Will the scope of the Building Safety Act change to include 11m+ buildings?

At the TPI conference last month, the BSR made it clear that any change to the definition of a higher-risk building would put too much pressure on the BSR and their response timelines which they are already failing to meet. The number of buildings currently in scope (18m+ or seven storeys) is around 12,500 and if all buildings 11m+ (or five storeys) are captured under the BSA then this would increase to around 88,000 buildings in scope.

Inside Housing published an article last month which confirmed that around 1,300 residents in higher-risk blocks have contacted the BSR over safety fears in the last year alone. If the scope changes to include building that are 11m+, I'd expect the number of resident reports to the BSR to be significantly higher, ultimately putting even more pressure on the BSR.

We know that as a result of the reforms to the BSR (changes in leadership and a new fast track process), Gateway applications are being reviewed more quickly. This leads me to think that the BSR might be in a position to cope with the additional workload that changing the scope to 11m+ would result in.

The Welsh government are enacting their own version of the BSA in the New Year. As part of this, buildings that are 11m+ will need to be registered with the Building Safety Authority and there will be some additional duties for the Accountable Person(s) of these buildings. Will England take the same approach?

I think that once the BSR have improved their processes, started using technology more efficiently, recruited more qualified staff and are in a position to manage the additional workload of 11m+ buildings, there will be new legal responsibilities for those responsible for 11m+ buildings. My prediction is that this won't look exactly the same as the responsibilities for PAPs in buildings 18m+, but will place responsibilities on the golden thread, resident engagement (in particular sharing information and raising safety concerns), and building registration.

I'd be really interested to hear what anyone else thinks!