From Grenfell to today
The regime's whole history runs through one night in June 2017. This timeline records it plainly: what happened, what was found, what was built in response, and where it stands now. For the human record of Grenfell itself, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is the primary source, and this site treats that part of the story with the restraint it is owed.
The fire, and what it revealed
14 June 2017
The Grenfell Tower fire. 72 people die. The catalyst for the entire regime that follows.
December 2017
Dame Judith Hackitt publishes the interim report of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.
May 2018
The final report, Building a Safer Future, finds a race to the bottom and recommends gateways, dutyholders, a golden thread of information and a single regulator for higher-risk buildings.
4 September 2024
The Grenfell Inquiry's Phase 2 report is published. It recommends a single construction regulator and the consolidation of functions under one government department.
Building the regime
August 2021
Planning Gateway One goes live: fire statements required with planning applications for relevant high-rise residential buildings, with the regulator as statutory consultee.
28 April 2022
The Building Safety Act 2022 receives Royal Assent, a year after the Fire Safety Act 2021.
April to October 2023
Higher-risk building registration opens; existing HRBs must be registered by 30 September 2023.
1 October 2023
The switch-on: the BSR becomes building control authority for all higher-risk buildings in England. Gateways 2 and 3, the dutyholder and competence regime, and the section 156 fire safety amendments all come into force.
The backlog, the reset, the recovery
October 2023 to mid 2025
The Gateway 2 crisis: approval times balloon to a 43-week national average, 48 in London, against a 12-week statutory target. Schemes stall; some developers redesign below 18m to escape the regime.
June 2025
The reset: government pulls the BSR out of the HSE. Andy Roe becomes chair, Charlie Pugsley chief executive, 100+ staff join, and the Fast Track Process and Innovation Unit launch.
September to December 2025
The batching pilot bundles applications to external specialist assessors. Q4 2025 delivers 700+ decisions against roughly 200 in Q1. Staged applications extend to single towers.
27 January 2026
The BSR becomes a standalone public body sponsored by MHCLG, the structural step toward the single construction regulator.
Spring 2026
The legacy new-build backlog falls to low single figures. The Remediation Improvement Plan launches in April.
30 May 2026
The latest data window: 358 decisions at a 75% approval rate, Innovation Unit at 90%, batching medians of 12 to 14 weeks.
30 September and 1 October 2026
The double deadline ahead: the second staircase mandate for new residential buildings over 18m, then the Building Safety Levy, with completion certificates withheld where levy is unpaid.
By March 2027
The BSR's target: non-complex Gateway 2 decisions in 18 weeks or less, as Gateway 3 volume becomes the next pressure point.
The regime keeps moving; the changes tracker records each development as it lands, and the data page charts what the recovery looks like in numbers. Dates verified 14 July 2026 against the sources in our resource library.