The Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) latest building control gateway 2 update and transparency data has been published for the 12-week rolling period to 1 August 2026.
Gateway 2 building application approvals across all categories rise to 82%, as existing building remediation approvals reach 85% over the last 12 weeks nationally and 92% in London.
Since BSR’s Innovation Unit was set up in August 2025, the unit has seen its approval rate more than double, from 39% to 91%. Median approval times have also almost halved, from 43 weeks a year ago, to 22 weeks in this latest data.
The performance of external remediation applications shows similar improvements following the introduction of BSR’s external remediation plan in April 2026. This was introduced alongside process improvements, updated guidance and closer engagement with applicants.
Highlights to 1 August 2026 (12 week rolling period):
- Over the last 12 weeks, BSR made 349 building control decisions across all higher-risk building (HRB) categories, with an overall national approval rate of 82% (287 cases).
- For new HRBs and conversions the approval rate (not including invalidations and withdrawals) has risen to 91% with a median approval time of 22 weeks. In London, approvals stood at 93% with a 23-week median approval time.
- Existing building remediation approvals stood at 85%, significantly exceeding BSR’s annual target of 65%. In London, approvals stood at 92%.
- Approvals for NHS applications reached 84% nationally, with 16 approvals from 19 decisions. London saw 6 projects approved from 7 determinations (86%).
- In its first year BSR’s Innovation Unit has streamlined new build assessments, determining 102 applications over the past year, of which 76 (75%) were approvals or approvals with requirements.
- The unit has a current approval rate of 91% and current median determination time of 22 weeks for non-complex cases.
Applications for new higher-risk buildings and conversions continue to progress through BSR’s Innovation Unit. Over the last 12 weeks, BSR made 45 decisions on new build projects, achieving an approval rate of 91%. These approved projects represent 7,587 residential units.
For comparison, in the 12 weeks to August 2025, median approval time stood at 43 weeks with an approval rate of 39%.
Most new build activity took place in London. This accounted for 27 of the 45 national decisions, with 25 of those 27 projects in the capital approved. London’s approval rate of 93% represents 3,841 residential units.
Currently, London represents 65% of all in-progress new build applications and 58% of the total units under assessment. Nationally, BSR is managing 131 live new build and conversion applications, representing 30,421 units.
Targeted operational improvements to reduce decision times have driven national remediation approvals up to 85%. This is significantly higher than BSR’s target of 65% for the end of 2026. In London, remediation approval rates reached 92%, exceeding the national average.
BSR determined 110 remediation decisions over the rolling 12-week period, approving 85% of projects that represent 7,433 residential units.
Outstanding legacy applications from 2024 have fallen to 13 (down from 42 at the start of the year) as teams work with applicants to resolve challenging technical issues.
Older cases in the system averaged a median approval time of 34 weeks, which includes clearing older applications from 2024/25.
However, recent data shows applications submitted in 2026 have a median determination time of 21 weeks. This is due to improved application quality and streamlined internal processes. BSR is currently managing 330 live remediation cases nationally, representing 28,778 units.
NHS applications, covering a range of hospital building work from maintenance to new facilities, are now a separate tracked category.
Approvals for NHS applications stood at 84% nationally with a median approval time of 24 weeks.
Over the rolling 12-week period, BSR received 29 new NHS applications and made 19 determinations.
Of these decisions, BSR approved 16, with a median determination time of 24 weeks. The median determination time for NHS applications submitted in 2026 is 13 weeks.
BSR’s specialist team has been working closely with the NHS to facilitate the specialist nature of their applications. This has started to show results with some recent approvals coming in at the statutory 8-week timescale.
Currently, BSR is managing 36 active NHS cases nationally to support the delivery of safe, upgraded healthcare facilities.
London achieved an approval rate of 86% over the period, with 6 projects approved and a median determination time of 27 weeks.
Charlie Pugsley, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Building Safety Regulator, said: “We are seeing positive momentum in building control approvals across all categories, including critical work to upgrade NHS hospitals and facilities.
“This progress is a direct result of our targeted improvement plans and our closer, more collaborative work with the NHS to resolve technical issues early in the design phase.
“By scaling up our resources and deploying integrated teams of registered building inspectors, fire and structural engineers, we are successfully clearing older legacy applications and accelerating determination times for new projects.
“The first year of our Innovation Unit also highlights this progress, showing how bringing specialist teams in-house can cut setup times from months to days and safely unlock new developments.
“While we remain absolutely focused on further improving our processes and supporting safe development across healthcare, housing and complex developments, our core commitment remains unchanged. We will never allow faster decision-making to compromise the safety of the people who will live, visit and work in these buildings.”
