The golden thread: what it is, who owns it, and what “good” looks like

Ask most accountable persons what the “golden thread” requires of them day to day, and the answer is often quite vague. It is one of the Building Safety Act 2022's central ideas, and one of the easiest to under-deliver on, because it sounds like a filing exercise when it is really a live discipline.

This guide explains what the golden thread is, who is responsible for keeping it, and what separates a golden thread that would satisfy the Building Safety Regulator from one that would not.

What is the golden thread?

The golden thread is the digital record of safety-critical information about a higher-risk building, covering its design, construction and ongoing management, maintained continuously from the earliest design decisions through to occupation and beyond. It is a legal requirement under sections 88 to 101 of the Building Safety Act 2022, not a recommendation.

It is not a single document, and it is not something you assemble retrospectively when a Building Safety Regulator request lands. It is meant to be built incrementally, so that at any point in the building's life, the information needed to keep it safe is accurate, current and in the hands of the people who need it.

Who is responsible for maintaining the golden thread?

During occupation, the accountable person and principal accountable person hold this responsibility, with the principal accountable person ultimately answerable for the building's overall record. See our guide to accountable persons and principal accountable persons for how those roles are decided. During design and construction, the equivalent duty holders, the client, principal designer and principal contractor, are responsible for building the record and handing it over intact at Gateway 3.

That handover point is one of the most common places for the golden thread to break down in practice: information created during construction gets lost, simplified or left in a format the accountable person cannot realistically maintain going forward.

What information does the golden thread need to contain?

While the Act does not prescribe an exact template, the golden thread is generally expected to cover:

• Design information, including the fire and structural strategy the building was designed around
• Construction records, including materials used, particularly for external walls and fire compartmentation
• Fire risk assessments and any subsequent external wall fire risk appraisals
• The building's safety case report and supporting evidence
• Records of any building work, alterations or repairs carried out since occupation, including who carried them out and under what competence
• Details of the accountable persons and principal accountable person, and how they can be contacted

What does “good” record-keeping actually look like?

The Building Safety Regulator has been clear that paper records, or a folder of scanned PDFs with no version control, will not meet the standard expected for a higher-risk building. In practice, “good” tends to mean:

• A structured digital environment, rather than a collection of disconnected files, aligned with recognised information management standards such as the PAS 1192 series and ISO 19650
• Version control, so anyone accessing the record can see they are looking at the current version, not a superseded one
• An audit trail, showing who created or amended information, and when
• Access controls, so the right people, contractors, residents where relevant, and the regulator, can see what they are entitled to see, and nothing more
• A format that survives handover, whether that is a change of managing agent, a sale, or a change of principal accountable person, without the record degrading or fragmenting

Many of the surveys and inspections that feed the golden thread, measured surveys, condition surveys and ongoing planned preventative maintenance programmes, are increasingly captured digitally by default.

Why golden thread gaps cause real problems

A golden thread with gaps is not simply an administrative failing. If a fire safety incident occurred and the accountable person could not readily produce accurate information about the building's construction or its fire strategy, that gap becomes a live safety and liability issue, not a paperwork one. It is also one of the first things the Building Safety Regulator will test when assessing a building assessment certificate application.

Get expert guidance on your building's golden thread

If you are not confident your building's golden thread would meet the standard the Building Safety Regulator expects, or you have inherited a record you suspect is incomplete, our building safety team can review what exists, identify the gaps, and help you close them. Call [phone number] or complete the form below.