Update on Gateway approvals

Two and a half years after the roll-out of the building control approval regime for Higher-Risk building work, how are things progressing? We review the most recent statistics.

On 6th April 2024, a new building control approval process for the construction, conversion and maintenance of Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs) came into full force, after a six-month transition period.

The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 established a stringent building control application regime for HRB work (Gateway 2) that must be achieved prior to the works starting on site, followed by a completion certificate application process (Gateway 3) that must be approved prior to new HRBs being registered and legally occupiable.

The regime, administered by the newly-created Building Safety Regulator, got off to a bumpy start, and was unable to meet its statutory deadlines for determining Gateway 2 applications (12 weeks for new build and conversion projects, 8 weeks for works to existing buildings). In August 2025, the BSR reported a median approval period for Gateway 2 applications of 43 weeks, with just 39% of applications being approved.

In response to industry concerns about lack of progress, the Government announced major changes to the Gateways process. In January 2026, the BSR was removed from the Health and Safety Executive and became a standalone non-departmental public body, managed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The new BSR focused on recruiting specialist technical advisors to clear the backlog of applications and committed to publishing statistics every 12 weeks on application and approval numbers.

The BSR's most recent report, published in October 2026 presented some improvements in the processing of Gateway applications. Acting Chief Executive Officer Charlie Pugsley states "Our latest performance figures demonstrate strong regulatory momentum, with overall Gateway 2 approvals reaching 87% and clearing more than 20,000 residential units."

Gateway 2 applications

At first glance, the statistics look promising. In the 12 weeks to 5th October 2026, 57 Gateway 2 applications for new HRBs were determined, of which 55 were approved, giving a 96% approval rate. 110 applications for works to existing HRBs were determined, of which 96 were approved, giving an 87% approval rate. The BSR reports that the median approval time for Gateway 2 applications is currently 22-23 weeks for new HRBs and 21-22 weeks for works to existing buildings.

While this certainly shows improvement, the BSR's response times are still nearly double the statutory timelines specified in the legislation for new HRBs and nearly triple for existing buildings.

The number of in-progress Gateway 2 applications show a significant backlog. In the 12 weeks to 5th October, there were 186 Gateway 2 applications still to be determined, with an estimate of 22 weeks for non-complex cases and 34-35 weeks for complex cases. In total, there are currently 1,600 live Gateway 2 applications, 1,040 of which are for London-based projects.

The BSR also reported a "surge" of 64 new Gateway 2 applications for new build projects in September, presumably to avoid the introduction of the Building Safety Levy on 1st October. In its report, the BSR stated that contingency plans were being introduced to "triage" urgent cases, though it's unclear what impact this may have on approval rates for the next reporting period.

Gateway 3 applications

The rate of progress for Gateway 3 applications is slower. In the 12 weeks to 5th October, the BSR determined 9 Gateway 3 applications, all of which were approved. The median determination time was 20 weeks, against the statutory target of 8 weeks. This encouraging approval rate is overshadowed by a total of 972 in-progress Gateway 3 applications still to be determined.

Most of the Gateway 3 approvals to date have been works to existing buildings or transitional projects. To date, no new build HRB project has cleared Gateway 3 and been successfully registered with the BSR, suggesting that this part of the regulatory process is yet to commence in earnest.

What's next?

Despite some improvements, the current timescales for Gateway applications make it inevitable that Gateway projects will experience significant delay. Unless the BSR's approval rates radically improve, clients and developers will be required to manage the time and cost implications of delays to their timetables.

The effect of delays on existing HRB works applications is especially concerning, given the large numbers of remediation projects underway to remediate faulty cladding, meet statutory requirements (including Awaab's Law and the forthcoming Remediation Bill) and lower the carbon footprints in HRBs. For projects relying on external finance, clients may struggle to reach completion deadlines set by funding bodies, placing further pressure on developers .

For now, clients and stakeholders should keep a watchful eye on the BSR's quarterly reports, which provide useful statistics for estimating delay times for statutory approval. Clients, developers and project managers should also work collaboratively to manage the attendant costs of these delays and provide funders and stakeholders with regular updates on progress, so as to minimise the adverse effects to HRB projects.