Impact Assessment on the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023

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Title: Impact Assessment on the Building (Higher-Risk
Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 and the
Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England)
Regulations 2023
IA No: N/A
RPC Reference No: N/A
Lead Department or agency: Department of Levelling
Up, Housing and Communities
Other Departments or agencies : Health and Safety
Executive, Home Office
Impact Assessment (IA)
Date: 20/07/2023
Stage: Final
Source of intervention: Domestic
Type of measure: Secondary Legislation
Contact for enquiries:
Building.Safety@levellingup.gov.uk
Summary: Intervention and Options
RPC Opinion: Not applicable
Cost of Preferred (or more likely) Option (in 2019 prices)
Total Net
Present Social
Value
Business Net
Present Value
Net cost to
business per
year
Business Impact Target Status
Non-qualifying regulatory provision
N/A 1 N/A N/A

1The benefits estimated have not been included in the total assessment of net present value for this Impact Assessment. The benefits are
estimated together, providing a high-level assessment for both Parts 3 and 4 of the regime, and cannot be disaggregated.

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What is the problem under consideration? Why is government action or intervention necessary?
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the governmen t appointed Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an
Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. She made 53 recommendations for
government and industry to drive the cultural change and behaviours necessary to improve building safety .
Key recommendations included changes to the way buildings are designed and constructed . Government
committed to implementing Dame Judith Hackitt’s reforms and in July 2021 introduced the Building Safety
Bill in Parliamen t. The Bill received Royal Assent and became the Building Safety Act 2022 (the 2022 Act)
on 28 April 2022.

Government is now making regulations to complete these reforms. In July 2022 we carried out a
full public
consultation on measures to be incl uded in two sets of regulations which bring forward the recommended
changes to the way buildings are designed and constructed.

This Impact Assessment relates to these two sets of regulations. These are the:
1. The Building (Higher-Risk Building Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 which provide the
technical and administrative detail underpinning the design and construction part of the higher- risk
regime. They implement a new building control regim e for higher- risk buildings that provides
stronger regulato ry oversight and rigorous inspection before, during and on completion of building
work, ensuring that building regulations compliance is considered by dutyholders at each stage of
the design and construction process.
2. The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 make wider changes
to the building control regime for all buildings, t o increase oversight and improve standards across
the design and construction of all buildings. These regulations introduce changes to the building
control process.

What are the policy objectives of the action or intervention and the intended effects?
The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations and the Building (Higher-Risk Building
Procedures) (England) Regulations to which this Impact Assessment relate are a key part of delivering the
reforms recommended by Dame Judith Hackitt, tested, and refined, to reflect feedback from public
consultation and stakeholder engagement over the pa st 5 years. Through both sets of regulations, the
government aims to ensure building regulation is fi t for purpose for higher-risk buildings and where
appropriate will apply the new approaches in the 20 22 Act to all building work, improving building saf ety
across the built environment.

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What policy options have been considered, including any alternatives to regulation? Please justify preferred
option (further details in Evidence Base)
Without these regulations, we are unable to put in place the new higher- risk regime for the design and
construction of higher-risk buildings or, where app ropriate, make changes to the way other buildings are
designed and built. This means the system recommended by Dame Judith Hackitt to ensure there is greater
accountability and responsibility for the safety of buildings throughout their lifecycle would not be
established . We have considered whether we could encourage tho se who build and design buildings to
meet the standards of the new regime voluntarily; h owever, without this legislation we cannot be assur ed
that standards would be met consistently or that th ere would be sufficient scope for enforcement where
buildings owners fail to meet the expected standards for engagement. The government does not consider
that there are viable alternatives to delivering ou r commitments on the comprehensive and fundamental
reform of the current regulatory system for buildings.

Will the policy be reviewed? see monitoring and evaluation section. Year
Is this measure likely to impact on international trade and investment? No
Are any of these organisations in scope? Micro
Yes
Small
Yes
Medium
Yes
Large
Yes
What is the CO 2 equivalent change in greenhouse gas emissions?
(Million tonnes CO 2 equivalent)
Traded:
N/A
Non-traded:
N/A
I have read the Impact Assessment and I am satisfied that, given the available evidence, it represents a
reasonable view of the likely costs, benefits and impact of the leading options.
Signed by the responsible Minister Lee Rowley Date: 9 th August 2023

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Summary: Analysis & Evidence Policy Option 1
Description:
FULL ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
Price Base
Year: 2019
PV Base
Year: 2023
Time Period
Years: 15
Net Benefit 1 (Present Value ( PV )) (£m)
Low: N/A High: N/A Best Estimate: N/A

COSTS (£m) Total Transition
(Constant Price) Years
Average Annual
(excl. Transition) (Constant Price)
Total Cost
(Present Value)
Low N/A

£102.2 £1,225.6
High N/A £153.6 £1,830.3
Best Estimate N/A £127.6 £1,514.7
Description and scale of key monetised costs by ‘main affected groups’
The costs relate to the activities associated with the Regulations made under part 3 of the 2022 Act, relating
to ensuring that high-risk buildings are designed and constructed safely. They include costs to industry and
costs to the regulator (who will recover some of these costs from industry via cost recovery).

The costs to industry primarily relate to the design and construction of buildings, namely as they go through
the building control process. These include (but are not limited to):
• Requirements on dutyholders to ensure that all work is compliant with the Regulations.
• Going through the building control process, including building control approval application stage and
completion stage.
• Ensuring safety during construction and engaging with the Regulator during construction, including
an enhanced inspections schedule and change control.
• Gaining building control approval for works on existing higher-risk buildings.

Other key non-monetised costs by ‘main affected groups’
There are no hypothesized non-monetised costs.
BENEFITS (£m) Total Transition
(Constant Price) Years
Average Annual
(excl. Transition) (Constant Price)
Total Benefit
(Present Value)
Low N/A

N/A N/A
High N/A N/A N/A
Best Estimate N/A N/A N/A
Description and scale of key monetised benefits by ‘main affected groups’
The benefits estimated have not been included in the total assessment of net present value for this Impact
Assessment, see ‘Other key non-monetised benefits’ section below.

