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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.

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.

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)

Accessing a residence

The AP can enter a residence at a reasonable time to assess or manage building safety risks. Before access, they must:

• request access from the resident at least 48 hours in advance

• make the request in writing

• explain in detail why they need access

If the resident refuses access, the AP can apply for a court order to gain access.

Before making an order, the court must agree that access is necessary and that the initial request for access was made correctly.

If the court issues an order, it will allow the AP, or someone authorised by them, to:

• access the residence at a date or time specified by the court

• take measurements, photographs, recordings or samples if necessary

Multiple accountable persons

When there are multiple APs, each AP is responsible for managing the structural and fire sa

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