Harris Associates Navigates the Building Safety Act for High-Rise Development Funders
Published: 14/03/2024
The Building Safety Act (BSA) has heralded a significant change for the construction industry, particularly for high-rise residential projects. Harris Associates' combined expertise in chartered building surveying and quantity surveying, helps funders navigate the new regulations and understand the financial implications of their projects.
A key aim of the BSA is to deliver safer and more compliant buildings for the future. Real estate funders must therefore understand how timeframes, costs, building quality, and limitation periods will be affected by the new legislation. Our teams focus on these key considerations to make compliance with the BSA easier and ensure that our clients and their stakeholders have realistic expectations and positive outcomes during the process.
The Impact of the Building Safety Act on Your Investments
Timeframes and Costs: The BSA introduced stricter compliance requirements throughout the design, construction, and management stages. We provide bespoke advice on the potential impact on project timelines and budgets, considering factors like early-stage compliance checks and "gateways" for approvals, potential project delays, additional inspections, and the procurement and budgeting for remedial work if fire safety or building envelope issues are identified.
Our team specialises in assessing the building design and materials (cladding, fire compartmentation) to identify potential areas of non-compliance and estimate remediation costs if required. This helps in achieving realistic planning conditions and avoids costly delays due to unforeseen compliance procedures.
Our quantity surveyors can create detailed project specific cost estimates that factor in any abnormal costs associated with the BSA process, allowing for more accurate financial forecasting and informed lending decisions.
Procurement and Risk Management: Through understanding the individual client needs, we can advise on the optimal procurement strategy for the project. By effectively managing the commercial risks enables clients to have a level of cost certainty that can be managed throughout the project. Our quantity surveyors can help structure robust procurement contracts that clearly define responsibility for BSA compliance and potential remedial works.
Value Management: Our team works with funders or developers to identify cost-effective solutions that meet the new safety standards without compromising design intent. We can also analyse product warrantees to assess the long-term financial implications of building materials and systems chosen in the context of the BSA.
The Impact of the Building Safety Act on Your Investments
Timeframes and Costs: The BSA introduces stricter compliance requirements throughout the design, construction, and management stages. We can advise on the potential impact on project timelines and budgets, considering factors like early-stage compliance checks and "gateways" for approvals, potential project delays, additional inspections, or the need for remedial work if fire safety or building envelope issues are identified.
Our team can assess the building design and materials (cladding, fire compartmentation) to identify potential areas of non-compliance and estimate remediation costs if required. This helps in realistic planning and avoids costly delays due to unforeseen hurdles.
Our quantity surveyors can create detailed cost models that factor in potential cost increases due to the BSA, allowing for more accurate financial forecasting and informed lending decisions.
Risk Management and Procurement: We advise on risk mitigation strategies to minimise possible delays and cost overruns associated with the BSA. Our quantity surveyors can help structure robust procurement contracts that clearly define responsibility for BSA compliance and potential remedial works.
Value Management: Our team can work with funders or developers to identify cost-effective solutions that meet the new safety standards without compromising design intent. We can also analyse product warranties to assess the long-term financial implications of building materials and systems chosen in the context of the BSA.
Harris Associates' expertise will enable you to:
Make Informed Funding Decisions: Gain a clear picture of the financial risks and opportunities associated with BSA compliance.
Set Realistic Expectations for Developers: We can help manage client expectations by providing insights into potential timelines and cost impacts.
Navigate the New Financial Landscape: Our combined expertise helps you understand the financial implications of the BSA on project viability and ensure developers have the necessary resources for compliance.
By partnering with Harris Associates, high-rise development funders can achieve a vital advantage in navigating the Building Safety Act and ensuring safer, more compliant, and financially sound investments and projects.
Harris Associates is an award-winning RICS building and project consultancy providing advisory and project-led services across commercial and residential sectors at every stage of a building's life cycle. We specialise in Compliance matters (including the requirements of the Building Safety Act), Building Surveying, Project Management, Landlord & Tenant matters Cost Management and are one of the UK's premier providers of façade and cladding-related services, including PAS 9980 / FRAEW’s, Construction Oversight / Clerk of Works services and the management of full façade remediation.
For more information about the services we provide to our funders and developers clients, get in touch with Tony Swann tony@harrisassociatesuk.com 07511 177 218.
Press Contact:
Chioma Ibe
Email: chioma@harrisassociatesuk.com
Telephone: 0161 615 3679