1 The benefits estimated have not been included in the total assessment of net present value for this Impact Assessment. The benefits are
estimated together, providing a high-level assessment for both Parts 3 and 4 of the regime, and cannot be disaggregated.

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Other key non-monetised benefits by ‘main affected groups’
The non-monetised benefits of the proposed enhanced building safety regime that we have identified include
improved mental health for residents, and improved functioning of mortgage and insurance markets.

There are monetised benefits of the proposed enhanced building safety regime, however they have not been
included in the total assessment of net present value for this Impact Assessment. The benefits are estimated
together, providing a high-level assessment for both parts 3 and 4 of the regime, and cannot be disaggregated.
The aggregated benefits are included to give a sense of scale, however the benefits cannot be compared
against the costs.
We estimate the total benefit of the regime to be £1,173.3m - £5,299.4m, with a central estimate of £2,634.0m
in present value terms. This equates to an estimated annual benefit of £95.6m - £416.5m, with a central
estimate of £210.1m.
The primary monetised benefit is reducing the risk of fires spreading across, or within, buildings. This will
reduce risks to life and health (including mental health) and avoid losses of property and other costs related to
such incidents. The likelihood of systemic risks arising and requiring expenditure to mitigate, and remedy, will
also be reduced. This includes the need to repair, replace or remediate damage caused by defective or
otherwise unsafe construction products.

There will also be other cost savings, in part due to the avoidance of defects arising in the construction process,
that will be brought about through Regulations made relating to the design and construction of higher-risk
residential buildings under powers in part 3 of the Act.
Key assumptions/sensitivities/risks Discount See below
The assumptions underpinning the analysis in this Impact Assessment are the best estimates available at the
time of publication.

Annex A sets out the methodology and key assumptions used to estimate monetised benefits in this Impact
Assessment.
• The appraisal period is 15 years for the costs, with an extended period of up to 75 years for the benefits.
For the first 30 years of the appraisal period a discount rate of 3.5% has been applied to costs and non-
health related benefits and 1.5% to health-related benefits. For the subsequent 45 years, a 3% and
1.29% discount rate h as been applied respectively. This is in line with guidance in HM Treasury’s Green
Book - Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government.
• The benefits are accrued over the 15- year policy that could persist up to 60 years after the end of that
period. See Annex A for further detail.

BUSINESS ASSESSMENT (Option 1)
Direct impact on business (Equivalent Annual) £m: Score for Business Impact Target (qualifying
provisions only) £m: N/A
Costs: N/A Benefits: N/A

NetN/A

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Evidence Base
Problem under consideration and rationale for intervention

1. Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the govern ment appointed Dame Judith Hackitt to
lead an Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. In her Building a
Safer Future report , Dame Judith Hackitt found that the current system for designing,
and constructing high-rise residential buildings was not fit for purpose. Her report pointed
to an industry that needed significant culture and regulatory change.

2. The Building a Safer Future Report also highligh ted several market failures in the
construction and management of safety in high-rise residential buildings. The foremost
of these that relate to regulations covered by this Impact Assessment is information
asymmetry. This occurs when two agents on different sides of a transaction, in this case
between those who design and construct the building and residents who purchase a unit
within that building, have different levels of info rmation that could impact the incentives
and outcomes of the transaction. For example, a dev eloper could construct a building
with substandard materials and to a poor quality bu t residents purchasing a unit within
the building may not have the means to understand or be aware of this.

3. The government committed to implementing Dame Ju dith Hackitt’s reforms and in July
2021 introduced the Building Safety Bill in Parliam ent. The Bill received Royal Assent
and became the Building Safety Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) on 28 April 2022. Government
is now implementing the reforms brought forward by the 2022 Act through a package of
regulations.

4. A key part of the reforms includes a new higher- risk regime which changes the way
certain buildings, known as higher-risk buildings, are designed and built. In the design
and construction phase of the higher-risk regime, h igher-risk buildings are defined as
buildings which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least 7 storeys and have at
least two residential units, as well as care homes and hospitals meeting the same height
threshold. Another key part of the reforms includes broader changes to the way all
buildings are designed and managed.

5. Part 3 of the 2022 Act took powers to amend the Building Act 1984 (1984 Act) and
provide new building regulation requirements. Throu gh secondary legislation,
government is making regulations that will establis h a new regime for the design and
construction of new higher-risk buildings and build ing work to existing higher-risk
buildings. We are also amending the current buildin g regulations to improve the way all
buildings are designed and built. This Impact Asses sment covers both sets of
regulations.

6. The Building (Higher-Risk Building Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 provide the
technical and administrative detail underpinning th e design and construction part of the
higher-risk regime. They implement a new building c ontrol regime for higher-risk
buildings that provides stronger regulatory oversig ht and rigorous inspection before,
during and on completion of building work, ensuring that building regulations compliance

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is considered by dutyholders at each stage of the design and construction process. This
allocation of responsibility will make it clear to industry who is in charge of each part of
the construction process. The Building Safety Regul ator (the Regulator) will be the
building control authority for higher-risk building work and solely responsible for
overseeing compliance with all applicable aspects o f building regulations in higher-risk
buildings.

7. The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 make wider
changes to the building control regime for all buildings, to increase oversight and improve
standards across the design and construction of all buildings. These regulations
introduce changes to the building control process, such regulator’s notices to allow the
Regulator to be the only control body for a project that contains both higher-risk and non-
higher-risk building work; building control approval applications to replace the deposit of
plans, so they are more closely aligned with the ne w higher-risk regime. They will also
introduce a new, more stringent definition of commencement and provisions for building
control approval to automatically lapse after three years, if the building work has not
commenced, to avoid the situation where a site that has only commenced a minor
amount of building work can benefit from old buildi ng control approval to build to old
standards.

