is so important as it is key in proving you can deliver the role confidently and in line with the regulations.
Let’s talk about verifying the work happening on-site. It’s essential that you actively check the work being done to make sure it meets the standards set out in the Building Regulations—don’t be tempted to rely on the design provided by the design team. Under the new regulations, it’s now your responsibility as the Principal Contractor to confirm that the work being completed meets the required standards. It’s a hugely important point to keep in mind, because simply building to the received design won’t stand as a defence if your work is challenged under Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010 (as amended), Regulation 11N.
Monitoring of construction delivery often gets overlooked. Under Regulation 11N, it’s your responsibility to set up systems to monitor on-site work and ensure you’re confident that everything happening during the construction phase is fully compliant. This means making sure you are working closely with the Principal Designer to address any design changes as they come up and keeping clear, detailed records of all compliance activities. All work delivered by your workers and subcontractors must be monitored, checked, and approved before it is accepted as completed. Too often, we come across modern buildings with construction defects due to the lack of quality checks, uncovering poor workmanship that should never have been accepted at completion. By staying on top of this, you can make sure that the construction you are delivering meets the necessary standards.
We all know how important communication is, but when it comes to delivering safe buildings it really is vital to communicate with transparency and clarity. Regulation 11L(4) makes it clear that all contractors need to report any compliance concerns to the Principal Contractor. The Principal Contractor then has to report back to the Principal Designer. Keeping communication channels open and clear means you can identify and resolve compliance issues efficiently, which is essential for the successful outcome of a project.
At the end of a project, as the Principal Contractor you are the person responsible for signing the Compliance Declaration. By signing this, you’re confirming that all the work carried out fully complies with the Building Regulations. The points I’ve mentioned are essential in making sure you feel confident when it is time to sign that declaration.
To do this, you’ll need:
If you follow these steps and focus on active monitoring, clear reporting, and good communication, you’ll be in a strong position to carry out your duties as a Principal Contractor under the new regulations. The Building Regulations 2023 give you a solid framework that, when followed, helps to ensure safety, quality, and compliance throughout the project.
Date:
24th April 2025
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Vextrix offers a comprehensive range of Building Regulations support services through tailored solutions. Find out more about our services here: BRPD (Building Regulations Support Services)
To find out more about how our experienced team can support your next project, contact Martyna here
