Building Safety F(ACT)

Spring 2026 Welcome to the spring edition of our Building Safety F(ACT)snewsletter, where we provide you with bite-sized updates on fire This spring edition includes:OPSS Enforcement Actions for Construction Products Between 1 April 2025 and30 September 2025...............................................................................................1Updates on Flat Entrance Fire Doors and the Residential EvacuationPlans Regulations.................................................................................................2Consultation on the General Safety Requirement for ConstructionProducts.................................................................................................................3Building Safety Act (BSA) Block on Unsafe Occupation..................................4Poor Pleadings Imperil Payment – How Inadequate andUnparticularised Heads of Loss Can Lead to Strike OutWilson and another v HB (SWA) Ltd...................................................................6BSA – Building Liability Orders in the Context of NonresidentialBuildings?.............................................................................................................11In It Together: Lessons From the Edgewater RCO Decision..........................13Expert Corner: Fire Safety Cases: The Expert You Need Might Not Bethe One You Expect.............................................................................................15Key Legal Topics: What Do Hotels/Higher Risk Buildings NeedTo BeAware Of?.............................................................................................................17Quick Guide: Electronic Communications Code 2017.....................................19Please feel free to share with your contacts – we welcome feedback and suggestionsfor other topics that you would like to see covered in future editions. OPSS Enforcement Actions for ConstructionProducts Between 1 April 2025 and 30 Nicola Smith Partner, BirminghamT +44 121 222 3230E nicola.smith@squirepb.com Thanks to Abigail Harcombe, trainee solicitor inour Birmingham office, for her contribution to this The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has published a list of enforcement actions taken between Apriland September 2025 in response to noncompliant construction products or construction products with a safetyrisk (OPSS Enforcement Report). The OPSS is the national regulator for construction products, and its enforcementaction supplements the series of reforms introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) which intends to In this update, we explore the nature of the action taken by the OPSS in relation to noncompliant construction products,and what it might entail for businesses operating in the construction sector. Notably, the OPSS issued prohibitionnotices to manufacturers of glass, including ballistic and bullet-resistant safety glass and thermally toughened glass,and timber-based plywood. It is perhaps not surprising, given the policy intentions of the BSA 2022, that the majority of In each case, the OPSS issued the prohibition notice under the existing legislation governing construction products,namely the Construction Products Regulations 2013, and the prohibition notice prohibited the supply of the specifiedproduct. A common failing was that the manufacturer was unable to provide a declaration of performance (DoP) in It is interesting to note that, when comparing the OPSS Enforcement Report against the previous report coveringOctober 2024 to March 2025, in which only one prohibition notice was served in respect of a construction product,there appears to be a trend of the OPSS taking increased enforcement action against construction products, although it The OPSS Enforcement Report serves as a reminder to businesses involved in manufacturing, importing, distributing orselling construction products that they should ensure they: •Retain DoP records for the products they supply •Check that DoPs are in the format required under the relevant EU regulation •Have procedures in place to ensure that they can produce the copy DoPs upon request from the OPSS •Familiarise themselves with the requirements of the relevant designated standard(s) Updates on Flat Entrance Fire Doors and the Residential EvacuationPlans Regulations In light of government concerns regarding a misunderstanding on when fire doors require replacement under the Fire Safety (England)Regulations 2022 (the Regulations), the government has updated its fire door guidance. The REP Regulations mark a firm return to the use of such plans in Specified ResidentialBuildings, in accordance with the recommendations of Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower The REP Regulations impose new duties on responsible persons (Responsible Persons) to: •Use reasonable endeavours to identify Relevant Residents The government was concerned that the scope and intent of the Regulations had beenmisinterpreted with regard to these fire d