What is BSR (the Building Safety Regulator)?

If you work in construction, you’re likely to have heard about the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). It oversees building safety and standards in England, including specific responsibilities for higher-risk buildings. The regulator was introduced as part of major building safety reforms following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, under the Building Safety Act 2022. Since January 2026, the BSR has been a standalone organisation and is no longer a part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). While higher-risk buildings face a stricter regulatory regime, the BSR’s role goes much further. Its work affects building control, professional standards and competence across the built environment, making it relevant to far more than high-rise developments.

What does the Building Safety Regulator do?

The BSR aims to improve building safety by strengthening oversight, standards and accountability. Its responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the safety and compliance of higher-risk buildings
• Assessing building control applications for higher-risk buildings in England
• Supervising other building control bodies, including local authorities and private sector organisations
• Setting professional standards for building control professionals
• Helping improve skills and competence across the built environment

It also maintains a register of higher-risk residential buildings and reviews both the safety of people in or around those buildings and standards across England. Even if a development isn’t classed as higher risk, the BSR helps shape the standards and regulatory environment construction teams work within. That means understanding the regulator’s role is relevant across the industry. Developers, property owners, contractors, and other professionals all need to understand how building safety expectations can affect how work is planned, managed and delivered.

What is classed as a higher-risk building?

The exact definition depends on the stage and use of the building. Broadly, higher-risk buildings are at least 18 metres tall or have at least seven storeys and contain two or more residential units. There are some important differences to keep in mind. During design and construction, the rules can also cover hospitals and care homes that meet the height or storey threshold. Once a building is occupied, the criteria change. So, you’ll need to look at the building itself and its stage to understand which rules apply.

Gateways 1-3

Regulatory checkpoints have been created through the introduction of the Gateway process:

• Gateway 1: Planning stage – Ensures fire safety information is considered early in the planning application process.
• Gateway 2: Pre-Construction Stage – Confirms that the proposed construction complies with building regulations. Construction works cannot begin until the design is approved by the Building Safety Regulator.
• Gateway 3: Pre-Occupation Stage – Assesses the safety of future occupants and verifies that the completed building complies with all relevant regulations.

These stages have significant implications for construction projects, particularly in relation to programme, cost and risk management. It is no longer simply a case of obtaining the relevant permissions before construction can commence. These Gateway stages introduce formal ‘hold points’ at key points throughout the project lifecycle, where regulatory approval must be secured before the project can progress.

Where does the BSR apply?

The Building Safety Regulator and the higher-risk building regulations described in this article apply specifically to England. Scotland and Northern Ireland operate under their own building standards and regulatory frameworks, so the BSR and Gateway process do not apply to construction projects in these locations. From 1 July 2026, new requirements came into force for higher-risk building work in Wales which share a number of similarities with the approach taken in England, including formal approval before higher-risk building work can begin. However, there are some important differences between the two systems:

• In Wales, although a higher-risk building is determined using the same criteria of at least 18 metres in height or 7 storeys, the residential definition differs. A building meeting the height or storey threshold can fall within the higher-risk regime where it contains at least one residential unit.
• Another key difference is who determines building control applications. In Wales, local authorities act as the building control authority for higher-risk building work, rather than the Building Safety Regulator. For new HRBs, the building control authority generally has 12 weeks to assess an application, while applications relating to existing HRBs generally have an 8 week assessment period.

Therefore, an important consideration when establishing which building safety requirements apply is the location of the project. This can affect whether the building is classed as a HRB and who is responsible for dealing with the building control application.

What does BSR mean for construction projects?

As a result of the Building Safety Regulator and the Gateway process, sufficient time needs to be built into project programmes for the preparation, coordination, submission and review of the required information. Factors such as delays in obtaining approval can have a knock-on effect and it’s important that the correct measures are taken to mitigate the impacts of this. For project teams, the changes reinforce something that should already sit at the centre of good delivery. Building regulations must be considered from the outset, rather than be treated as a box to tick later. From a project management perspective, the Gateway process and obtaining approval therefore needs to be treated as an integral part of the programme, rather than a standalone compliance exercise. Effective management requires close coordination between the client, contractors, design team and other dutyholders. Factoring these requirements into the programme and budget from the outset can help minimise delays and provide greater certainty as the project progresses through each Gateway.

How can SW Project Management help you?

It can be difficult to navigate the requirements of BSR, and understanding how this may affect your construction project is an important consideration from the outset. This is where experienced project management can add real value. At SW Project Management, we can help identify potential regulatory and programme risks early, coordinate with the wider consultant team and ensure key requirements are considered within the overall project programme. By considering these requirements alongside design development, procurement, cost and programme from an early stage, we can help reduce the risk of unexpected issues affecting project delivery and keep your project moving in the right direction. Talk to SW Project Management about your project.