Updates from the BSR: Latest data on the building control gateway regime for higher risk buildings and an alert on potential risks from transfer slabs in buildings

Established in 2022 and operational since late 2023, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has played a crucial role in the new building safety regime for higher risk buildings, if subject to a rocky start. Delays, unclear communication and a lack of operational resource capacity plagued the BSR in its early days. 

News from the BSR in the latter half of 2025 focused on how the significant case backlog could be cleared: batching applications, and improving BSR capacity. In July 2025, three key areas of reform were announced:

• Andy Roe KFSM was appointed as the non-executive chair of a new shadow board within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG);
• the BSR would be transitioned from its position within the HSE to the new Executive Agency within the MHCLG (which took place on 27 January 2026); and
• a new Fast Track Process was introduced to directly integrate building inspector and engineer capacity into the BSR, improving the processing and review of new build Gateway 2 applications.

In August 2025, former deputy commissioner of the London Fire Brigade Charlie Pugsley was appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Building Safety Regulator.

So, how have those changes fared? 

The move from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to an arm’s-length body under the MHCLG has created a standalone executive non-departmental public body. The announcement from the Government framed this as “a renewed commitment to putting residents at the heart” of BSR actions; it is certainly an operational reset. 

Andy Roe is widely seen as a much-needed refresh of energy, with more ambitious goals, a focus on recruitment, and wider planning to include a range of challenges felt by the regulator. His real litmus test will be in whether he can consistently deliver better timelines: application timescales are the most common complaint about the new Gateway regime, so the focus is clear.  

What progress has been made on the backlog of Gateway 2 applications?

In June 2025, the House of Lords initiated an inquiry into the BSR's approval process, seeking to understand the reasons behind the lagging approval rates. Giving evidence to that inquiry in November 2025, Andy Roe noted that the BSR were working through a backlog of 91 cases comprising “33,000 housing units, which [they] intend to clear by Christmas”. 

In 2026, we are now seeing BSR figures which note a reduced backlog of legacy cases to 29, and put the median timescale for a Gateway 2 application to be processed at 16 weeks, a significant decrease from prior data releases.  Though for those remaining 29 ‘complex’ cases, they may go back to the drawing board, with the BSR assessing whether rejection is the best option.

The Fast Track process does seem to be helping, with applications able to be rejected earlier so projects aren’t on hold without direction being provided.  The scale of the challenge should not be underestimated, with the BSR dealing with 1,159 live applications across all categories, as of 24 January 2026, of which 111 were new build applications being dealt with by the Innovation Unit. 

Time will tell whether this impact will last through to Gateway 3.  Data disclosed by Property Week indicates that, in many cases, the BSR is taking more than three months to determine the Gateway 3 applications, rather than the prescribed eight weeks. 

Risks from Transfer Slabs

More widely, we’re also seeing a more mature approach from the BSR, with issues other than Gateway approvals taking up attention.  In late December 2025, the BSR published a communication on risks from transfer slabs aimed at building owners and principal accountable persons to help them monitor and take steps to manage building safety. Proactive engagement is a clear sign that the regulator is starting to develop beyond the narrow view of gateways and deadlines – hopefully not to the detriment of applications.  

However, the changing face of building safety regulation never settles, and we’re expecting further news from government on the “Single Construction Regulator ” in 2026. This will take over some of the functions of the BSR, in regulating safety of buildings, and the National Regulator for Construction Products, in overseeing the construction products used within them, with suggestions that it will also cover construction professionals. It aims to reduce fragmentation, but another transition could signal further disruption ahead. Expect this to be the next hot topic!