Unpacking the Building Safety Regulator reforms that aim to unlock high-rise delays

At the end of June 2025, the government announced a significant package of reforms to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The announcement follows extensive criticism of the BSR’s performance from across the industry. The delays faced at gateway 2 have put higher-risk buildings (HRBs) into deep freeze, which is not what the government wants to see. 

Under the relevant building control regulations, the BSR’s timeframe for responding to a gateway 2 building control application for works to an existing HRB is eight weeks. For a new-build HRB the period is extended to 12 weeks. However, applicants have reported waiting far in excess of those timeframes, with some applications taking months longer than the statutory periods.

Data from the BSR shows that only a small percentage of gateway 2 applications made to date have been approved. As it is an offence to start works to an HRB without building control approval from the BSR, numerous developers have been left unable to progress works on high-rise residential schemes. These delays are challenging for all parties entering into contracts for HRB works – uncertainty over when works will realistically be able to start on site leads to difficulties in procurement, programming, and costing. This threatens project appraisals and can undermine viability.

>>Also read: Is the government’s building safety regulator shake-up enough to fix the delays?

>>Also read: Will the gateway 2 building safety delays lead to more disputes?

Once the works have been completed, it is an offence to allow HRBs to be occupied without receiving gateway 3 approval from the BSR. Some developers have reported waiting months for this sign-off, incurring considerable additional financing costs.

In light of these issues, the House of Lords industry and regulators committee has recently launched an inquiry into building safety regulation, with a focus on the performance of the BSR. 

What has the government announced?

In a statement to parliament, Alex Norris MP stated that the government recognises the operational challenges the BSR and the wider sector are facing in the implementation of the new building control regime. He announced that the government is making several changes to enhance operations and reduce delays in the process. 

The government plans to bring building inspector and engineer capacity directly into the BSR to enhance the processing of existing applications

The BSR was established by the Building Safety Act 2022 and currently sits within the Health and Safety Executive. The government has announced that a new board of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will take on the functions of the BSR. Andy Roe KFSM, who was previously Commissioner of London Fire Brigade, has been appointed as non-executive chair of the shadow board, which will ultimately be established as an executive agency. This is a step towards the creation of a single construction regulator as recommended by the Grenfell Inquiry. The government expects to publish a prospectus for reform in the autumn setting out further details on the single regulator.

The government also intends to implement a new fast-track gateway approvals process. It plans to bring building inspector and engineer capacity directly into the BSR to enhance the processing and review of existing applications. The current model (which involves recruiting an outsourced multidisciplinary team to review applications) is reportedly adding weeks to the timeframe for processing applications. Bringing operations in-house should assist in reducing delays.

It will support the publication of industry guidance to improve the quality of applications, which should reduce application processing times 

The BSR will also recruit more than 100 additional members of staff by the end of the year.

There has also been criticism from the industry about the lack of guidance available from the BSR to enable applicants to make successful gateway applications. To remedy this, the Construction Leadership Council last month published fresh advice on submitting gateway 2 applications across seven guidance notes. To improve transparency, the BSR is also now publishing key performance related information quarterly.

There is currently no suggestion that the underlying regulations will be amended.

Will it work?

Whether these changes will have a significant impact on the sector and accelerate delivery of the 1.5 million homes promised by the government for this parliament will largely depend upon whether the government can recruit and retain the skilled staff that it needs to efficiently implement the reforms.

Improved written guidance on making gateway applications is welcome. However, further improvements in communication between the BSR and applicants is still needed to deal with queries, ensure smooth processing of applications and reduce the risk of delays to residential projects.

Matthew Bool is a partner and Becky Johnson is knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer