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Principal Accountable Person responsibilities
Clear, plain-English guidance on the PAP role, responsibilities, and expectations
The Principal Accountable Person (PAP) role was introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022 to ensure there is a single, clearly identifiable point of accountability for the safety of an occupied Higher-Risk Building.
Where a building has one or more Accountable Persons, the law requires one to act as the Principal Accountable Person. This role is about coordination, governance, and assurance across the whole building, not day-to-day task delivery.
This guidance explains what the PAP role is, when it applies, what it looks like in practice, and how PAP responsibilities are evidenced over time.
What is a Principal Accountable Person
Every occupied Higher-Risk Building must have one clearly identifiable Principal Accountable Person.
If there is only one Accountable Person, that Accountable Person is also the PAP.
If there is more than one Accountable Person, one must be identified as the PAP.
The PAP is responsible for coordinating building safety arrangements across the whole building and acts as the primary point of engagement with the Building Safety Regulator.
What the PAP is responsible for
The PAP role focuses on ensuring that building safety is managed coherently at building level.
Key responsibilities include:
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Ensuring the building is registered where required and that registration details remain current
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Coordinating Accountable Person responsibilities so risks are not managed in isolation
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Ensuring required systems exist, including Mandatory Occurrence Reporting and resident engagement arrangements
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Ensuring building safety information is held digitally, securely, and can be accessed quickly
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Ensuring the building can demonstrate, through evidence, that safety management operates as described
The PAP does not replace other Accountable Persons. The role exists to ensure there is a single, joined-up approach.
What the PAP role looks like in practice
In practice, the PAP role is about governance and information stewardship.
This means being able to demonstrate:
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Clear responsibility and interfaces between Accountable Persons
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A coherent structure for the golden thread information
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A building-level action tracker for safety-critical issues
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Evidence that risks are reviewed, acted on, and kept under control
The PAP may appoint managing agents or advisers, but legal accountability remains with the PAP.
PAP responsibilities and the regulator
The Principal Accountable Person is the main point of contact with the Building Safety Regulator for core duties.
This includes being able to respond confidently to regulatory requests by producing current, structured evidence rather than assembling information at short notice.
Good PAP arrangements make inspections, engagement, and ongoing oversight predictable rather than disruptive.
Download the PAP and AP roles guide
The Roles of a Principal Accountable Person, Accountable Person, and Dutyholders guide provides:
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Clear explanations of PAP responsibilities
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How PAP duties differ from Accountable Person and dutyholder roles
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Practical examples of PAP governance in real buildings
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What regulators typically expect to see in evidence
Our approach
NBR guides are published to support clarity, consistency, and confidence across the property sector.
They reflect publicly available legislation and statutory guidance and are intended to support understanding and good practice. They are not legal advice and should always be read alongside the latest guidance published by the Building Safety Regulator and GOV.UK.
Where governance and information are structured clearly, the PAP role becomes defensible, manageable, and sustainable over time.
More building safety guidance
Explore our full Knowledge Hub for guidance on Safety Cases, Accountable Person duties, the Golden Thread, and regulatory compliance.
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