The construction sector has seen a significant amount of progress in this area over the last 12 months. To give some perspective on how things have changed, we’ve looked at the biggest leaps forward in 2021; and have also cast an eye towards 2022 to consider what we can expect next.

Building Safety Bill
The most talked about legislative development in 2021 was the steady progress of the Building Safety Bill, which was officially laid before Parliament in July. While it was based in large part on the draft that was circulated for comment in 2020 and was therefore in many respects already familiar, its provisions are being increasingly scrutinised in its passage through Parliament.

The Bill’s proposed changes are considerable, and include:

• more-than-doubling the limitation period for bringing a claim for breach of s.1 Defective Premises Act 1972 (DPA). This requires residential buildings to be habitable and built in a professional or workmanlike manner with proper materials. The Bill increases that limitation period from 6 to 15 years – and it would apply prospectively (going forward) and also retrospectively, meaning that claims that are currently time-barred would become an option again.
• bringing s.38 Building Act 1984 into force, to allow claims for damage caused by breach of Building Regulations, with a limitation period of 15 years prospectively.
• establishing a new Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

As we have said before, we are still just at the start of our journey with the Building Safety Bill. In the meantime, the Bill continues to make its way through Parliament, and is expected to receive Royal Assent in 2022.