The Building Safety Act introduces a set of new roles and responsibilities for people who manage occupied, high-rise residential buildings. Although the Act has become law, the duties it describes for existing occupied high-rise residential buildings have not yet come into force. Registration of existing buildings is expected to begin in April 2023, with the Building Assessment Certificate process expected to begin in April 2024. If you are responsible for an occupied, high-rise residential building, forthcoming regulations will provide further details on the information you will need to hold. This briefing details the types of information you are likely to need as an accountable person.

The Building Safety Act requires the accountable person for a building to gather certain types of information about the building. This is called the 'golden thread of information' and should be stored in an easily accessible, digital format.

Examples of the information you might want to collect include:

• Completion certificate for the refurbishment work.
• Specification or certification for important materials such as replacement cladding.

You'll need some of this information to register your building with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). You'll also need to include some of it in your building's safety case report. It will help you show you've taken all reasonable steps to manage building safety risks.

The following list from the HSE is not exhaustive and may be subject to change.

Basic building information
Some of the basic building information you'll have to hold will be easy to find, for example the number of storeys, flats and staircases. Other examples include:

• When the building was built, relevant design codes or standards and reference to a building control body completion certificate.
• Plans of the building - as built, and as it currently is, if it's been refurbished.
• If the building is part of a wider development, details of any shared facilities, for example utilities, car parking or access.

Your building's construction
Examples of details of your building's construction you are likely to need:

• The primary load bearing system (for example, pre-cast planks on a steel frame).
• Construction materials used in the building such as:
  • • Building façade material;
  • • Insulation material;
  • • Wall attachment type and material; and
  • • Roofing material.
• Regulations in force at the time of construction / refurbishment.

Resident profile
Information about your residents is relevant to managing building safety risks. For example, you should consider residents who cannot evacuate without help, or those whose first language is not English as part of any emergency arrangements.

Refurbishment
If your building has been refurbished, you should collect information about those changes. This could be changes to the whole building, common areas or individual parts.

Fire prevention and protective measures
Your building will have a range of fire prevention and protective measures. These will vary, depending on the building's age and design, and may have been altered during any refurbishment.

You'll find information about your building's fire prevention and protective measures in its:

• Design and specification;
• Fire strategy;
• Fire risk assessment; and
• Supporting information for its fire risk assessment.

Structural safety
Structural failure is one of the building safety risks identified in the Act.

As well as the basic construction information, consider your building's structure and how it relates to its safety. This may include:

• The type and location of primary load bearing and stability systems (horizontal and vertical).
• The type and location of secondary systems relevant to building safety risks - for example, cladding support systems.
• The building's Approved Document A (PDF) consequence class and the measures taken based on that class
• information about the building's foundations.
• Findings from any previous structural surveys or inspections.

Services and utilities
High-rise buildings will have several utilities such as electricity, water, gas, telephone and internet connections. Some buildings are built with alternative energy sources such as solar panels. These can also be added later.

Gather information about all connected services and utilities, and include details such as:

• Where the supply enters the building;
• Where and how it can be isolated; and
• The name and contact details of the supplier.

You should also identify:

• Where the supplier's responsibility for maintenance starts.
• Who undertakes maintenance and repairs on their behalf.

Maintenance and inspection
Your building and its equipment will need maintenance and inspection. Some of this will be directly relevant to managing building safety risks. Examples include:

• Maintaining fire alarms or sprinklers (where fitted).
• Inspecting fire doors.

You'll need to understand what work should be done, and how often. Work out how you'll manage any issues raised, who undertakes any work, and how to assure their competence.

Further guidance on this and other aspects of the building safety reforms can be found on the HSE website.