Building Liability Orders (BLOs): Key Takeaways From our Joint Webinar With Forvis Mazars

In our joint webinar with Forvis Mazars, we explored how Building Liability Orders (BLOs) under the Building Safety Act 2022 can help social housing providers and local authorities pursue remediation costs where responsibility sits behind complex corporate structures.

The session was hosted by Helen Knowles, Partner in Forvis Mazars. Guest experts were Rachel Murray-Smith, Partner in Sharpe Pritchard’s construction and procurement team, alongside Sandy Cowan, Partner in Forensics & Investigations at Forvis Mazars.

BLOs are emerging as one of the most practical “recovery tools” introduced by the post-Grenfell reforms. They are particularly relevant where a development was delivered through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) or where the original developer is now insolvent, dissolved or under-capitalised.

The legal framework: What is a BLO and what you need to prove?

Rachel Murray-Smith explained that a BLO is a court order that can move liability from the company that carried out (or is responsible for) relevant building works to other companies in the same corporate group, where it is “just and equitable” to do so. In practice, the application is about demonstrating (i) a relevant liability, (ii) corporate association during the relevant period, and (iii) why fairness and the purpose of the legislation support the order being made.

Relevant liability can include (among other things):

• liability under the Defective Premises Act 1972 (including where works leave a dwelling “unfit for habitation”);
• liability under section 38 of the Building Act 1984 (once in force); and
• liability relating to a building safety risk (risk to safety from the spread of fire or structural failure).

The recovery strategy: Tracing corporate groups and identifying viable targets

Sandy Cowan focused on what it takes to turn a legal route into an actually recoverable claim. Because a BLO can look across a long “relevant period”, the potential universe of associated companies may be wide. The practical challenge is to map the group accurately and then apply a viability filter, so that time and cost are focused on the entities most likely to be able to meet an order.

• Group mapping: build a corporate structure chart covering parents, subsidiaries, sister companies and joint venture vehicles across the relevant period.
• Financial triage: use public accounts and other indicators to shortlist entities with meaningful assets and/or trading strength.
• Asset reality-check: identify whether balance-sheet value reflects realisable value (for example, cash vs intercompany receivables).
• Restructuring signals: note patterns of dividend extraction, asset transfers or reorganisation that may be relevant to the “just and equitable” analysis.

Practical steps for housing providers and local authorities

If you are considering recovery action in respect of building safety defects, the following steps can help you become “BLO-ready” and avoid losing momentum later:

• Gather the evidence early: locate and preserve contracts, appointments, variations, payment records, as-built information and corporate information.
• Do a fast legal triage: assess whether your defects may fit within “relevant liability” (including DPA and building safety risk routes).
• Consider dispute resolution sequencing: in appropriate cases, adjudication or other interim steps may help establish liability and improve settlement leverage.

Map the group before issuing: a preliminary association map can help avoid pursuing the wrong entity or missing the most viable target.

Missed the webinar?

If you missed the session or would like to revisit any of the points discussed on social housing or construction, you can watch the webinar recording here: Building Liability Orders (BLOs) webinar recording.

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This article is for general awareness only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this page was first published.