Part 4: Higher-risk buildings Meaning of "higher-risk building" Section 65: Meaning of "higher-risk building" etc and Section 66: Regulations under section 65: procedure and Section 67: Regulations under section 65: additional procedure in certain cases Background
This is a new provision.
	The Independent Review identified that it is important to ensure that the Government can respond in the future, where necessary, to amend the definition of "higher-risk buildings" in light of either critical new information emerging or experience of operating the new regime.
	Following pre-legislative scrutiny, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee recommended including the definition of "higher-risk buildings" within the Act, rather than in regulations.
Example
The following example is purely hypothetical. After the new regime has been operating for two years the Secretary of State may decide that consideration is needed as to whether single storey premises in areas of high flood risk should be higher-risk buildings because of a concern about structural failure following recent flooding incidents.
If the Secretary of State came to this view, they must request advice from the Building Safety Regulator. The Building Safety Regulator must consider whether single storey premises in areas of high flood risk meet the three conditions specified in section 70(2).
In this hypothetical example, the Regulator considers the conditions are met. The Building Safety Regulator must also consider whether the application of Part 4 of this Act should be modified if it is applied to single storey premises in areas of high flood risk. The Regulator does not consider that the application of part 4 should be modified. The Regulator must then make a recommendation to the Secretary of State to amend the definition of a "higher-risk building" and provide a statement of the issues it considered in coming to that recommendation.
Having considered the recommendation, the Secretary of State may be minded to agree and make regulations to amend the definition of "higher-risk buildings". They must then consult any other persons the Secretary of State considers appropriate and undertake a cost benefit analysis, if they have not already done so whilst requesting advice from the Regulator. Having considered the recommendation, the representations made and the cost benefit analysis, the Secretary of State will decide whether to amend the definition of "higher-risk building".
If the Minister chooses to make the amendment, the regulations will be laid in Parliament using the affirmative procedure and be accompanied by the requisite documentation. If the Secretary of State chooses not to make the amendment, then the Secretary of State must publish a document setting out the Regulator’s recommendation, their decision not to implement it and the reasons for their decision.