Home / The Building Safety Act: what recent Court of Appeal decisions mean for developers, contractors and investors
25th June 2026
Steve Eccleston, Managing Partner
Recent Court of Appeal decisions on the Building Safety Act are reshaping how developers, contractors and investors assess liability, risk and historic exposure. This article looks at what the latest developments mean in practice, why uncertainty is affecting the construction market, and what businesses should be doing now to protect themselves.
The message from the courts is clear: liability can go further, reach further back, and catch more parties than many in the market expected.
And the uncertainty is starting to impact the industry in practice…..
Ardmore Group, one of the UK’s most experienced main contractors, has been driven into administration partly by Building Safety Act contribution claims between group companies, combined with uncertainty around how far historic liabilities may extend following recent Court of Appeal decisions.
Uncertainty is a real issue. It is not just about what you did on a scheme – it is about what you might be asked to pay for, years later, and whether other entities in a group (or connected to it) could be drawn in.
The BSA is not bad legislation- the creation of a single regulator for the construction industry is a good thing – it should ease future dispute resolution and clarity of decision making as well as improving safety standards in the long term.
In the short term, however, the Building Safety Act is creating a more difficult backdrop for developers, contractors, funders and investors operating in the construction sector:
The UK is starting to look like a less business-friendly environment for development and construction activity, at least in the short term. There is a clear policy intention behind this: the industry, not leaseholders or government, should bear the cost of remediation. The uncertainty created by the retrospective nature of legislation and way that is being delivered is creating friction across the market.
The UK Government has shown a willingness to address issues created by the Building Safety Act. For example, delays by the Building Safety Regulator in dealing with Gateway 2 applications were reviewed, and changes to the framework in February this year have reduced approval times from nine months to three months. The courts have also continued to clarify the Act’s application, so there is a real prospect of policy or legislative adjustment over time. The balance between protecting leaseholders and maintaining a functioning, investable development market will need to be kept under review.
That said businesses need to deal with uncertainty now.
In the meantime, the practical message is simple: don’t assume the old risk models still work.
Developers, contractors and investors need to:
Most importantly, take advice early.
The Building Safety Act is no longer just a legal issue – it is a commercial one that is affecting how deals are structured, funded and delivered.
This is exactly the kind of shifting, uncertain landscape where clear, practical legal input makes a difference.
We work alongside developers, contractors, investors and construction businesses to sense-check structures, assess potential Building Safety Act exposure and shape practical strategies for navigating a more complex market.
If this is something you are grappling with, talk to us.