The Building Safety Bill could leave the industry scrambling to defend itself from an “unprecedented avalanche of claims” just when it should be concentrating on making buildings safe, a partner at housing architect PRP has warned.

Andrew Mellor, a technical advisor to MHCLG and Building Design’s regs columnist, said the publication of the bill yesterday would put pressure on the industry as it unleashed a barrage of legal claims for shoddy work dating back 15 years.

The biggest change in the bill since it was published in draft form was the extension of the period of time leaseholders can lodge claims for defective work, something that was welcomed by some but criticised as insufficient by many leaseholder groups since it comes without additional financial support.

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