8. The Regulations covered in this Impact Assessment w ill help ensure that buildings are
designed and constructed properly, including with r espect to fire and structural safety.
Dutyholders will have clarity on what is required t o undertake their role, and the
necessary systems and information in place to do so, ultimately leading to safer buildings
for the residents who occupy them. Overall, the interventions will help to mitigate the risk
of major fire incidents or structural failure and avoid systemic failures in the industry. The
‘Benefits’ section below explores this in more detail.

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Rationale and evidence to justify the level of anal ysis used in the IA
(proportionality approach)
9. This Impact Assessment has been prepared regarding regulations being made under
part 3 of the 2022 Act. Since the 2021 Bill Impact Assessment the Department has
worked extensively with a range of interested parti es including: the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE), Home Office and industry stakeholders and representatives in refining
and developing both the detail of policy, how it wi ll be operationalised, and the
assumptions that underpin the Impact Assessment.

10. In this Impact Assessment, it has not been possible to state the cost estimates of the
proposed regime with certainty for all the new requ irements. As such, a wide range of
possible cost estimates have been presented for mos t sections. The assumptions
underpinning the analysis are the best estimates available at the time of publication.

11. The cost estimates have been broken down to align with the duties and requirements set
out in the Act. The different requirements of the A ct are interlinked, and cost estimates
attributed to one area could feasibly be argued to fall under another. The allocation of cost
to a duty or requirement, however, does not impact the overall estimates.

12. Analysis presented in this Impact Assessment has drawn significantly on the experience of
work carried out on high-rise buildings by PRP Arch itects and modelling by Adroit
Economics as part of a consortium contracted by the Department. Cost estimates for the
Regulator have been aligned, as far as possible, with financial and operational modelling by
the HSE.

13. As part of our analysis, we have considered a counterfactual. This has been done in two
ways:
• An estimate of the costs incurred from the addition al time and resources now legally
specified as a requirement in the 2022 Act.
• Discounting a proportion of developments that are already undertaking these activities,
as part of their existing design and construction arrangements.

14. This approach ensures that, as far as possible and where appropriate, we have only
estimated costs for additional activity resulting from the new requirements. We are aware
that there are some in the sector that already undertake some of the activities that the new
legislation requires, however, many are not managing their higher-risk buildings as we
would expect, and this has been taken into account in the modelling.

15. The analysis assumes full compliance with the new requirements as this assumption is
common practice in impact assessments. However, as these are new requirements, it is
assumed that to achieve full compliance, the Regulator will need to intervene by issuing
compliance notices to some dutyholders where new requirements have been contravened.
The administrative cost on industry of complying wi th these notices to achieve full
compliance has been included in the cost estimates.

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16. Where we have estimated costs on a per-building ba sis, those costs have been based
on a series of assumptions that we estimate represe nt the average 1. Where buildings
have been well managed and operated in line with cu rrent legislation, the costs of
delivering the new duties and requirements will likely be lower. Conversely, if a building
has been badly managed or is operating outside the current health and safety
regulations, the costs will likely be higher.

Description of options considered
Option 0 – do nothing
17. This option means not introducing any secondary leg islation under part 3 of the 2022
Act. The primary legislation in the 2022 Act would govern requirements and no further
detail about the statutory requirements under part 3 of the 2022 Act would be set out in
legislation. If government were to take this approa ch, most of the key elements about
the way the design and construction part of the higher-risk regime will operate would not
be included, risking an unimplementable regulatory regime for new higher-risk buildings.
This would result in uncertainty about how to under take the exact duties placed upon
dutyholders and how to carry out the requirements under part 3 of the 2022 Act.

18. The absence of regulations would mean that any act of non-compliance could not be
enforced against. This lack of clarity and certainty would make it difficult for the Regulator
to regulate the higher-risk regime. In summary, thi s option would fail to carry out Dame
Judith Hackitt’s recommendations to improve the way buildings are designed and
constructed, to which the government has committed.

Option 1 – introduce regulations under part 3 of the Act (preferred option)
19. Option 1 is to set out further details under part 3 of the 2022 Act through two sets of
regulations. This is the preferred option, as this will place clear legal responsibilities on
those who are designing and constructing higher-ris k buildings and carrying out design
work and building work in higher-risk buildings, pr ovide the Regulator with enforcement
powers to deter and remedy non-compliance and make wider changes to the way all
buildings are designed and built. These Regulations will implement the government’s
ambition for long-lasting reform for building safety.

Policy objective

20. This section sets out the contents and intended outcomes of the various policy measures
in the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (Engla nd) Regulations 2023 and the
Building (Higher-Risk Building Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023.

Dutyholder and competence requirements
21. The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (Engl and) Regulations 2023 will amend
building regulations requirements to place duties o n those who procure, plan, manage
and undertake building work in all buildings. The r egulations set out a framework of

1 The average here is the arithmetic mean.

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duties for dutyholders, to make clear who they are and impose specific duties on them.
These dutyholders are the client, principal designer, designers, principal contractor and
contractors.

22. Under the Regulations all dutyholders will need to ensure that there are arrangements
and systems in place to plan, manage and monitor both the design work and the building
work to ensure compliance with building regulations. They will be required to cooperate
with other dutyholders, coordinate their work, and communicate and provide information
to other dutyholders.

23. Any person undertaking design work or building work will need to have the right
competence (the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours) for the work
they are to undertake. When making appointments for design work or building work,
those making the appointments should take all reaso nable steps to ensure those they
appoint are competent for the work they are to do, and those accepting the appointment
should only undertake work within the limits of that competence.
The client
24. The client will need to have suitable arrangeme nts for planning, managing and
monitoring a project (including the allocation of s ufficient time and other resources) so
as to ensure compliance with all relevant requireme nts This means appointing the right
people at the right time, providing information about the project to those undertaking the
design work and the building work, and making sure there is sufficient time and financial
resource available so that the building work can be completed to comply with all relevant
requirements.

