Building Safety Act: Why You Need to Protect Your Project

What’s the Best Way to Protect Against Future Claims?

A key step is to keep full records: contracts, product logs, photos of works in progress, dates professionals were on the site and everything in between. This is the minimum you would probably need to defend or launch a legal case, whether you put additional protection in place or not.

A professional consultant’s certificate (PCC) is sometimes viewed as an effective route to protecting yourself against a future claim. However, a PCC relies on that professional’s indemnity insurance, which only covers negligence. So, if a future owner pursues you for a defective property, you’ll need to prove professional negligence (assuming it’s within the first six years of certification). This could be a futile, costly and time prohibitive process. Don’t forget, the claimant has as much as 15 or 30 years to pursue you.

The Building Safety Act covers the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of new dwellings. Photo: iStock.com/Wichayada Suwanachun

In addition, with a PCC, you may be excluded from making a claim at all in the first 12 months – not helpful, given most defects arise in the first two years. PCCs are cheap for a reason, and their function as a risk management tool is very limited. We’re starting to find that some lenders are now reconsidering whether to accept them.

A self build structural warranty gives far better cover over a much longer duration of time. Crucially, that cover starts from day one. These products are suitable for extensions, renovations, remodels etc, too. You should always obtain your warranty from a recognised provider and ensure it doesn’t have a two-year defects period. A good policy is transferrable to the future buyer of a property and, unlike a PCC, there is no requirement to prove negligence in the event of a claim. So, it’s a more comprehensive and robust solution.

Ideally, look for a warranty that includes cover for failure to comply with Building Regulations. The Limitations Act provides a right to claim for damage suffered as a result of a breach of Building Regs. This part of the LA has never been enacted but, given the BSA amends the same section, it’s likely this will come into force in the near future.

In essence, the BSA aims to provide greater protection for homeowners, providing new options to seek redress for defective building works. So, prepare and manage your exposure (or recourse opportunity) by taking action now. Structural warranties are available retrospectively, even after you have completed the project, to give you the cover you need.