Building Safety Regulator Gateway 2 approvals continue to rise

Highlights to 28 June 2026 (12-week rolling period)

Across all categories including internal refurbishment (Category A/B work), 368 Gateway 2 decisions were made by the BSR in the 12 weeks to 28 June, with a 77% approval rate (284 cases). 57% of all decisions across all categories related to London cases.

Operational improvements to achieve the BSR’s External Remediation Improvement Plan’s aim of reducing average decision times have seen approval rates in this rolling 12-week period rise to 85%. This is considerably higher than 2026’s end of year minimum 65% target.

A Remediation Toolkit has also been published to help duty holders navigate the Building Control process, understand regulatory expectations and access other practical resources.

89% of new-build decisions (25 out of 28) in the last 12 weeks were approvals. London witnessed a 91% approval rate for its 20 case decisions. This reflects continued additional work and engagement with applicants to enable the delivery of safe homes.

For new higher-risk buildings and conversions, decisions over the last 12 weeks resulted in approvals representing 6,544 residential units. There are currently 138 new-build and conversion applications in progress, representing a total of 30,393 units.

277 Gateway 3 applications have been received by the BSR to date. This doesn’t yet include a standard new-build or conversion application that has passed through Gateway 2. Of these, 221 are for Category A/B refurbishments. 124 applications have already been determined with an approval rate of 86% and a median determination time of 16 weeks.

Improvements to data set

Based on feedback from stakeholders and industry, this month’s data set updates Gateway 2 performance, including specific London data as in earlier releases. It also introduces new overview and detailed slides for internal refurbishment and regional applications.

Additionally, the data features a breakdown of the BSR resourcing alongside early performance indicators for Gateway 3.

Gateway approvals stand at 77%

Across all categories, 368 Gateway 2 decisions were made in the 12 weeks to 28 June 2026, with a 77% approval rate. 57% of all decisions across all Gateway 2 categories related to London cases.

For new-build and conversion projects specifically, approvals over the last 12 weeks represent 6,544 residential units.

For the first time, internal refurbishment works have been separated into their own category. Data shows that these works make up the majority of the BSR’s current live caseload.

Currently, 63% of all live cases (952 out of 1,504) are for HRB internal works. These applications have a 73% approval rate with a median determination time of 28 weeks.

Recent statistics issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showed the higher number of starts in 2025 Q4 and 2026 Q1 was in part due to BSR reporting 7,089 total starts in 2025 Q4 and 6,276 total starts in 2026 Q1.

External remediation rates

Operational improvements and intensive work to improve quality of applications has seen approval rates rise to 85% over the last 12 weeks.

This is well above the minimum 65% end of year target for 2026. 85 decisions were made, with approvals for 4,998 units over the last 12 weeks.

Following on from the External Remediation Improvement Plan’s introduction in April, 14 legacy 2024 applications now remain from 42 at the start of 2026. BSR teams are working closely with applicants to resolve outstanding issues such that these projects can be approved as soon as possible.

The median approval time remained at 35 weeks following decisions on older applications in the system for some time. However, recently submitted applications have a much quicker approval time reflecting better quality applications and improved processes. There are currently 30,962 units in 342 live cases.

As stated, a Remediation Toolkit has been published to help duty holders navigate the process, understand regulatory expectations and access other practical resources. This followed external remediation-driven guidance being published alongside April’s plan.

Further resources and support will be introduced this year as the BSR continues to work closely with the sector to help applicants improve the quality of their applications.

New-build approvals rise

New-build applications continued to move through the BSR’s Innovation Unit, with the latter making 25 new-build approvals out of 28 decisions (89%) during the last 12 weeks. 20 of those decisions were in London.

Approvals in London marginally outperformed the national rate over the last 12 weeks at 91%, reflecting ongoing work to support and resolve outstanding complex cases.

Close working with industry on consistency to reduce the number of complex cases in the system is continuing. The BSR is currently managing 138 new-build and conversion applications, representing a total of 30,393 units.

Majority of Gateway decisions

Decisions across the capital continue to be the majority of new-build projects, with 20 of the 28 decisions made in the last 12 weeks for 3,559 units.

Currently, 59% of all in progress new-build applications are in London, representing 55% of the overall residential units the BSR is handling. The BSR is progressing 89 new-build and HRB conversion projects in London, representing 17,010 units.

For remediation, approval rates in the capital have already exceeded the minimum 65% target for 2026 with a rate of 86% that’s above the national rate (which stands at 85%).

Early Gateway 3 performance indicators emerge

While no new-build projects have reached Gateway 3 as yet, a sizeable number of internal refurbishment projects have already completed Gateway 2 and entered the Gateway 3 process.

The BSR has received 277 Gateway 3 applications to date, 221 of which are for Category A/B refurbishments. Of these, 124 applications have already been determined, with an approval rate of 86% and a median determination time of 16 weeks. The fastest approval to date was eight weeks.

The BSR is “fully aware” of the importance of Gateway 3 and working with applicants to solve issues, duly moving towards approvals rather than rejections. This is currently being reflected in the high approval rates.

Scaling resources to meet demand

In order to manage the 1,505 Gateway 2 applications in the system, the BSR has deployed a significant mix of internal and external expertise.

Currently, 152 internal staff members are involved, supported by 493 external specialists from partner organisations (including 222 registered building inspectors and 125 structural engineers).

Sixty-four of these external experts have been fully integrated into the BSR’s Innovation Unit and External Remediation teams.

The BRS is actively recruiting internal regulatory team members over the next six-to-12 months and also growing its integrated resource teams to meet demand and reduce determination times.

Focus on remediation

Charlie Pugsley, acting CEO of the BSR, said: “We continue to see positive improvements in the numbers of approvals for existing building remediation cases and new-build projects, as well as significantly faster decision times for newer applications.”

Pugsley continued: “Ongoing improvements following our External Remediation Improvement Plan are also being seen, with existing building approval rates at 85% over the last 12 weeks. That’s already above our minimum 65% target for the year.”

Further, Pugsley observed: “Support for applicants is also being made available with updated guidance, as well as a new Remediation Toolkit that brings together practical advice to help applicants understand the process and submit higher-quality applications.”

In addition, Pugsley explained: “We recognise that many more people living in other unremediated buildings still want them to be fixed safely and quickly. We will continue to work to accelerate our assessments, decisions and approvals and resource our teams to improve consistency. Doing so will ensure industry can make existing and new buildings safe so that thousands of residents see the essential safety improvements they deserve. We also continue to be committed to ensuring accelerated decision-making for any HRB, either new or existing, will never come at the cost of building safety.”

*Transparency Data – Building Safety Regulator Building Control Approval Application Data: April to June 2026