Regulator’s Remediation Plan “aims to drive significant improvements”

The Remediation Improvement Plan will be formally announced and introduced over the coming weeks and set out a targeted package of measures purpose-designed to improve the “efficiency, quality and timeliness” of applications for remediation projects.

The focus is set to be on three core areas: strengthening the BSR’s resource capacity, improving internal processes and also supporting industry to submit higher quality applications.

Gateway 2 new-build applications in the 12-week rolling period to 25 February have seen 108 decisions with 82 new applications received. Overall closed applications continue to exceed previous rates with 639 made (including 273 invalidations). The number of live applications of all categories is 1,212.

Legacy cases have reduced to three, with 18 long-term cases featuring significant technical challenges having now been transferred to a ‘Complex Case’ category. This is where account managers work closely with applicants to try and progress to a successful outcome and deliver safe homes. Approval rates of legacy cases continue to be high at 53%.

65% of all closed applications across all Gateway 2 categories related to London cases with 404 made in the capital over the past 12 weeks. New-build applications representing 15,178 residential units were received and decisions on 23,197 units duly issued, with a total of 10,514 approvals. There are currently 31,191 units in live cases.

Innovation Unit progress

During the past 12 weeks, the Innovation Unit (itself a dedicated team of registered building inspectors, technical engineers and regulatory leads) has made 27 decisions, ten of which were in London. Eleven applications have now been approved with a median approval time of 18 weeks.

For applications post-validation, 33% are approved (up 3% from last month) and 33% rejected. The remainder are under active account management. The BSR is continuing to work to reach approvals despite them having failed to demonstrate sufficient evidence to warrant approval at 12 weeks.

The continued focus is on increasing approval rates for safe applications and supporting those parties making applications in order to ensure more cases pass the validation stage.

Enabling the delivery of safe homes is vital. The BSR is accelerating work to drive down approval times through enhanced consistency conventions to address areas of technical dispute between experts, exploring third party independent validation of key design elements and accelerating the onboarding of specialists (such as geo-spatial engineers or computer modelling specialists) when needed.

The Innovation Unit is currently managing 123 live new-build applications representing 26,224 units. 69 of those cases are for projects in the capital.

Batching pilot

While the model for bundling new-build and remediation applications for accelerated assessment through specialised engineering suppliers remains under evaluation, initial data confirms that processing times are significantly faster than under previous methods.

In-house teams are continuing to manage most new-build applications, using batching only for supplemental support. Indeed, this strategy is now a core component of the BSR’s overall workflow and continues to drive the resolution of cases.

Charlie Pugsley, acting CEO of the Building Safety Regulator, explained: “We continue to witness improvements in terms of the numbers of decisions being made for new-build applications and also the numbers of safe homes being made available for the future. We continue to engage even more closely with applicants to help improve the quality of those applications. That continues to drive tangible results that will make a real difference.”

Pugsley continued: “However, we recognise that current determination times are falling short of our targets for remediation. Our Remediation Improvement Plan, which will be formally announced and rolled-out operationally over the coming weeks, represents a targeted package of focused measures to reset the system.”

In conclusion, Pugsley noted: “Speed can never come at the cost of safety, whether that be for new-build or existing homes. Our goal continues to be to ensure that industry can construct safe buildings and residents can see the essential safety improvements they deserve without unnecessary delays.”

*Building Control approval application data to 25 February 2026