How the Building Safety Regulator Impacts Building Owners

What Is the Building Safety Regulator?

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is a new national regulator established by the Building Safety Act 2022 and hosted within the Health and Safety Executive. It began operating in April 2023 and is now the primary regulatory body for higher-risk buildings in England — those over 18 metres or seven storeys with at least two residential units. The BSR has three core functions: directly regulating higher-risk buildings; overseeing the safety and performance of all buildings; and assisting and encouraging competence across the building safety sector.

The BSR as Building Control Authority

For higher-risk buildings, the BSR has replaced local authority building control and approved inspectors as the building control authority. All building control applications for new or significantly altered higher-risk buildings must be made to the BSR, not to a local authority or registered building control approver.

This is a fundamental change from the previous system. Under the old framework, developers could choose their building control body — with some bodies competing on speed and cost. Under the new framework, the BSR has a monopoly on building control for higher-risk buildings and applies a consistent, rigorous standard to every application. Developers cannot shop around for a more accommodating building control body.

Impact on Building Owners of Existing Higher-Risk Buildings

The BSR's impact is not limited to new buildings. Owners of existing higher-risk buildings face a range of new obligations under the Building Safety Act:

• Registration — all existing higher-risk buildings must be registered with the BSR. The deadline was 1 April 2024. Failure to register is a criminal offence.
• Building safety case — building owners must prepare and maintain a building safety case demonstrating that the building is safe and that risks are being managed. The BSR can require submission and assessment of the building safety case at any time.
• Building assessment certificate — building owners must apply for a building assessment certificate from the BSR. The BSR will assess the building safety case and, if satisfied, issue the certificate.
• Ongoing compliance — building owners must notify the BSR of significant changes to the building, maintain the golden thread of information, and comply with any improvement notices or directions issued by the BSR.

BSR Enforcement Powers

The BSR has extensive enforcement powers, including the ability to issue improvement notices requiring building owners to address identified safety deficiencies, prohibition notices preventing occupation of a building or part of a building, and prosecution for criminal offences including failure to register, failure to maintain a building safety case, and failure to comply with BSR directions. Penalties include unlimited fines and up to two years' imprisonment for the most serious offences.

Impact on Developers and Contractors

For developers of new higher-risk buildings, the BSR's gateway process means that construction cannot commence until Gateway 2 is passed and the building cannot be occupied until Gateway 3 is passed. Both gates require comprehensive safety documentation — including a detailed fire strategy — and the BSR's assessment timescales add to programme risk. Well-prepared Gateway 2 submissions with comprehensive fire strategies are more likely to pass within the statutory 8-week assessment period.

Competence Requirements

The BSR is also driving higher standards of competence across the building safety sector. The principal designer and principal contractor on higher-risk buildings must be registered with the BSR and must demonstrate the competence required to fulfil their roles. The fire engineer responsible for the fire strategy at Gateway 2 is expected to hold Chartered Engineer status and demonstrate relevant project experience.