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Building safety news and updates
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September 2026
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 Overall gateway 2 approvals rise to 84%
Our latest transparency data for the 12-week rolling period to 31 August 2026 shows overall gateway 2 application approvals rising to 84%. This is up from 82% in the previous period, with more than 18,000 residential units clearing the gateway.
Over the same period, existing building remediation approvals also climbed to 89% nationally (up from 85%) and 96% in London (up from 92%).
Over the latest 12-week period, we made 50 decisions on new-build projects, approving 92% of applications. These approved schemes represent 9,362 new residential units.
For comparison, in the 12 weeks to August 2025, the median approval time was 43 weeks and the approval rate was 39%.
From 1 September, we also eased approval steps for fibre-optic cabling and rooftop mast installations while keeping all core safety and compliance standards in force.
Charlie Pugsley, Acting Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our latest performance figures show that we are successfully driving momentum in building control assessments and approvals for more than 18,000 residential units.
“As we continue to streamline our processes and introduce proportionate building control updates, such as the recent telecommunications measures, the safety of residents and our communities remains at the heart of what we do.
"The strict duty holder, functional and competence requirements of the Building Safety Act and Building Regulations remain fully in force to protect the public."
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Latest building safety news
The Building Safety Levy
From 1 October developers must pay a tax on new residential development building control applications, subject to certain exemptions.
Collected by local authorities with building control responsibilities, the Building Safety Levy funds cladding remediation for social sector buildings and orphan schemes where the original developer cannot be identified or held accountable.
To determine liability, we will pass data from relevant higher-risk building applications to local collection authorities.
However, our core assessment process remains strictly independent of levy considerations. We will continue to evaluate every scheme solely against established statutory safety standards.
Submissions failing to meet the required quality standard risks rejection. The ‘approval with requirements’ route will also not serve as a workaround.
Any invalidated or rejected applications resubmitted on or after 1 October 2026 will be treated as entirely new and may incur the levy.
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Putting residents first: Residents’ panel chair announced
We have appointed Gill Kernick as the Independent Chair of our statutory Residents’ Panel.
The panel ensures resident voices and lived experiences directly inform our work to improve the safety of higher-risk buildings.
Serving in a voluntary capacity, Gill will lead the panel to provide independent advice, keeping residents at the heart of everything we do.
She brings decades of experience in organisational culture, systemic change and disaster prevention. As a former Grenfell Tower resident, author and safety specialist, her insight will help guide our regulatory work.
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New toolkit for remediation applications
Online resources are now available to support applicants carrying out remediation work on existing higher-risk buildings.
Our Remediation toolkit brings together practical advice to help applicants understand the building control process, submit higher-quality applications and help reduce delays caused by incomplete submissions.
It includes advice, FAQs and supporting materials designed to help applicants prepare robust submissions and keep their projects moving.
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Proportionate, targeted approach for future assessments
We recently announced plans to modify the Building Assessment Certificate process for occupied higher-risk buildings.
A more proportionate, targeted approach while upholding safety standards for thousands of responsible duty holders is planned based on stakeholder feedback.
Key aims include:
- prioritising current assessments
- limiting new application calls during process updates
- reassessments for previously refused certificates
- protecting residents from unexpected costs
- the offer of enhanced support to resident-led buildings
However, all accountable persons must maintain their ongoing legal duties to prevent fire spread and structural risks throughout this transitional phase.
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 New building safety minister announced
Baroness Blake of Leeds CBE was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 22 July 2026.
Her responsibilities include building safety regulation, the Building Safety Regulator, cladding remediation, response to the Grenfell Inquiry and Net Zero energy efficiency in buildings.
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 BSR in the news: British Safety Council
In a British Safety Council article, Director of Operations John Palmer highlighted improved approval speeds for higher-risk buildings, driven by our specialist staffing and Innovation Unit.
Looking ahead, he called on the sector to improve application quality, supply chain oversight and professional competence as projects advance toward gateway 3.
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News in brief
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Remediation webinar is online
Our recent Remediation Enforcement Unit webinar and Q&A is now available to watch on demand.
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Free competence resources
The Built Environment Competence Hub is a free essential resource for industry competence and useful resources.
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