Part 4: Higher-risk buildings Enforcement Section 99: Compliance notices Effect
This section enables the Building Safety Regulator to issue a compliance notice to an Accountable Person where they are contravening, or appear likely to contravene, a "relevant requirement" under this Part of the Act or a requirement set out in regulations made under it. Regulations may set out requirements that are excluded from enforcement action under this section. The notice will either require that particular, specified steps are taken within a period of time set out in the notice or will require the relevant person to remedy the contravention in question within the period of time set out in the notice.
	If the contravention is one that places people in or about the building in imminent danger, in the Building Safety Regulator’s view, the compliance notice is termed an "urgent action notice". The consequences of this are i) that the regulator is likely to set a shorter period to rectify the contravention and ii) any appeal against the notice will not suspend its effect unless the Tribunal determines that it should (see section 103(3)).
	If the person issued with a compliance or urgent action notice does not comply by the date specified, or otherwise breaches the notice, the Building Safety Regulator will be able to prosecute for the breach. The offence of breaching a notice will be triable either way, reflecting that not only will a contravention have occurred, but a formal opportunity to rectify it will have been refused. If tried by magistrates, the offence will carry a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine and/or 12 months’ imprisonment (six months until the commencement of paragraph 24(2) of Schedule 22 of the Sentencing Act 2020). If tried in the Crown court, the maximum penalty will be an unlimited fine and/or two years’ imprisonment. Under section 161, certain corporate officers could also be liable for prosecution.
	These notices will be appealable to the First-tier Tribunal (see section 103 for further detail).