25. When there is more than one contractor working on a project, the client will need to
appoint a principal designer to be in control of th e design phase of the work, and a
principal contractor to be in control of the buildi ng work. If there is only one contractor
that contractor must fulfil the duties of the princ ipal contractor. If there is one contractor
but more than one designer, the designers must agre e in writing who will be the lead
designer and notify the client of that decision.

26. Designers and contractors should be satisfied b efore they start either design work or
building work that the client is aware of their own responsibilities.
The designer
27. Designers will need to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the building work to which
the design relates, if built, would be in complianc e with all relevant requirements. They
will also need to provide information about the des ign and consider other design work
which relates to their design.

The principal designer
28. The principal designer will be in control of the design phase of the project, and in addition
to their duties as a designer, will need to plan, manage and monitor the design work and

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coordinate the design work so that all reasonable s teps are taken to ensure that the
building work to which the design relates would, if built, comply with all relevant
requirements.

29. They will also need to take all reasonable step s to ensure that there is cooperation
between the designers and other dutyholders, that the design work is coordinated so as
to comply with all relevant requirements and liaise with the principal contractor.
The contractor
30. All contractors will need to make sure that the work they undertake, or which is under
their control complies with all relevant requiremen ts. They will also need to provide
information about the building work, and consider o ther building work which relates to
their work.

The principal contractor
31. The principal contractor will be in control of the construction phase of the project, and in
addition to their duties as a contractor, will need to plan, manage and monitor the building
work and coordinate the building work to ensure that the building work complies with all
relevant requirements.

32. They will also need to take all reasonable step s to ensure that there is cooperation
between the contractors and other dutyholders, that the building work is coordinated so
as to comply with all relevant requirements and liaise with the principal designer.

33. For higher-risk buildings, the client must make the appointments of the principal designer
and principal contractor before the building control approval application is made.

34. Dutyholders in higher-risk buildings will need to d emonstrate to the Regulator how they
intend to comply with all their duties and how they will ensure that the building work to
be undertaken will comply with all relevant building regulations requirements for higher-
risk buildings throughout the building control approval process.

35. The principal designer and the principal contractor roles may require enhanced
competence, appropriate to the particular higher-risk building work in question.

36. When conducting their assessments on competence (skills, knowledge, experience and
behaviours) before appointing a person in relation to proposed higher-risk design work
or building work, the dutyholder making that appointment will be required to consider the
previous conduct of that person, in particular whether that person has a serious infraction
which may call into question their competence for t he role. A serious infraction is a
significant breach of regulatory requirements in the previous five years such as the issue
of a stop notice or the conviction of any offence under the Building Safety Act 2022, 1984
Act, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Fire Safety Order), or the Health
and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

37. The client and other dutyholders making appointment s must record the steps they took
to satisfy themselves that the proposed or appointe d person have the relevant

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competence for the roles and evidence them as part of the building control approval
application. This must include the steps taken to d etermine whether the person has a
serious infraction, the consideration of their prev ious conduct, and in the event of a
serious infraction, in particular any serious infra ction, their reasons for appointing them
nonetheless and the measures the dutyholder who mad e the appointment will take to
mitigate the effects of the appointment.

The building control process for higher-risk buildings (gateways two and three)
38. A key part of the new higher-risk regime is the introduction of hard stop gateway points
during the design and construction of new higher-ri sk buildings. The Building (Higher
Risk Building Procedures) (England) Regulations 202 3 provide the procedural detail of
two new gateway points: gateway two and gateway three.

39. Before building work begins on site and before lawful occupation of the building can
occur, dutyholders must pass stop/go decision point s by sending an application to be
approved by the Regulator. At gateway two an applic ation for building control approval
must be submitted and at gateway three a completion certificate application must be
submitted.

Building control approval applications before work starts (gateway two)
40. The requirement to submit an application for buildi ng control approval at gateway two
replaces the building control ‘deposit of plans’ stage under the current regime. Full plans
applications and initial notices under the current regime are expected to contain plans
and other information showing all construction deta ils and outlining how the proposed
building work will comply with all applicable build ing regulations. Under the higher-risk
regime, building control approval applications must demonstrate compliance with
applicable building regulations’ requirements, with an outcome focused approach to
assure building safety. Building control approval a pplications under the higher-risk
regime contain more stringent and comprehensive inf ormation requirements and new
prescribed documents compared to the depositing of plans or the giving of initial notices
under the current regime. The building control app roval application at gateway two will
be a hard stop and the application must be approved before building work can lawfully
begin on site.

41. The application will need to include the contact in formation of principal dutyholders, a
comprehensive description of the proposed work and any existing buildings and detailed
plans outlining the size and position of the buildi ng and its relationship to the adjoining
boundaries and the other buildings or proposed buil dings within the curtilage of the
building. This is broadly similar to full plans app lications process that are currently
submitted to local authority building control to consider.

42. In addition to the above, the building control approval application for a higher-risk building
must be accompanied by new prescribed documents. Th ese are not currently required
when plans are deposited or when an initial notice is given to the local authority. The
prescribed document requirements include:

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1. A competence declaration confirming the client i s satisfied that their appointed
principal dutyholders are competent to carry out th eir roles. The declaration must
cover the steps the client has taken to satisfy the mselves of the principal
dutyholders competence and consideration of their previous conduct. This includes
whether the person has committed a serious infraction in the past five years.
2. A building regulations compliance statement sett ing out the approach taken in
designing the higher-risk building and the building standards to be applied.
3. A fire and emergency file setting out fire and s tructural safety information about the
proposal. The document will ensure that building sa fety risks are appropriately
considered before construction starts and that assumptions behind the designs and
how the building will be used are realistic.
4. A construction control plan describing the strat egies for planning, managing and
monitoring building work to maintain building regulations compliance.
5. A change control plan setting out how changes du ring construction will be
considered, recorded and, if necessary, notified to the Regulator.
6. A description of the mandatory occurrence report ing framework dutyholders will use
to ensure those on the site, or in the building, ca n report certain fire and structural
safety issues.
7. A partial completion strategy (where the applica nt proposes occupation of part of
the building before completion of the higher-risk building work).

