The Building Safety Manager role
The enacted Building Safety Act does not require appointment of a Building Safety Manager. Organisations may use the title contractually, but the statutory duties sit with accountable persons (APs) and the principal accountable person (PAP).
What the BSM does
A manager or team may carry out agreed evidence, maintenance, information or resident-communication tasks. The PAP prepares the safety case report and resident engagement strategy; APs assess and manage risks in their own parts.
Required competencies
Competence must match the tasks assigned. APs and the PAP should check and record the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours of the people they employ, using specialists where needed.
Relationship with the accountable person
A contractual manager acts only within the written appointment. Using the BSM title does not create statutory authority or transfer an AP's or PAP's legal responsibility.
Practical challenges
Incomplete building information, unclear accountability, insufficient resources and the need to coordinate multiple specialists.
How the role changed and what survives
The statutory 'Building Safety Manager' job title was removed before the Building Safety Act came into force, but the statutory duties did not disappear. Each AP assesses and manages fire-spread and structural-failure risks in its part. The PAP has additional whole-building duties, including the safety case report, resident engagement strategy and mandatory occurrence reporting system.
There is no legal duty to appoint a person with the title 'Building Safety Manager', and no statutory BSM role or qualification. The title can still be used contractually, but it does not transfer an AP's or PAP's legal obligations.
Competence and how an external consultant supports it
Building-safety management competence spans fire safety, structural safety, building services, maintenance management and the regulatory framework. Few single individuals hold all of it at depth, which is why the function is often delivered by a coordinated team with specialist input commissioned where needed.
An external chartered consultant can support APs with evidence and gap analysis and can support the PAP in assembling the safety case report. Specialist fire-engineering or structural input may also be needed. The legal duties remain with the APs and PAP; a consultant or managing agent does not assume them by carrying out contracted tasks.
Frequently asked questions
Is a BSM legally required?
No. The Act imposes duties on APs and the PAP; it does not require a statutory Building Safety Manager or a person performing a defined statutory BSM function.
Can the managing agent be the BSM?
A managing agent can use that job title under a contract, provided its competence matches the assigned tasks. It does not become an AP or PAP merely because of that appointment.
What qualifications?
There is no statutory Building Safety Manager qualification. APs and the PAP should appoint people with the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours needed for the assigned tasks, record how competence was checked and use specialists where required.
How does the BSM engage residents?
The PAP prepares, reviews and consults on the resident engagement strategy; APs cooperate and distribute it in their parts. A contracted manager may carry out specified communications without assuming those statutory duties.
Primary sources and further reading
Links checked 18 July 2026. These primary sources provide general context; a competent specialist should confirm how the guidance applies to the building concerned.
Local Level 3 building survey guides
- Rebuild Cost Assessments in Fulham for Insurance
- Party Wall Surveyor in Golders Green: Agreements, Notices and Awards
- Level 2 Homebuyers Survey in Golders Green
- Building surveys in Golders Green: choose the right report
- Damp, Crack & Building Defect Surveys in Golders Green
- Dilapidations Surveyors in Hackney: Schedules, Claims & Lease-End Advice
Savas Bulduk
BSc (Hons) MRICS, Director & Chartered Building Surveyor.
Writes on Building surveying, Fire safety and facade, External wall systems, Technical due diligence, Contract administration. See the full team profile.