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For all Projects, a Client must undertake the following responsibilities:

• Make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring a project, including the allocation of sufficient time and resource, to deliver compliance with building regulations.
• Where there are several firms working on different aspects of the project, the client will need to appoint in writing, a Principal Designer to be in control of design work and a Principal Contractor to be in control of the building work. (Until appointment, these responsibilities remain with the client.)
• Provide building information to every designer and contractor on the project and have arrangements to ensure information is provided to designers and contractors to make them aware that the project includes any existing or proposed higher-risk building work.
• Cooperate and share information with other relevant Duty holders.
• Check that appointees have the required insurances and that the employees who would actually be undertaking the work have the competence to do so.
• Allow sufficient time and resources for all stages of the work, i.e., for the design, planning and actual construction and or demolition. Ensure that the construction work can be carried out, so far as reasonably practicable.

Additionally, for Higher Risk Building (HRB) works, a client must:

• Make all parties aware of the nature of the HRB work.
• For the appointment of a principal designer and principal contractor keep a record in writing on the steps they took to check their competence to do those roles.
• Complete and record organisational and individual competency checks for duty holder personnel working on the project and highlight any sanctions brought against the party under the building regulations.
• Develop to the Gateway process for Building Control approval.
• Facilitate the collation of a digital Golden Thread of project information, to be retained for a minimum of 10 years post completion.
• Sign a compliance declaration at each Gateway stage and completion.

Specific High-Risk Building (HRB) Duties: For HRBs, clients must ensure all necessary applications for building control approval are submitted to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and that a compliance strategy is maintained.

Domestic Clients: While the core duties often fall to the contractor or principal contractor for domestic projects, domestic clients still must appoint designers and contractors, ensuring they are competent, and provide relevant information. Failure to meet these duties can lead to building control approval rejection, costly delays, and potential legal action.

CDM Principal Designer

The appointments must be made as soon as is practicable, and in any event, before the construction phase begins.

A principal designer (CDM) is a designer who is an organisation or individual (on smaller projects) appointed by the client to take control of the pre-construction phase of any project involving more than one contractor.

Principal designers have an important role in influencing how risks to health and safety are managed throughout a project. Design decisions made during the pre-construction phase have a significant influence in ensuring the project is delivered in a way that secures the health and safety of everyone affected by the work.

BRegs Principal Designer

The principal designer appointment under this regulation must be made in relation to a project that includes Higher Risk Building work for which an application for building control approval must be submitted to the regulator, before that application is submitted. In relation to any other project, before the construction phase begins.

Principal designer and principal contractor – Regulation 11D

(1) Where there is more than one contractor, or it is reasonably foreseeable that more than one contractor will be working on a project, the client must appoint in writing:

• (a) a designer with control over the design work as the principal designer for the purposes of these Regulations, and
• (b) a contractor with control over the building work as the principal contractor for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) A client is treated as complying with the requirement in paragraph (1) if, instead of appointing a person for the purposes of these Regulations, they certify, in writing, that the person who is the CDM principal designer, or, as the case may be, the CDM principal contractor, is treated as appointed as the principal designer or, as the case may be, the principal contractor, for the purposes of these Regulations.

(3) The appointments under this regulation must be made:

• (a) in relation to a project which includes higher-risk building work for which an application for building control approval must be submitted to the regulator, before that application is submitted;
• (b) in relation to any other project, before the construction phase begins.

(4) Where the appointment of a principal designer or the principal contractor ends before the end of the project, as soon as reasonably practicable the client must appoint a new principal designer or new principal contractor, as the case may be, under this regulation.

(5) Where the client fails to appoint a principal designer (or a replacement principal designer) or, as the case may be, a principal contractor (or a replacement principal contractor), the client must fulfil the duties of the principal designer or the principal contractor, as the case may be, under these Regulations until they appoint another person to that role.

(6) Where there is only one contractor working on a project that contractor is to be treated as appointed as the principal contractor and must fulfil the duties of the principal contractor set out in these Regulations.

