On 11 December 2025, the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee published a much-anticipated report on the performance of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the body set up to regulate the design and construction of high-risk buildings (HRBs - buildings over seven storeys or 18 metres) in England.

The report follows its inquiry in June 2025, at a time when complaints about delays and issues with the BSR had reached their peak.

For context, the BSR, which came into force in October 2023, had come under criticism from both government and industry after the backlog of applications for approval at what is known as Gateway 2, essentially building control approval, passed well beyond the statutory determination period of 12 weeks. Evidence from industry suggested some applicants were having to wait over 40 weeks for a decision.

There were several reasons for these delays, not least the complexity of the new building safety regime. Other contributing factors included a lack of awareness across the industry of what needed to be submitted to pass through Gateway 2, a lack of concrete guidance on what a ‘good’ application looks like, inconsistent decision making, skills shortages within the BSR and wider construction industry, and poor communication on the part of the BSR, amongst others.

The consequences of these delays were discussed at length during the inquiry. Not only had they slowed down the building process, causing greater uncertainty in an already volatile construction market, but for those living in existing HRBs, the delays also meant prolonged uncertainty and anxiety about when their buildings will be remediated, trapping them in unsafe, unsellable homes.

CIOB Evidence

CIOB welcomed the opportunity to respond to the inquiry. Our evidence was predominantly informed by views from our members and gathered through a virtual roundtable. We heard first-hand about the impact that BSR delays were having on projects, businesses and client relationships. However, despite the challenges, much of the call focused on the positive actions that both industry and government could take to clear the backlog of applications and move towards more effective regulation of HRBs.

Some of the key recommendations we made in our evidence included:

1. Learning lessons from previous failings - Given the announcement that responsibility for the BSR will be transferred from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and moved to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) sometime in 2026, we recommended that officials at MHCLG take the time to learn lessons from previous failings and make the necessary changes to ensure they are not repeated. These include listening to industry when early warning signs are raised, proactively communicating with industry through regular roundtables and a new permanent working group, adequately resourcing the regulator, and implementing stock-check points every six months following the transition to ensure all aspects of the BSR are functioning as intended.

    

2. Reallocating minor applications – We recommended the BSR consider whether works falling under Category B to existing buildings (other works apart from those deemed to be emergency works) could be outsourced to local building control authorities or the private sector. This would help ease the burden on the BSR and allow it to prioritise new buildings and emergency works to existing buildings.

    

3. Providing greater advice on what ‘good’ looks like - According to our members, refusals based on missing information had become a major stumbling block for the industry. While it is undoubtedly the case many applications were submitted with missing or incomplete information, members also reported that relevant information was often included but not sufficiently signposted for case officers to identify it easily. Guidance on areas such as signposting should be relatively easy to produce and would help remove one of the persistent barriers to timely decision making.

    

4. Implementing more consistent communication points during the application process – These could include pre-application meetings and ‘hard-stop’ points during decision-making where applicants can speak to their case officers to understand whether minor technical changes are required to in-progress applications.

Additional recommendations were made throughout our evidence, which can be viewed in full here.

Industry and Regulators Committee Inquiry Report

The industry has welcomed the publication of this report and its recommendations.

Many of the recommendations echo sentiments raised by those who supplied written and oral evidence to the Committee and take a constructive approach to improving the relationship between the BSR and industry.

CIOB’s evidence was referenced extensively throughout the report, including a section quoting our submission on the potential impact that delays at the BSR could have on the delivery of new homes in built up areas and cities.

It should be acknowledged that several changes have been made to the BSR since the inquiry was announced. These include streamlining the approval process by hiring additional in-house inspectors, the creation of a new Innovation Unit to batch applications and introduce account managers for greater consistency in decision-making, and a comprehensive overhaul of the IT system, amongst others.

The report should also be viewed against the backdrop of improving approval times and a reduced backlog of legacy applications. According to the BSR, in the 12 weeks to 24 November, these changes enabled construction to begin on 11,000 new homes. During the same period, the BSR also reported a 73% approval rate for new build decisions.

Nevertheless, this does not take away from the importance of the inquiry in providing an opportunity to hear directly from the industry, listen to concerns and relay these in Parliament. The report also provides a source for MHCLG to refer to should further delays demonstrate that the changes made have not been enough.

The gaze of the industry now turns to Gateway 3, the final ‘hard-stop’ before a building can be occupied. There are conflicting reports on how many homes may be delayed as a result of hold ups at Gateway 3, however, delays at this stage could leave completed homes unoccupied from extended periods.

If you are aware of any issues being experienced at Gateway 3, please contact CIOB’s Policy & Public Affairs team on [email protected].