The Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) latest data for the 12-week rolling period to 1 November 2026 shows overall gateway 2 application approvals rising to 92%, with 19,409 residential units clearing the gateway.
New HRBs and conversion approvals stood at 95% nationally and 97% in London, with existing building remediation approvals climbed to 93% nationally and to 98% in London.
Highlights to 1 November 2026 (12 week rolling period)
- Overall decisions: Over the last 12 weeks, BSR made 403 building control decisions across all higher-risk building (HRB) categories, achieving an overall national approval rate of 92% (370 cases approved). These equate to 19,409 residential units.
- New HRBs and conversions: The approval rate stood at 95% (40 approvals out of 42 decisions) with a median approval time of 20 weeks for 9,453 units. In London, approvals stood at 97% with a 20-week median approval time for non-complex cases (6,733 units).
- Existing building remediation: Existing building remediation approvals stood at 93% (113 approvals), significantly exceeding historical performance levels and equating to 9,956 units. In London, approvals reached 98% (4,881 units).
- NHS applications: Approvals for NHS healthcare applications reached 86% nationally with 18 approvals from 21 decisions and a median determination time of 20 weeks.
- Increased applications and levy contingency: BSR activated contingency plans to manage a pre-levy surge of 93 applications submitted ahead of the Building Safety Levy coming into force on 1 October 2026.
- Investigation and enforcement: BSR intends to publish future transparency data on investigation and enforcement activity, providing greater visibility of its risk-based regulatory interventions.
New-build, conversion and complex projects
BSR continues to drive improvements regarding the assessment of applications for new high-rise residential buildings and major conversions.
Over the latest rolling period, BSR made 42 decisions on new-build projects, approving 95% of applications (40 approvals) with a median approval time of 20 weeks.
These approved schemes represent 9,453 new residential units. In November 2025, overall remediation decision times stood at 44 weeks with an approval rate of 32%, highlighting substantial progress.
Data shows an increasing number of new-build projects progressing through gateway 2, with 24,689 homes under construction and a further 24, 833 approved, but yet to start on site.
Most new-build activity continues to take place in London, which accounted for 30 of 42 national decisions made.
BSR approved 29 of these 30 projects in London. This represents an approval rate of 97% in the capital and unlocked 6,733 residential units. The median determination time in the capital was 20 weeks for non-complex cases.
Nationally, BSR is managing 183 live new-build and conversion applications (39,843 units).
Managing the Building Safety Levy application surge
In the period leading up to the introduction of the Building Safety Levy on 1 October 2026, BSR experienced a surge in higher-risk building applications.
Submissions rose to 64 in September, compared to 34 in August and 17 in July. This was followed by a post-levy drop to 6 in October.
BSR anticipated this surge and deployed a structured five-step handling plan of:
- enhanced validation
- triage categorisation
- demand management
- senior management assurance
- detailed assessment
Our earlier messaging also highlighted to the sector that BSR will reject clearly sub-standard submissions that fail to meet statutory requirements if they cannot be brought up to standard.
Existing building remediation
Targeted operational measures under BSR’s external remediation improvement plan, introduced in April 2026, continue to drive significant performance gains.
BSR determined 122 remediation applications over the rolling period, approving 113 projects (93% approval rate) representing 9,956 residential units.
In London, regional remediation approvals reached 98% (55 approved from 56 decisions), unlocking 4,881 units.
BSR has made substantial inroads into clearing legacy applications. The volume of remediation cases dating from 2024 has fallen from 42 at the start of 2026 to just 5, including 4 in 1 development. All are targeted for full clearance by the end of November 2026.
While resolving these older, complex cases maintains the overall rolling median determination time at 32 weeks nationally and 39 weeks in London, newer applications submitted in 2026 are progressing more quickly in 22 to 26 weeks with a 90% approval rate.
Nationally, BSR is managing 292 active remediation cases, representing 23,479 residential units (171 in London, representing 13,180 units).
As regulatory performance has improved, application quality and applicant engagement have become increasingly important factors in securing timely approvals.
Data shows that well-prepared applications progress around 50% faster than poorer-quality ones. Delayed responses to requests for information can also have a significant impact on determination times.
progress around 50% faster than poorer-quality ones. Delayed responses to requests for information can also have a significant impact on determination times.
NHS healthcare applications
Building control applications for NHS healthcare facilities, encompassing hospital maintenance, wing expansions and structural upgrades, are tracked as a distinct regulatory category to support critical public infrastructure.
BSR made 21 determinations on NHS applications, approving 18 (86%), with a median determination time of 20 weeks. London saw 6 projects approved from 7 determinations.
Refurbishments and early gateway 3 indicators
Category A and B internal refurbishments accounted for 218 decisions over the 12-week period. This represents 54% of all gateway 2 decisions nationally and 63% in London.
BSR achieved a 91% national approval rate (199 approvals from 218 decisions) with a median determination time of 30 weeks.
In London, approvals reached 92% (151 approvals from 164 decisions) with a 32-week median determination time for refurbishments. Plans are also underway to increase resourcing and drive improvements for internal refurbishments in the coming months.
New applications were received at an average rate of 39 per week (470 total). BSR is currently overseeing 1,116 active internal refurbishment cases nationally (751 in London).
At gateway 3, no new-build projects passing gateway 2 have reached final assessment. Active gateway 3 cases stand at 138 for internal works, 16 for NHS works and 10 for external remediation.
A growing regulatory momentum and maturity
Charlie Pugsley, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Building Safety Regulator, said:
“Our latest data reflects continued momentum and growing maturity across the regulatory regime.
“Overall Gateway 2 approvals have reached 92%, unlocking 19,409 residential units, with remediation approvals climbing to 93% nationally and 98% in London.
“While we continue to streamline determination times for high-quality applications, safe homes require high-quality applications and robust but proportionate regulation.
“Through our expanding site inspection programme and multi-disciplinary workforce, we are focussed on ensuring adherence to approved designs during construction.
“Coupled with our structured handling of the recent pre-levy surge, BSR is determined to maintain rigorous scrutiny at every stage.
“Our core objective remains unchanged – driving accountability across the sector to guarantee that residents are safe, and feel safe, in their homes.”
More:
- Building control approval application data – Making Buildings Safer
- Transparency data – Building Safety Regulator building control approval application data – August to October 2026
Feature image by Olga Lioncat from Pexels
