115.In order that the register remains accurate, a principal accountable person must apply to have the building removed from the register if it believes, or ought reasonably to believe, that:
	the building is no longer a category 1 or 2 building, or
	the building is not occupied and the total period for which it is not occupied will be at least 6 months (subsection (1)).
116.For example, if work to a registered building meant that the residents had to vacate the building leaving it not occupied for only four months, the principal accountable person would not need to apply to have the building removed from the register.
117.If planned work, when it commences, is expected to take six months or longer, the principal accountable person must apply to have the building removed from the register.
118.However, if the work that was originally only expected to take four months overran, and the principal accountable person now believes, or ought reasonably to believe, that the building would now not be occupied for a further three months (i.e. a total of seven months), this means that the building will not be occupied for a total of six months or longer from the date on which it first became unoccupied. The principal accountable person must apply to the building safety authority to remove the building from the register. The timeframe for doing this is within 14 days of believing (or when they ought reasonably to have formed this belief) that the building would be expected to be unoccupied for a total of six months or longer. Subsection (2) provides for the timeframe for when an application under subsection (1) must be made.
119.Subsection (3) provides the Welsh Ministers with a power to make regulations about how an application to remove a building from the register must be made, including its form, content, and any additional required information.
120.Subsection (4) provides that it is an offence to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the duty imposed by subsection (2). This offence would be tried in a magistrates’ court. If a person is found guilty of the offence the court may impose a fine. There is no maximum limit on the amount of the fine.
121.Subsection (5) provides that a further offence is committed if, after conviction, subsection (2) continues not to be complied with. If found guilty of the further offence the person is liable to a fine for each day on which the failure continues (subsection (6)).
Commentary on Sections Part 1 - Safety of Buildings Containing Two Or More Residential Units Removal of building from register Section 25 - Application to remove building from register