43. The prescribed documents will be maintained and updated throughout construction and
will form part of the gateway three completion cert ificate application. The applicant will
be required to provide updated prescribed documents reflecting the ‘as-built’ building, as
well as compliance declarations from the client, pr incipal designer and principal
contractor, and a list of all the written mandatory occurrence reports submitted to the
Regulator.

44. The higher-risk regime removes dutyholder choice of building control route and building
control approval applications must be submitted to the Regulator and signed by th e
applicant. As dutyholders will be required to cooperate with each other, coordinate their
work, and communicate and provide information to each other, the client can be assisted
by other dutyholders such as the principal contractor and principal designer in preparing
the application and may ask one of them to submit it on their behalf. Applications should
be submitted electronically to the Regulator via a digital system, and this should apply to
other forms of building control related correspondence. While the emphasis is placed on
electronic submissions, the Regulator will have the discretion to accept applications to
be submitted in a different way e.g., through paper copies.

45. The new requirements compared to the previous r egime ensure more information is
provided to the building control authority before b uilding work begins. This information
will demonstrate how the proposed building work wil l comply with building regulations’
requirements and are realistic for the building in use.

46. The Regulator will have 12 weeks to determine a n application for building control
approval and no building work can begin until the a pplication has been approved. The
current deposit of plans stage is not a hard stop and the time limit for a local authority to

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determine full plans application is five weeks exte ndable to eight weeks. Furthermore,
there is no time limit or hard stop for the issuing of an initial notice to the local authority
by a private sector approver, as this building cont rol route operates in a different way
with oversight being provided by the approved inspe ctor rather than the local authority.
The higher-risk regime removes dutyholder choice of building control route and therefore,
the 12-week statutory time limit will apply to building control approval applications for the
construction of higher-risk buildings.

47. On receipt of a building control approval appli cation, the Regulator will consider the
information working with the personnel appointed on the multi-disciplinary team, consult
statutory consultees and determine the application. For buildings where the Fire Safety
Order applies, there is a requirement under the current regime to consult fire and rescue
services on plans for building work. Similar requir ements under Building Regulations
2010 (2010 Regulations) exist for building control bodies to consult the relevant
sewerage undertaker on relevant requirements relate d to building over sewers. The
higher-risk regime builds on these requirements and will continue to ensure that the
aforementioned parties are consulted before the det ermination of a building control
approval application. The Regulator must wait at least 15 working days be fore
determining an application once the statutory consultees have been consulted.

48. The extended period of 12 weeks reflects the additional information the Regulator must
assess. While the time limit is extended, 12 weeks is not the expected response time
from the Regulator in all cases and will depend on the complexity of the proposed
building work and the quality of the application. The higher-risk regime is based on close
engagement with the Regulator, including the encour agement of pre-application
meetings between dutyholders and the Regulator, in order to make the gateways
procedures as seamless as possible.

Staged approach to building control approval applications (gateway two)
49. For most building work applications, we expect the applicant to endeavour to provide all
the information required upfront before building wo rk commences. However, there may
be some scenarios where it is legitimate that some information is initially unavailable.

50. In these scenarios, the Regulator will be able to allow a ‘staged approach’ to building
control approval for construction, where it is sati sfied that all the information cannot be
provided upfront but that the proposed building wor k will comply with all applicable
building regulations requirements. Information being provided in a staggered manner is
a feature of the current regime and is often necess ary for complex builds that are
constructed over many years. The new regime has gre ater focus on the provision of
comprehensive information and plans before building work begins, so there will be an
expectation that a ‘staged approach’ is used less f requently, particularly once the
industry has adapted to the new requirements. Nonet heless, there will be legitimate
reasons information cannot be provided upfront and, therefore, the regime facilitates this
approach.

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51. Where a staged approach is proposed, dutyholders must still provide a comprehensive
building control approval application with plans and all prescribed documents, as well as
a staged work statement providing a detailed descri ption of the proposed stages of the
work, including an estimate of the time when each stage of the work will commence. This
will enable the Regulator to assess the building wo rk holistically when determining the
application. The difference with the staged approac h, is that the plans included in the
building control approval application need to show how the work up to the specified stage
would comply with all applicable building regulatio ns requirements. The building
regulations compliance statement needs to set out t he design principles and building
standards to be applied to the work up to that spec ified stage. The detailed plans and
building regulations compliance statement covering work up to the specified stage must,
however, be accompanied by outline plans for the whole building. This is to ensure that
dutyholders take a holistic approach to building work and consider how compliance with
building regulations’ requirements will be achieved. It will also ensure that the Regulator
does not have to consider each stage of building wo rk in isolation. The Regulator will
have 12 weeks to consider each staged application.

52. Where a staged approach is sought, we expect th e applicant to set out in the initial
application the proposed stages/points at which the y will provide the Regulator with the
information not included in their first application.

53. A staged approach will still represent a ‘hard stop’ but will be managed through ‘hard
stops in stages’ which are bespoke to the specific higher-risk building project. Building
control approval will be strictly limited to the approved detailed plans and stages of work
the Regulator has approved. It will be an offence t o proceed with building work beyond
a specified stage and the Regulator will have enfor cement powers to deal with such a
breach.

Completion certificate applications when work is completed (gateway three)

54. The requirement to submit a completion certificate application at gateway three replaces
the current completion certificate and final certificate stage.

55. Currently when building work is complete, the relevant building control body undertakes
a final inspection, including assessment of relevan t information related to the as-built
building, to ensure work complies with all applicab le building regulations’ requirements
before issuing a completion certificate (in the cas e of local authority building control) or
final certificate (in the case of private sector approvers). Immediately prior to occupation,
and as part of this completion process, the relevant fire safety information is handed over
(as required under Regulation 38 of the 2010 Regula tions) to the person who will be
responsible for the occupied building and ensuring the management and minimisation of
fire risks under the Fire Safety Order.