(7) Where paragraph (6) applies and:

• (a) there is only one designer, or it is reasonably foreseeable that there will be only one designer working on a project, that designer must fulfil the duties of the principal designer set out in these Regulations; or
• (b) there is more than one designer or it is reasonably foreseeable that there will be more than one designer working on a project at any time:
  • (i) the designers must agree in writing which designer is to fulfil the duties of the principal designer set out in these Regulations (“the lead designer”);
  • (ii) the lead designer must give a copy of the agreement to the client.

(8) In relation to higher-risk building work, on appointing a principal designer, for each appointment the client must keep a record, in writing, of the steps it took under paragraph (2) to (4) of regulation 11E (considerations before a person carries out work).

(9) In relation to higher-risk building work, on appointing a principal contractor, for each appointment the client must keep a record, in writing, of the steps it took under paragraphs (2), (3) and (5) of regulation 11E (considerations before a person carries out work).

(10) In relation to higher-risk building work, on appointing any other person, the person making the appointment must give to the client (and the client must keep) a record, in writing, of the steps the person making the appointment took under regulation 11E(2) (considerations before a person carries out work).

Considerations before a person carries out work – Regulation 11E

(1) This regulation applies where a person (P) is proposing to use any person (A) to carry out any building work or design work.

(2) Before permitting A to carry out any work:

• (a) P must take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that A:
  • (i) fulfils the requirements in regulation 11F(1) and (2) (competence: general requirement), or
  • (ii) is an individual who is in training to fulfil the requirements in regulation 11F(1) and (2) and arrangements have been put in place to supervise A, and
• (b) where the work relates to a higher-risk building, P must:
  • (i) ask A whether a serious sanction has occurred, in relation to them, within the 5 years ending on the date of the appointment; and
  • (ii) consider any information available to P relating to any misconduct of A (including any serious sanction).

(3) Before permitting A to undertake any work, P must additionally take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that A is able to fulfil the duties of regulation 11J (general duty to plan, manage and monitor).

(4) Where A is to be appointed as the principal designer, the client must take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that A fulfils the requirements in regulations 11F(1) and (2) (competence: general requirement) and 11G(1) (competence: principal designer) in relation to the design work.

(5) Where A is to be appointed as the principal contractor, the client must take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that A fulfils the requirements in regulations 11F(1) and (2) (competence: general requirement) and 11H(1) (competence: principal contractor) in relation to the building work.

(6) Any request to undertake any building work or any design work must not be accepted by A if A does not satisfy the requirements in regulation 11F(1) and (2) (competence: general requirement) at the time of the appointment (except where those requirements do not apply to A by virtue of regulation 11F(3)).

(7) A must not act:

• (a) as the principal designer in relation to any design work if A does not satisfy the requirements in regulations 11F(1) and (2) (competence: general requirement) and 11G(1) (competence: principal designer) at the time of the appointment as the principal designer;
• (b) as the principal contractor in relation to any building work if A does not satisfy the requirements in regulations 11F(1) and (2) (competence: general requirement) and 11H(1) (competence: principal contractor) at the time of the appointment as the principal contractor.

(8) In this regulation “serious sanction” means:

• (a) the issue to A of a compliance notice which referred to contravention or likely contravention of a requirement of Part A (structure) or Part B (fire safety) of Schedule 1;
• (b) the issue to A of a stop notice;
• (c) the conviction of A for any offence under:
  • (i) the Act;
  • (ii) the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974;
  • (iii) the Building Safety Act 2022;
  • (iv) the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005;
• (d) a report published by an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 finds that A’s action or inaction resulted in one or more deaths or was likely to do so.

Regulation 11H – Competence: principal contractor

(1) A principal contractor must have:

• (a) where the person is an individual, the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary,
• (b) where the person is not an individual, the organisational capability,

to fulfil the duties of a principal contractor under these Regulations in relation to the building work included in the project.

(2) Where the principal contractor (C) is not an individual, C must designate an individual under C’s control who has the task of managing its functions as the principal contractor.

