Trinity Horizon

Amendments to Approved Document B require two separate staircases in residential buildings 18 metres or more in height where a building control application was not sufficiently progressed by 30 September 2026. The requirement is now in force. Any scheme at or above 18 metres where the application did not meet that threshold is subject to the dual staircase requirement. Dual staircases reduce saleable floor area materially and require design rework on schemes already in planning or under construction.

Five decisions in 2025/26 have materially changed how Building Safety Act liability flows:

1. Triathlon Homes LLP v Stratford Village Development Partnership [2025] EWCA 846 confirmed Remediation Contribution Orders against original developers and parent companies.
2. Almacantar Centre Point Nominee No.1 Ltd & Ors v Penelope De Valk & Ors [2025] UT 298 (LC) broadened the definition of cladding remediation beyond fire risk.
3. Crest Nicholson v Ardmore [2026] EWHC 789 (TCC) held that anticipatory BLOs can be granted before liability is finally established and that adjudicators' decisions constitute relevant liabilities under section 130.
4. URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd confirmed in the Supreme Court that a developer can recover remedial costs from third parties even where it no longer owns the building, and that reputational concerns are a legitimate factor in assessing whether remedial works were voluntary.
5. Mulalley v Sto [2026] EWHC 1552 (TCC) is the first High Court assessment of quantification of a contractor's section 149 contribution claim against a defective cladding product supplier. The Court fixed contribution at 87.5% against Sto and made a Building Liability Order against Sto's German parent under section 130, establishing that BLOs extend to foreign parent companies.

Under the Building Safety Act, the Principal Designer (Building Regulations) role is held by the designer in control of the design, irrespective of procurement route. On design and build projects, the PD role should formally transfer to the contractor when they take over the design. Where that transfer does not happen clearly in writing, the architect continues to carry statutory liability for design work they may have limited control over. Building Liability Orders can also pierce the corporate veil. If an architect's design leads to a relevant liability, associated companies can be held jointly and severally liable.

The BSR became an independent body on 27 January 2026. An expert panel is conducting a fundamental review of Building Regulations guidance, including Approved Documents and BS 9414, with a final report expected by summer 2026. A separate Building Control Independent Panel is examining whether commercial building control functions should be moved to a national authority model.

Demand for UK data centre capacity has surged by nearly 300% since 2023, driven by AI workloads and hyperscale expansion. The government is targeting at least 6GW of AI-capable data centre capacity by 2030. Data centre construction presents procurement and delivery challenges materially different from conventional commercial development: extreme programme pressure, complex M&E specifications, and acute grid connection constraints. Reforms from DESNZ and Ofgem are actively reshaping how electricity network connections are prioritised for strategic demand users.

The UK Arbitration Act 2025, in force from 24 February 2025, is the first major reform to UK arbitration law in almost thirty years. Two changes are directly relevant to construction. Arbitral tribunals can now make summary awards, dismissing claims with no real prospect of success at an early stage. Emergency arbitrators can now issue enforceable orders, including interim measures, rather than non-binding recommendations, making urgent relief meaningfully available for the first time.

The Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 19 May 2026. The government estimates late payments cost the UK economy £11bn a year and close 38 businesses every day. The Bill introduces a mandatory 60-day maximum payment term for large firms paying smaller suppliers; a 30-day limit for raising invoice disputes; mandatory statutory interest at 8% above Bank of England base rate; board and audit committee reporting obligations; and financial penalties for persistent late payers.

On retentions, the Bill signals intent to amend the Construction Act 1996 to prohibit retention clauses. The scope is broad, and the statutory definition of a construction contract encompasses facilities management and maintenance arrangements. Standard form contracts including NEC4 Option X16 and JCT D&B 2024 clauses 4.16 to 4.18 will need to be amended. A transitional period and further consultation are anticipated before this measure takes effect.

Pressure from lenders and corporate ESG frameworks is pushing sustainability obligations into construction contracts. The risk is that aspirationally drafted clauses are unenforceable and that uncertainty is generating disputes. CSRD and SFDR supply chain requirements are driving lenders to require demonstrable sustainability performance, not just stated commitments. The Chancery Lane Project's model clauses are gaining traction as a drafting standard.

On 1 July 2026, the Technology and Construction Court published the fourth edition of the TCC Guide, the first comprehensive revision since 2022. It includes new sections on Building Safety Act proceedings, rewrites procurement cases guidance to reflect the Procurement Act 2023, and addresses the use of AI in TCC proceedings for the first time. The Guide also substantially updates guidance on TCC work outside London.

The Future Homes Standard was published on 24 March 2026 and comes into force in full in March 2028 following a 12-month transition. No new homes will be connected to the gas network. All new homes must have low-carbon heating, principally air-source heat pumps, and solar panels equivalent to 40% of the building's ground-floor area. The Standard significantly affects design specifications, cost profiles, and the viability of schemes currently in planning.

Version 1 of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard launched on 10 March 2026, providing a consistent industry-backed methodology for defining and verifying net zero buildings. It covers upfront carbon, operational energy efficiency, fossil-fuel-free design, and renewable generation. Verification is now live through Bureau Veritas. The Standard covers 13 building sectors and was developed with input from over 350 experts across nine built environment bodies.

On 30 June 2026, the UK government introduced proposed amendments to the Immigration and Asylum Bill that would bring significant changes to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The amendments would expand the disclosures required in slavery and human trafficking statements and introduce financial penalties for organisations that fail to comply. For commercial organisations with annual turnover of £36 million or more, the Bill would make specified content mandatory. The new financial penalty regime would expose non-compliant organisations to fines of up to the greater of £1 million or 1% of total turnover.

AI-washing describes the strategic overstatement of AI capabilities in external communications: annual reports, procurement submissions, investor presentations, and product marketing. UK boards face exposure across three channels: disclosure risk in annual reports where AI mentions have become ubiquitous but are rarely auditable; procurement risk where pre-contract capability claims can become actionable misrepresentations; and regulatory risk where the UK DMCC Act 2024 allows fines of up to 10% of global turnover for misleading practices.

From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal reduces from two years to six months and the compensation cap for unfair dismissal awards is removed entirely. The change applies retrospectively. Any employee continuously employed on or before 1 July 2026 will already have accrued the requisite six months by the time the change takes effect.

From 30 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces two material changes to harassment law. The employer duty to prevent sexual harassment is elevated from taking 'reasonable steps' to taking 'all reasonable steps', deliberately raising the bar for how tribunals assess employer conduct. Employers also become directly liable for third-party harassment by clients, customers, subcontractors, agency workers, contractors, or visitors where the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. From 6 April 2026, any disclosure about sexual harassment automatically qualifies as a protected disclosure under the whistleblowing framework.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a framework for equality action plans, covering gender pay gap reporting and actions to support employees through the menopause. Plans are available for voluntary publication from April 2026 and become mandatory for employers with 250 or more employees from 2027.