56. On completion of building work under the higher-risk regime, applicants will be required
to submit a completion certificate application to t he Regulator with updated plans and
prescribed documents. This will also form part of t he golden thread of information that
must be handed over to the building owner to help t hem manage building safety risks

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when the building is in use. This will build on th e existing regime by putting in place
additional requirements on dutyholders to demonstrate that building work complies with
all applicable building regulations. The completion certificate application stage will
increase regulatory oversight by introducing a more thorough assessment of as-built
building work and ensures any changes that occurred during construction are reflected
in the final plans, information and prescribed docu ments submitted to the Regulator for
approval.

57. The completion certificate application will need to include the contact information of the
principal dutyholders, a comprehensive description of the building work (as-built),
including plans, a statement signed by the client c onfirming that to the best of their
knowledge the work complies with all relevant build ing regulations requirements and a
statement signed by the client and relevant person confirming that the golden thread of
information has been handed over and received.

58. In addition, the higher-risk regime goes beyond cur rent requirements at the completion
stage by requiring accompanying prescribed document s and notices that are updated.
These requirements include:
a. A notice confirming the date the work was comple te
b. A construction control plan
c. A change control plan
d. The mandatory occurrence reporting plan
e. The building regulations compliance statement
f. A fire and emergency file
g. A copy of the updated change control log
h. A compliance declaration for the work signed by each principal dutyholder
confirming they fulfilled their duties

59. A completion certificate application must be su bmitted to the Regulator in writing and
signed by the applicant. Applications should be submitted electronically to the Regulator
via a digital system, and this should apply to othe r forms of building control related
correspondence. While the emphasis is placed on electronic submissions the Regulator
will have the discretion to accept applications to be submitted in a different way e.g.,
through paper copies.

60. Under the current regime, an application for a completion certificate to the local authority
must be determined within an eight- week period. Furthermore, there are no strict time
limits with regard to the issuing of a final certificate by a private sector approved inspector
as this regime operates in a different manner. Occu pation can currently lawfully occur,
at risk, before a certificate has been received.

61. Under the higher-risk regime, the statutory time li mit the Regulator must determine a
completion certificate application is eight weeks. Gateway three represents another
‘hard-stop’ during the design and construction proc ess for higher-risk buildings as
provided for in section 76 of the 2022 Act. It is a criminal offence to occupy a new
residential unit in a higher-risk building or part of a higher-risk building before a
completion certificate has been granted for that building or part of a higher-risk building.

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This approach ensures the higher-risk regime is in line with Dame Judith Hackitt’s
recommendation that dutyholders satisfy a set of ro bust criteria to move onto the
occupation stage, creating incentives for coherent design and risk management
strategies, robust record-keeping and stable change control processes.

62. Once a completion certificate application is receiv ed, the Regulator must assess the
application, carry out a final inspection and if sa tisfied, issue a completion certificate. In
addition, the higher-risk regime is putting in plac e a statutory consultation process at
gateway three with the fire and rescue service and sewerage undertaker. This is not
required under the current regime and provides an o pportunity for the aforementioned
consultees to consider the fire safety and drainage provisions of the as-built building. It
further supports the move into the new in-occupation regime for higher-risk buildings and
the management of building safety risks. The Regula tor must wait at least 15 working
days before determining an application once the sta tutory consultees have been
consulted.

63. While a hard stop is being instigated, the determin ation of the completion certificate
application is to be considered a dynamic gateway p rocess where information can be
shared with the Regulator prior to the completion o f works to ensure that the
determination of the application can happen as seam lessly as possible. This approach
should reduce the determination time and support du tyholders in moving to the
occupation phase. Similarly, to gateway two, the time it takes the Regulator to determine
an application will depend on the complexity of the building work, the quality of the
application and the level of engagement with the Regulator throughout the project.

Partial completion
64. Some dutyholders may intend to complete their h igher-risk building in phases. This is
where completed parts of a newly constructed building are intended to be occupied while
building work is carried out in other parts of the building. Partial completion happens
regularly for high-rise residential buildings as it supports greater flexibility regarding
project delivery and project finances.

65. The government will continue to allow the partial completion of a higher-risk building, but
there will be additional requirements that will nee d to be met by dutyholders to ensure
any buildings are safe to occupy. The Regulator will be able to permit partial completion
on a case-by-case basis where it is satisfied that the specific safeguards have been met.
This will ensure that even where a building is comp leted and occupied in phases, the
hard stop recommended by Dame Judith Hackitt will still apply.

66. Where a dutyholder intends to complete a higher -risk building in phases, a partial
completion strategy must be provided in the building control approval application before
building work commences, to compel dutyholders to t hink ahead to the safety of
residents in the occupied building right from the d esign stage. The partial completion
strategy must explain the proposals adopted in the design stage for the completion and
occupation of each part of the proposed building. T his is to ensure compliance with
building regulations as well as the assumptions, me asures, strategies and policies it is

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proposed the building owner may need to adopt to manage and maintain safety once the
building is occupied.

67. The information required as part of a completio n certificate application is also required
when partial completion is sought, in relation to t he proposed completed parts of the
higher-risk building. Dutyholders must consider the building holistically and provide the
full suite of prescribed documents and information submitted at the completion certificate
application stage, as well as ensure golden thread information has been handed over to
the relevant person. Furthermore, the applicant is required to demonstrate how the
design and construction of the building supports it s safe use, including while building
work continues while other parts are occupied. The prescribed documents and other
information must demonstrate there are adequate bui lding safety measures in place
including those associated with appropriate compart mentations between the complete
and incomplete areas of the higher-risk building an d appropriate ventilation in the
completed parts of the buildings as well as evacuation routes.

