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Update: Design through occupation — golden thread, gateways, safety case and KBI on every plan — User manual

BSA 2022

Accountable Person Duties for Higher-Risk Buildings: A Practical Overview

Occupied-phase duties for Accountable Persons and Building Safety Managers — safety case, KBI, occurrences, residents, FRA, and BSR returns under the England HRB regime.

Cochise Derrick

Cochise Derrick

Founder & Director

Published 1 July 2026Last reviewed 3 July 202611 min read

Once a higher-risk building is occupied, the Accountable Person (and any Building Safety Manager they appoint) carries ongoing duties under the Building Safety Act and its regulations. This overview maps the main occupied-phase obligations Principal Designers and clients should plan for at handover.

Occupation is not the end of BSA compliance — it is a new duty-holder regime with its own deadlines, residents, and regulator touchpoints.

Core occupied-phase duties

Accountable Persons must manage building safety risks, maintain the golden thread in occupation, engage residents, and interact with the Building Safety Regulator on registration, KBI, occurrences, returns, and notices.

  • Safety case report and 10 risk management principles (SI 2023/907)
  • Key Building Information — 16 categories (SI 2023/396)
  • Mandatory occurrence reporting with BSR deadlines (SI 2023/906)
  • Resident information rights and complaints (SI 2024/41; SI 2023/907 reg.12)
  • FRA, fire doors, EEIS and PEEP arrangements (FSO / FSER)
  • Building Assessment Certificate and renewal tracking
  • BSR annual returns, fees, and compliance notices

Residents at the centre

Residents have statutory channels for safety information, information requests, safety concerns, and complaints. Duty-holders need acknowledgement and response workflows with working-day SLAs — including reconsideration where applicable — and engagement strategies that are reviewed on a defined cycle.

Multi-HRB portfolios

Registered providers and local authorities often manage many HRBs. Building-scoped data, clear selectors, and portfolio visibility help APs and BSMs prioritise deadlines without mixing evidence between buildings.

Threadsovereign’s occupied portal is built for Accountable Persons and Building Safety Managers, with multi-HRB selection and statutory paths on every paid plan.

What design teams should hand over

Principal Designers and clients reduce occupation risk by delivering a complete golden thread, formal handover package (BSA s.76), and clear registration and KBI starting points. Gaps at handover become AP compliance risk on day one of occupation.

Conclusion

Accountable Person duties are broad but manageable with structured workflows, clear ownership, and a single auditable record. Explore threadsovereign.co.uk/hrb-compliance-software and the Building Safety Act FAQ at threadsovereign.co.uk/faq.

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Cochise Derrick

Cochise Derrick

Founder & Director

Cochise Derrick is the founder and director of Threadsovereign Ltd and the sole architect and developer of the Threadsovereign platform. With a background as a lead developer on central government digital services and current SC clearance, he brings the technical depth and regulatory understanding required to build compliance infrastructure that duty-holders can genuinely rely on. Threadsovereign is the result of over a year of focused development against the Building Safety Act 2022 and its statutory instruments.

support@threadsovereign.co.uk

Areas of focus

Building Safety Act 2022Golden Thread ComplianceGateway SubmissionsPrincipal Designer DutiesHRB RegulationsGovernment digital services

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Product pages and FAQ for duty-holders implementing these workflows.

BSA compliance updates

Guidance for Principal Designers, Accountable Persons, and HRB teams.