Gateway 2: building control approval for higher-risk buildings

What is Gateway 2 and why is it a hard stop?

Gateway 2 is the building control approval application made to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) before construction of a higher-risk building starts. Since 1 October 2023, when the BSR became the building control authority for every higher-risk building in England under the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023, construction cannot lawfully begin without that approval. There is no starting at risk and no sign-off to negotiate later. Either the application demonstrates compliance with the Building Regulations before work starts, or the work does not start.

A higher-risk building is, broadly, a building of 18 metres or more, or seven or more storeys, with at least two residential units, plus hospitals and care homes at design stage. The full definition is covered on our higher-risk buildings page. The application itself is substantial: full plans, competence declarations, three control plans, a fire and emergency file, a Building Regulations compliance statement and a signed client statement. Our application guide walks through each element.

The statutory determination period is 12 weeks for a new build and 8 weeks for work to an existing higher-risk building. Fees are 195 pounds per application plus 156 pounds per hour per assessor.

What went wrong between 2023 and 2025?

The system clogged almost as soon as it switched on. From October 2023, application volumes met a regulator still building its assessment capacity, and determination times ballooned far beyond the statutory periods. By October 2025 the BSR's own chair confirmed average approval times of 43 weeks nationally and 48 weeks in London, against a 12-week statutory target. Schemes stalled, funding models broke, some developers redesigned below the 18 metre threshold specifically to escape the regime, and contractors reported turnover hits directly attributable to Gateway 2 hold-ups.

Where do Gateway 2 timescales stand in 2026?

Materially better, and the data now supports saying so.

In the 12 weeks to 30 May 2026 the BSR issued 358 Gateway 2 decisions with a 75% approval rate. Applications routed through the batching process were determined in a median of 12-14 weeks, and the Innovation Unit ran at a 90% approval rate.

Source: BSR building control data, gov.uk. Verified 14 July 2026.

The trajectory tells the story: roughly 200 decisions in the first quarter of 2025 became more than 700 in the fourth. By spring 2026 the backlog of legacy new-build cases had been cut to low single figures, and some approvals now land inside the statutory 12 weeks. The full numbers, and the caveats that go with them, are on our timescales page.

What changed at the regulator?

In June 2025 the government pulled the BSR out of the Health and Safety Executive and installed new leadership: Andy Roe as chair and Charlie Pugsley as chief executive, backed by more than 100 new staff. The new regime brought a Fast Track Process and an Innovation Unit for new-build applications. From September 2025 a batching pilot bundled applications out to external specialist assessors under BSR oversight, which is what delivered the Q4 2025 jump in decisions. In December 2025 staged applications were extended to single-tower schemes, letting groundworks and foundations be approved separately from the superstructure.

Submission quality improved in parallel. The first joint CLC and BSR Gateway 2 guidance suite arrived in July 2025 and has been updated twice since, in December 2025 and June 2026. On 27 January 2026 the BSR formally became a standalone public body sponsored by MHCLG, a step toward the single construction regulator recommended by the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report.

What is coming next?

Two dates matter. From 30 September 2026, all new residential buildings in England above 18 metres require a second staircase, with transitional provisions for sufficiently progressed schemes. From 1 October 2026 the Building Safety Levy comes into force, and the BSR will not issue a Gateway 3 completion certificate where levy payment is overdue. Industry expects a surge of Gateway 2 applications before that date, which is exactly the kind of volume shock the system failed to absorb in 2023.

The BSR's stated target is non-complex Gateway 2 decisions in 18 weeks or less by March 2027. And the next pressure point is already visible: the 2025-26 approval wave is now on site, and every one of those schemes ends at Gateway 3.