Building Safety in the UK: A Period of Significant Reform

The building safety landscape across the United Kingdom is entering one of its most important stages since the enactment of the Building Safety Act 2022 as the long-awaited Remediation Bill has been formally announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026. Alongside this, a wave of regulatory, funding, and enforcement measures are reshaping how buildings are made safe, how professionals are trained, and how accountability is imposed on those responsible for legacy defects.

The Anticipated Remediation Bill

Perhaps the most significant item is the Remediation Bill, included in this week’s King's Speech, which follows the Government's earlier commitment in its July update to the Remediation Acceleration Plan.

The intention is to set clear deadlines for remediation with the Bill introducing criminal prosecution options for:

• any person responsible for a building’s safety who has failed to remediate a building over 18m without “reasonable excuse” by the deadline; and
• any person who “obstruct[s] another from assessing or remediating an unsafe building over 11m in height, without a reasonable excuse”.The Government confirmed that this would apply to any party unreasonably hindering progress, with authorities empowered to issue “financial penalties”.

It remains to be seen what will amount to a “reasonable excuse”, particularly in light of the existing delays with obtaining BSR approvals, delays with procurement due to capacity issues and general skills shortages.

The draft legislation is also intending to include a “remediation backstop” allowing third parties such as local authorities and Homes England to “step in and carry out remediation work” directly if enforcement fails, though it is not currently clear how this right of action would work in practice.

Finally, in what will be seen as a positive step for those facing the burden of remediating affected buildings, there is an intention to fix gaps in existing laws allowing parties to “properly pursue cladding manufacturers, rather than being blocked by technical legal barriers”.  How the government intends to do this, is not yet clear.

Remediation Enforcement and Acceleration

Earlier this year, the BSR launched a new Remediation Enforcement Unit, which it says will intervene on the most high-risk residential buildings of 18 metres and above with unsafe cladding, while supporting local regulators to address risks for buildings between 11 and 18 metres.

In addition, the BSR has introduced a dedicated improvement programme for external remediation, aiming to drive faster progress on essential safety interventions across England's higher-risk building stock, including several measures:

• Establishing a specialist multidisciplinary unit modelled on its existing Innovation Unit, intended to improve both communications with applicants and the efficiency of case handling.
• A targeted hiring effort designed to bring individual regulatory lead workloads down substantially, from a current average of roughly 25 cases per person to closer to 10.
• Adopting a more flexible approach to granting approvals. Where it is safe to do so, the BSR will allow remediation projects to proceed on site under specified conditions, even where certain technical questions remain outstanding, rather than holding up entire schemes pending full resolution of every detail.
• A commitment to publishing fresh industry guidance specifically tailored to external remediation works on existing buildings. This is intended to clarify expectations around the building control process and help applicants avoid common pitfalls that have historically contributed to delays.

Funding Interventions

Alongside these regulatory reforms, the Government has announced two substantial funding commitments directed at building safety capacity and interim resident protection.

• A £70 million investment to tackle workforce shortfalls in building safety disciplines including:
  • Providing finance for the training of up to 700 additional Registered Building Inspectors;
  • Offering bursaries to students pursuing Fire Engineering qualifications at university level; and
  • Bolster academic infrastructure including expanded course provision and research capacity in safety-related fields.
• A £62.7 million Interim Measures Alarm Fund to replace the Waking Watch Replacement Fund, which closed in March 2026. It will provide financing for the installation of fire alarm systems in buildings that remain at risk while awaiting remediation.

Consultations and New Legislation

Several new consultations have been published which could reshape day-to-day practice, including:

• A consultation led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on improving proportionality in the categorisation of higher-risk building work. Published on 26 March 2026, this consultation proposes amending the legal definition of Category A work so that smaller scale work would no longer automatically trigger the full Category A gateway process. The intention is to ensure that the regulatory regime remains focused on works that genuinely affect the safety of the wider building, rather than imposing disproportionate documentation and approval requirements on minor internal alterations. This consultation closes on 28 May 2026.
• A call for evidence launched by the BSR on its review of the Conditions of Authorisation governing self-certification schemes. As part of this review, the BSR is exploring the potential establishment of a self-certification scheme specifically for fire door installation, maintenance and replacement works in both higher-risk and lower-risk buildings across England and Wales. Under the proposal, qualifying fire door work could be signed off through an authorised competent person scheme rather than requiring formal approval from building control bodies or passage through the BSR's gateway regime. The consultation closes on 5 June 2026.
• An MHCLG consultation published on 2 April 2026 proposing amendments to the submission and approval of plans in building control applications for new dwellings and buildings to which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies. Among its key proposals, this consultation seeks to mandate that all new dwellings using the local authority route must submit an application for building control approval with full plans, and that new dwellings and Fire Safety Order buildings using the Registered Building Control Approver route must receive a plans certificate prior to the issue of a final certificate. It also invites views on reforms to Fire and Rescue Authority consultation requirements. This consultation closes on 11 June 2026.

The Government has also published its Construction Products Reform White Paper alongside a consultation on a General Safety Requirement for Construction Products, promising "system-wide solutions" in construction product safety.

The Building Safety (Wales) Bill, passed in March 2026 and received Royal Assent on 27 April 2026, sets out a new regime for multi-occupied residential buildings in Wales. In Scotland, the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill has been approved by the Scottish Parliament, with the levy intended to apply from April 2028, alongside a continuing cladding remediation programme targeting buildings over 18 metres.

Key Case Law Developments

The courts continue to play a critical role in shaping the scope and application of the Building Safety Act 2022. In Crest Nicholson Regeneration Limited v Ardmore Construction Limited, a major Building Liability Order (BLO) decision from the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) has allowed a BLO based on an adjudicator's decision and an "anticipatory" BLO, expanding the circumstances in which these orders may be sought.   The TCC recently refused Ardmore permission to appeal and refused to grant a stay of enforcement of the judgment.  We wait to see whether Ardmore will apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal.

Meanwhile, in the key Remediation Contribution Order case, Edgewater (Stevenage) Limited & Ors v Grey GR Limited Partnership (Vista Tower), appeals have been lodged in the Court of Appeal relating to the Upper Tribunal's decision dismissing all four grounds of appeal against RCOs totalling over £13 million imposed on 75 corporate respondents on a joint and several basis.

Looking Ahead

With the Remediation Bill introduced in the King's Speech on 13 May 2026, a new legislative chapter has begun, imposing hard deadlines and criminal liability on those who fail to remediate unsafe buildings.

Together with the building safety levy taking effect in England on 1 October 2026, the new enforcement unit and enhanced professional training funding, the regulatory environment is set to become significantly more demanding.

Those operating in this space may wish to engage in the open consultations as it is one of the most direct routes to influencing the final shape of these reforms.

Building owners and principal accountable persons should ensure they are ready for a Building Assessment Certificate call-in. The BSR is progressively directing buildings to apply, and once called upon, the principal accountable person has 28 days to submit. Safety case reports, residents' engagement strategies, and mandatory occurrence reporting systems should be prepared well in advance.

Finally, those with ongoing exposure to remediation obligations should continue to assess their exposure in light of the likely enhanced enforcement landscape.