(3) Before making the designation under paragraph (2), C must take all reasonable steps to satisfy themself that the individual to be designated has the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary to manage the function of principal contractor on behalf of C in such a way as to ensure C fulfils the duties of the principal contractor under these Regulations in relation to the building work included in the project.

Principal Contractor – General duties of a Contractor – Regulation 11J

(1) Any person carrying out any building work must ensure the work carried out by them (and by any workers under their control) is planned, managed and monitored so as to be in compliance with all relevant requirements.

(2) Any person carrying out any design work must take all reasonable steps to ensure the design work carried out by them (and by any workers under their control) is planned, managed and monitored so that the design is such that if the building work to which the design relates were built in accordance with that design the building work would be in compliance with all relevant requirements.

(3) Any person carrying out any building work must cooperate with the client, designers and contractors (including the principal designer and principal contractor, if any) to the extent necessary to ensure that the work is in compliance with all relevant requirements.

(4) Any person carrying out any design work must cooperate with the client, designers and contractors (including the principal designer and principal contractor, if any) to the extent necessary to ensure that the design is such that if the building work to which the design relates were built in accordance with that design the building work would be in compliance with all relevant requirements.

Principal Contractor – General duties of a Contractor – Regulation 11L – Additional duties of contractors

(1) A contractor must not start any building work unless satisfied that the client is aware of the duties owed by the client under all relevant requirements.

(2) A contractor must:

• (a) ensure the building work they carry out is in compliance with all relevant requirements; and
• (b) provide each worker under their control with appropriate supervision, instructions and information so as to ensure that the building work is in compliance with all relevant requirements.

(3) In relation to building work, a contractor must take all reasonable steps to provide sufficient information about the work to assist the client, other contractors and designers to comply with all relevant requirements.

(4) Where a contractor is carrying out only part of the building work which comprises a project, the contractor must consider other work which directly relates to that building work and report any concerns as to compliance with all relevant requirements to the principal contractor.

(5) If requested to do so, a contractor must provide advice to the principal contractor or the client on whether any work is higher-risk building work.

Regulation 11N – Additional duties of a principal contractor

(1) The principal contractor must:

• (a) plan, manage and monitor the building work during the construction phase, and
• (b) coordinate matters relating to the building work comprised in the project to ensure the building work is in compliance with all relevant requirements.

(2) The principal contractor must take all reasonable steps to ensure:

• (a) contractors and any other person involved in relation to the building work cooperate with the client, the principal designer, the principal contractor and each other (including any successor in a role);
• (b) the building work of all contractors is coordinated so that the work is in compliance with all relevant requirements; and
• (c) contractors and any other person involved in relation to building work comply with the duties under these Regulations.

(3) The principal contractor must liaise with the principal designer and share with the principal designer any information relevant to:

• (a) the planning, management and monitoring of the design work, and
• (b) the coordination of building work and design work for the purpose of ensuring compliance with all relevant requirements.

(4) Where the principal designer provides comments to the principal contractor in relation to compliance with the relevant requirements the principal contractor must have regard to those comments.

(5) The principal contractor must:

• (a) if requested, assist the client in providing information to other designers and contractors;
• (b) when the principal contractor’s appointment ends, no later than 28 days after the end of the appointment, give to the client a document explaining the arrangements it put in place to fulfil the duties under paragraphs (1) to (3).

(6) Where a replacement principal contractor is appointed, it must review the arrangements the previous principal contractor put in place for fulfilling the duties under paragraphs (1) to (3) to ensure that the building work is in compliance with all relevant requirements.

• New and Existing HRBs must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator.
• An Accountable Person will also need to be identified.
• All Existing and occupied HRB’s also need to be registered.
• The registration system was open from April 2023.
• Registration of all newly planned HRB’s with the Building Safety Regulator is Mandatory prior to Occupation.
• Those owners and operators of HRBs that are not registered can be prosecuted and face criminal charges.

Duty holders are named parties who must formally sign compliance declarations, to certify that they have satisfied their responsibilities under Building Regulations Part 2a.