Accountable Person Duties Checklist

An Accountable Person (AP) is someone who holds a legal estate in the common parts of a higher-risk building, or who has a repairing obligation for common parts under a lease or enactment. In practice, this is typically the freeholder, a management company, or a Right to Manage company. Every higher-risk building must have at least one AP. Where multiple APs exist, the one who holds the legal estate in the common parts (or the most significant obligation) is the Principal Accountable Person (PAP).

The Principal Accountable Person (PAP) is the AP who holds the legal estate in possession of the common parts of the building, or where no one does, the person with the most significant repairing obligation. The PAP has additional duties beyond those of other APs: they must register the building with the BSR, prepare the Residents Engagement Strategy, lead the Safety Case Report, and apply for the Building Assessment Certificate. Other APs must cooperate with the PAP and fulfil their duties for their area of responsibility.

An Accountable Person can appoint competent people to carry out work on their behalf, but the legal responsibility cannot be delegated. The AP remains accountable for ensuring their duties are met, even if day-to-day tasks are performed by managing agents, contractors, or employees. This means APs must satisfy themselves that anyone they appoint is competent and that the work is carried out to the required standard.

Failure to comply with Accountable Person duties under the Building Safety Act is a criminal offence. The Building Safety Regulator can issue compliance notices requiring the AP to take specific action. If an AP fails to comply with a compliance notice, they face prosecution with unlimited fines and up to 2 years imprisonment for the most serious offences. The BSR can also apply for special measures orders to take over the management of a building where APs are failing in their duties.

Accountable Persons should maintain a comprehensive digital record of all compliance activities, including risk assessments, safety measures, occurrence reports, resident engagement, and training records. This forms part of the golden thread of building safety information required by the Act. Purpose-built compliance software can help APs track duties, set review dates, manage documentation, and generate audit trails that demonstrate compliance to the BSR during assessments. The key is having a searchable, up-to-date, and auditable record of everything you have done to manage building safety.