68. The requirements for partial completion are far more robust compared with requirements
under the current regime. While there is flexibility for projects to continue to complete in
this manner, the increased requirements may result in this option being utilised less
frequently, or in different ways, than under the current regime. For example, the current
approach of completing projects flat by flat is unl ikely to meet the new requirements for
higher risk building work.

During construction (between gateways 2 and 3)
Change control
69. The government is introducing a robust statutory change control process for higher-risk
building work that dutyholders must follow if they intend to deviate from their approved
building control approval application. All changes during construction must be recorded,
evaluated and evidenced to show that they comply with all applicable building regulations
requirements. Major changes will need Regulator app roval before work to implement
them can be started. Notifiable changes must be sen t to the Regulator before they can
be implemented. Change control is a new process com pared to the current regime and
is necessary to ensure there is stronger regulatory oversight during the construction
phase.

70. The change control plan should include the strategies, policies and procedures the client
has adopted to ensure any controlled change takes p lace in accordance with change
control requirements, and to log each controlled ch ange in accordance with record-
keeping requirements (a change control log).

71. Controlled changes are any changes to the plans and documentation and information
approved at gateway two. During construction the pr incipal contractor must maintain a
change control log. The change control log must record the change, give an explanation
of how the change will meet building regulation req uirements, and outline any advice
taken from others.

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72. A subset of the controlled changes is known as notifiable changes. In addition to being
recorded in the change control log, a notification containing the information which is to
be recorded and updated versions of plans and docum ents must be sent to the
Regulator. A notifiable change cannot be implemente d until it is recorded, and a
notification sent.

73. A second subset of controlled changes is known as major changes. In addition to being
recorded in the change control log, a change contro l application containing the relevant
information and updated versions of plans and documents must be sent to the Regulator.
The Regulator must follow the same process when con sidering the change control
application as when a building control approval application is considered at gateway two.
The Regulator must provide a response within 6 week s of receiving the application or
within a longer time period as agreed with the pers on who submitted the application. A
major change cannot be implemented until it is reco rded, and the change control
application approved by the Regulator.

74. Building on the current requirements in the Fire Safety Order and 2010 Regulations, the
Regulator must consult the fire and rescue authorit y and sewerage undertakers in
relation to change control applications. In the for mer, the consultation must take place
where Part B of Schedule 1 to the 2010 Regulations (fire safety requirements) imposes
requirements in relation to the work to which the controlled change relates. In the latter,
a consultation must take place where Paragraph H4 o f Schedule 1 to the 2010
Regulations (building over sewers requirements) imposes requirements in relation to the
work to which the controlled change relates. The Regulator must wait at least 10 working
days before determining an application once the sta tutory consultees have been
consulted.

75. The Regulator can require, by notice, that a co ntrolled change follows the process
outlined above for “major” and “notifiable” changes . This enables them to consider the
information recorded or notified in relation to a “ controlled change” and, if they deem it
of appropriate risk, apply a more stringent change control process.

Building work in existing higher-risk buildings
76. As with the requirements for the design and con struction of a new higher-risk building,
the new regime introduces a new process for the car rying out of building work in an
existing higher-risk building, depending on the type of work being carried out.

77. A number of types of building work in existing buildings are carried out by certified
installers either through a competent person or third-party accreditation scheme. These
schemes give consumers a choice of who will underta ke the work, while ensuring that
the relevant requirements of the building regulations are met. Scheme work will continue
to operate in higher-risk buildings, under the supervision of the Regulator. Installers will
be required to provide the relevant certificates to the Regulator once work has been
completed. As such we expect no material difference in terms of time or costs will come
as a result of the new regime.

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78. Where building work in an existing higher-risk building is not going to be carried out under
a third-party certification or competent person sch eme, the applicant will be required to
submit a building control approval application to the Regulator. It is vital that the building
control process for building work in existing build ings is as rigorous as the process for
creating new higher-risk buildings and the Regulato r’s approval will be needed before
the work can begin.

79. Building work in an existing building can vary in terms of the scale of the proposed work
and impact on the building’s current state. As such, under the new regime, building work
in an existing building will fall into one of two c ategories, with differing application
requirements, depending on the nature of the work. Certain information, such as
dutyholder details, information about the existing building, and a description of the
proposed work, will be required for all applications.

80. Where the proposed work is larger in scale and/or considered to have a greater impact
on the building, known as category A work, the appl ication requires greater detail and
must be accompanied by prescribed documents, as is the case for a building control
approval application at gateway two.

81. Category A work includes any work that increases or decreases the height or width of a
higher-risk building; any work that changes the num ber of floors, including the addition
or removal of mezzanine or gallery floor; work whic h changes the number of flats or
residential units; work which changes the number or width of staircases or other escape
routes; work on external walls, with the exception of work specified in regulation 7(3) of
the 2010 Regulations; work which changes the building layout; work that changes either
the passive or active fire safety measures in the b uilding; and any other work effecting
the common parts.

82. All other work is considered Category B and a b uilding control approval application is
also required. In addition to the standard informat ion required for all applications, an
applicant seeking to undertake Category B work may submit any further information they
deem necessary to support the application and the R egulator may request the
submission of one or more of the prescribed documents, if necessary.

83. With regard to building work in an existing hig her-risk building the statutory time limit
imposed on the Regulator to determine a building co ntrol approval application is eight
weeks. This is reduced compared to the 12 weeks for building control approval
applications to reflect that building work in an ex isting higher-risk building can often be
relatively minor work compared to the construction of a new-build higher-risk building.
Eight weeks is proportionate for this type of build ing work, applications for Category B
work may be determined in reduced time, but the tim e it takes for an application to be
determined will also be dependent on the quality of the information submitted.

84. Building work in an existing higher-risk buildi ng must also apply for a completion
certificate application and the Regulator has a statutory time limit of 8 weeks to determine
the application.

