Health Safety Executive
Accountable persons (APs) and the principal accountable person (PAP) manage the fire and structural safety risks of a high-rise residential building.
This guidance will help you understand these roles and their legal duties as set out in the Building Safety Act 2022.?
Accountable person
An AP is an organisation or individual who owns or has a legal obligation to repair any common parts of the building.
Common parts areused by residents, such as:
- the structure and exterior of the building
- corridors
- lobbies
- staircases
An AP can be a:
- freeholder or estate owner
- landlord
- management company
- resident management company
- right to manage company
- commonhold association
Principal accountable person
Each building must have one clearly identifiable accountable person, known as the PAP.
The principal accountable person is usually an organisation, like a commonhold association, local authority or social housing provider.
In some circumstances, an individual can be the PAP. For example, the individual is:
- the owner of the building
- named on the leasehold as responsible for the maintenance of common parts
Check who the principal accountable person is
If there is just one AP for a building, then they are the PAP.
When there are multiple APs, then whoever owns or has a legal obligation to repair the structure and exterior of the building is the PAP.
APs and the PAP can be accountable for the fire and structural safety risks of more than one building.
Who is accountable
APs and the PAP cannot delegate their legal obligations to others.
APs and the PAP can employ an organisation or individual, like a managing agent, to carry out duties on their behalf. However, the accountability for making sure those duties are carried out and the liability for a buildings safety remains with the APs and PAP.
Single point of contact
If the PAP is an organisation, then someone from the organisation can be the single point of contact for the Building Safety Regulator.
The single point of contact can also be a third party separate to the organisation, such as a management company. This individual should have authority or duties relating to the safety of the building, but this does not make them or the third party the PAP. It is the organisation that is the PAP.
The PAP must give written consent to the third party. If this consent stops, the PAP must update the single point of contact with BSR.
Complex leaseholds
When a building is operated through a complex leasehold structure, the AP is any organisation or individual who is one of the following:
- owner of the building
- named on the lease as responsible for the repair or maintenance of any of the common parts
This is known as being under a relevant repairing obligation.
Management companies and agents
Accountability remains with whoever owns the common parts, or has the legal obligation to repair or maintain them under a lease. A management company operating under a contract which requires it to carry out maintenance is not an AP. A management company that operates under a lease that requires it to repair or maintain the common parts will be the AP for those parts.
Landlords
A landlord that rents or leases property and is legally responsible for maintaining the common parts of their building is an AP, for example:
- local authority
- social housing
- private sector
Uncertainty or disputes about who is accountable
If there is uncertainty about who is an AP or PAP, an interested party can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a decision.
An interested party can be:
- an organisation or individual who owns, or claims to own, any part of the common parts
- a person or organisation who has, or claims to have, a repairing obligation for any part of the common parts
- the Building Safety Regulator
How accountable persons work with Responsible Persons (Fire Safety)
A Responsible Person is a role under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In some buildings an AP or PAP will also be the Responsible Person. Where this is not the case, building safety information must be shared across these roles and any information shared must meet data protection requirements
Legal duties
APs are responsible for assessing and managing the risks posed to people in and about the building from structural failure or the spread of fire in the parts of the building they are responsible for.
To do this, APs must:
- put measures in place to prevent building safety risks happening and reduce the severity of any incident that does happen
- report certain fire and structural safety issues or incidents
- engage with residents about the buildings safety and carry out duties relating to the resident engagement strategy
- keep, update and provide information about the building for the buildings safety case
- transfer building safety information to any incoming AP
- notify the Building Safety Regulator if theres a change to an AP
Check the parts of the building you are responsible for
When there is only one AP, they are responsible for managing the structural and fire safety risks in:
- the common parts
- residential units
- commonhold units
- balconies, including those attached to individual residential units
- any other part of the building that is not covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order)
Multiple accountable persons
When there are multiple APs, each AP is responsible for managing the structural and fire safety risks in:
- the common parts they own, or must repair and maintain under a lease
- balconies, including those attached to the outside of the building that they own, or must repair and maintain
- any residential unit that can be let to a tenant, excluding lets on a long lease
If there are multiple APs for a building, they must work together and share safety information about the building.
Long leases
When a residential unit is let on a long lease, which is usually 21 years or more, the AP must:
- prevent risk in the unit that could impact common parts and other units
- protect the unit from risk in the parts of the building they are responsible for
For example, the AP must make sure that a fire cannot spread from a leasehold unit to the to the rest of the building. If a fire starts in a common part, the