The Role of Accountable Persons and Principal Accountable Persons (E-learning)

Accountable Person and PAP Duties Explained, Online

Under the Building Safety Act 2022, the people who own or have to repair the common parts of an occupied higher-risk building in England take on legal duties for its safety. These Accountable Person (AP) roles are not applied for or given by job title: they arise from legal estates and repairing obligations, which is why many organisations are unsure who holds them.

This online course explains how AP and Principal Accountable Person (PAP) roles arise, what each must do, how duties are shared when a building has several APs, and where the line falls between delegating a task and remaining accountable for it.

Who Is the Accountable Person Course For?

The course is for anyone who holds, or may hold, Accountable Person duties for higher-risk residential buildings in England, including:

• Current and future Accountable Persons and Principal Accountable Persons
• Freeholders and building owners
• Housing associations and councils
• Board members and governance leads
• Building safety compliance teams
• Managing agents and asset managers

Why Is Accountable Person Training Important?

Layered leases, split freeholds and mixed-use ownership can make it hard to see who holds each role, and passing day-to-day work to agents, consultants and contractors can blur responsibility further. Getting registration or submissions wrong can lead to delays, invalid applications and enforcement action.

A building can have several Accountable Persons but only one Principal Accountable Person. The key duties include:

• APs must assess and manage the risks of fire spread and structural failure, share safety information and report certain occurrences to the Building Safety Regulator
• The PAP must register the building, apply for a Building Assessment Certificate when directed and lead building-wide duties such as the safety case report and mandatory occurrence reporting
• Tasks can be delegated, but legal accountability stays with the AP or PAP

A PAP commits a criminal offence if an occupied higher-risk building is not registered, or if it fails to apply for a Building Assessment Certificate within 28 days of being directed to by the Building Safety Regulator, unless it has a reasonable excuse.

What's Included in the Accountable Person Course?

• Concise, focused e-learning with full audio voiceover
• Certificate on completion
• Simple login and access on any device, including the iOS and Android app
• Up-to-date content on the Building Safety Act 2022

Delivery Method

Online / E-learning

Course Duration

30+ minutes

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

• Identify how AP and PAP roles arise from owning, or having repairing obligations for, the common parts
• Recognise how responsibility is shared between several APs in one building
• Understand the core AP duties to assess and manage building safety risks
• Recognise what safety information must be shared and which occurrences must be reported to the Building Safety Regulator
• Understand how AP duties relate to Responsible Person duties under the Fire Safety Order
• Understand the PAP's additional responsibilities for registration, certification and coordination
• Distinguish between delegating tasks and keeping statutory accountability
• Identify ways to resolve uncertainty or disputes over AP and PAP roles

Course Content

This online Accountable Person course is made up of the following modules:

• Who Are APs and PAPs? – how the roles arise, what counts as common parts and why PAP status cannot be self-assigned
• Real-World Examples – five ownership scenarios, including leasehold flats run by a managing agent, a mixed-use building, university-owned student housing and a head lease
• Core Legal Duties – preventing fire spread and structural failure and limiting their consequences, risk assessment, when AP duties begin and the link to Fire Safety Order duties
• Information Sharing and Mandatory Occurrence Reporting – what safety information goes to other APs, the PAP, the Building Safety Regulator and residents, and which occurrences must be reported
• PAP Specific Duties – registration, Building Assessment Certificate applications, the safety case report, the reporting system and coordinating APs
• Accountability vs Delegation – what can be delegated, how to define and oversee delegated work, and when the Building Safety Regulator must be told of role changes
• Disputes and Clarifications – grounds for disputing status, useful documents, the role of the First-tier Tribunal and good practice in buildings with several APs

Assessment

Learners complete a final assessment before their certificate is issued. The end of course test is:

• 100% online
• Multiple choice
• Passed with a score of 80% or more

Certification

An IIRSM-approved digital certificate is available to download and print as soon as the course is completed, and is valid for three years.

The certificate shows the learner's name, company name, course name, date of completion, expiry date and the name of the approval body.

Why Choose Accountable Person Training with Human Focus?

• Study any time, in short sessions that fit around work
• Less costly and disruptive than classroom training
• Discounts on volume purchases
• Excellent trainee support
• Clarifies who holds each role in complex ownership structures
• Helps avoid registration and Building Assessment Certificate errors

Course subtitles are available in over 20 languages, including French, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish.

This course provides awareness of specific duties under the Building Safety Act 2022. Completing it is not a formal assessment of competence to carry out statutory dutyholder responsibilities.

Related Content

• Health and Safety courses
• Fire Safety courses
• Construction & Engineering courses

For short courses a completion certificate is available at the end of the course. You can screenshot this or print it out to confirm completion of the training.

For accredited courses a certificate will be sent directly to you from the appropriate awarding body.

All you need to complete our e-learning courses is a computer, tablet or smartphone and an internet connection.

E-learning is flexible, efficient, and cost-effective, meaning you can progress through the modules at your own pace, at your own time to fit the training in around your work and personal life.

Short online courses also help employers to demonstrate that they have fulfilled their legal duties to ensure their personnel have been adequately trained.

Once the courses have been completed, a confirmation of results can be saved or printed as evidence. This can then be kept on record as evidence of suitable training.

• Learning management system that delivers training on laptop, PC or mobile app
• Automatically track all learning via online competency matrix
• Combine all records in one place – upload offline certificates
• Share training records via QR code training passport

You will instantly receive a confirmation email with your order details and your course login details will follow within one business working day.

Please note that course bookings can not be processed outside of normal working hours, over weekends or on bank holidays and will be processed the next business working day.

Step 1

Click the 'Buy' or 'Add to cart' button and you will be taken to our payment/booking page where you can choose to pay online now using a debit/credit card or you can pay later by invoice.

Step 2

Once you have paid for your course(s), you will receive an email from our team advising how to begin your training.

Step 3

You will be provided with a username and password which will enable you to access the e-learning portal. Login to start your course, once you have completed and passed the course, you will be able to download and print your certificate straight away.

Human Focus is a global leader in skilled behaviour change in the workplace.

We assist clients in achieving world-class business performance by helping to build skills and change habits that keep workers safer, healthier and more productive.

We were founded in 1992 and have grown over our 30 years of service to form close working partnerships with leading health and safety organisations, insurance companies and trade associations.

Our e-learning system supports subtitles in multiple languages for all courses. After starting any training module, learners can choose their preferred language for the course. Subtitles in any other language can also be added upon request.

Envico is working in association with Human Focus offering e-learning and is not accredited by or associated with any examination bodies, awarding bodies, institutions or organisations in any way whatsoever.