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Regularisation
85. Regularisation is the process of retrospectivel y applying to certify that unauthorised,
notifiable building work complies with the relevant building regulation requirements. The
existing regularisation process will be followed if unauthorised building work takes place
in higher-risk building, with the Regulator receiving the regularisation application instead
of the local authority. The person responsible for the area where the unauthorised
building work has taken place would submit a regularisation application to the Regulator.
The Regulator can request additional information if needed. The Regulator can accept
the application, specifying that no further work is required to comply with the relevant
functional requirements of the building regulations . Alternatively, the Regulator could
reject the regularisation application if further bu ilding work is required. Finally, the
Regulator could choose to not make a determination on whether building work complies
with the building regulations; for example, if work is covered up and the Regulator
determines it would be disproportionate to require it to be revealed.

86. If further notifiable building work is required to ensure the building complies with the
relevant functional requirements, then the dutyhold ers will need to comply with the
procedures for undertaking building work in an existing higher-risk building.

Golden thread
87. The higher-risk regime includes new requirements ar ound the management of
information during the design and construction of higher-risk buildings – this is known as
the golden thread of information.

88. Throughout the design and construction of higher-ri sk buildings, dutyholders will be
required to maintain a golden thread of information to enable the right people at the right
time to have the right information to support compl iance with all applicable building
regulations, including those relating to building s afety. Managing the golden thread of
information is a key requirement to ensure that peo ple can trust that the information is
accurate and up to date and can access and share this information as required.

89. Dutyholders will be required to store certain information and documents electronically as
golden thread information throughout the design and construction of new higher-risk
buildings and when building work is happening in existing higher-risk buildings. Different
information and documents are required at each stag e of the design and construction
process.

90. When building control approval is granted but before construction work begins for a new
higher-risk building, the client must put in place an electronic facility for storing the golden
thread information. The client must maintain this e lectronic facility or ensure that
someone else maintains it on their behalf. The client must also ensure that the principal
designer and principal contractor have access to the facility and can maintain and update
the golden thread information.

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91. When building control approval is granted but before construction work begins for a new
higher-risk building, the client must ensure that t he following information is stored
electronically in the golden thread of information:
1. a copy of the fire statement;
2. a copy of the plans and each of the other documents included in the building control
approval application which has been approved by the Regulator; and
3. all the evidence recorded, pursuant to the const ruction control plan, to show
compliance with the applicable requirements of the building regulations.

92. When building control approval is granted but befor e construction work begins for
building work in an existing higher-risk building, the client must ensure that the following
information is stored electronically in the golden thread of information:
1. A copy of the plans and each of the other docume nts for the work which are
approved by the Regulator; and,
2. all the evidence recorded, pursuant to the const ruction control plan, to show
compliance with the applicable requirements of the building regulations.

93. The client must also update the golden thread infor mation to store certain documents
and information throughout the construction process . The client must ensure these
documents or information are added to the golden th read information as soon as
practicable after the document/updated information is provided, approved or produced.
One example of this is information associated with change control requirements in the
golden thread, where the client must ensure that any changes are recorded in the golden
thread of information. Similarly, when a mandatory occurrence report is submitted to the
Regulator the client must also store a copy of the report electronically in the golden
thread of information. The client must ensure this is done as soon as practicable after
the report is submitted.

94. As set out above the golden thread information must be held electronically and to certain
standards. This will ensure that the golden thread information can be shared and
accessed by multiple people working on a building. The golden thread information be:
1. kept in an electronic format;
2. kept in a format that is capable of being transf erred electronically to other persons
without the information, documents and data being lost or corrupted;
3. accurate and up to date;
4. available in a readable format which is intellig ible to the intended readers of the
data, and any key needed to understand the data is provided with the data;
5. is made available as soon as reasonably practica ble following a request from a
principal designer (or sole or lead designer) or pr incipal contractor (or sole
contractor) to enable them to comply with their req uirements under the building
regulations,
6. secure from unauthorised access;
7. is only changed in accordance with procedures wh ich record the person who made
the change and the date of that change; and
8. As far as is reasonably practicable uses languag e, terminology and definitions
which are consistent.

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95. There are also specific requirements around the handover of golden thread information.
Higher-risk buildings to which part four of the 202 2 Act will apply (multi-occupied high-
rise residential buildings) will have a principal a ccountable person who will be required
to meet numerous duties during the occupation phase to ensure resident safety. It is
important that they have key information from the d esign and construction phase which
will enable them to do this. For higher-risk buildi ngs that are in scope of the design and
construction regime but are not in scope of the occupation regime (for instance, in-scope
hospitals and care home), the Fire Safety Order and the Housing Act 2004 will continue
to regulate how standards are enforced to manage the overall safety of residents. These
buildings will have a Responsible Person.

96. For both buildings in scope of the new regime to wh ich part four of the 2022 Act will
apply, and for buildings that are only in scope of the design and construction regime, the
client must handover:
1. The information required to be submitted to the Regulator in a completion certificate
application (the prescribed documents);
2. the relevant information/evidence required to su pport the prescribed documents;
3. completion certificate issued by the Regulator u nder the building regulations; and
4. any further information that is relevant to the ongoing safety of the building and is
not covered by the material above – this could incl ude documents/information
required to be submitted to the Regulator at buildi ng control approval stage, and
information required through the statutory change c ontrol process during the
construction phase.

97. For buildings that are only in scope of the design and construction regime the client must
extract the fire safety information and hand it to the Responsible Person as standalone
information.

98. The client and the principal accountable person or responsible person (the relevant
person) must co-sign a statement confirming that a copy of the design and construction
golden thread information was provided, and they have received that information.

Mandatory occurrence reporting
99. The Building (Higher Risk Building Procedures) Regulations 2023 bring forward new
requirements for principal designers and contractor s to set up a mandatory occurrence
reporting regime during the design and construction of new higher-risk buildings, or
during building work in existing higher-risk buildi ngs. This places duties on the principal
designer and the principal contractor after the building control approval application stage:
1. To establish and operate an effective mandatory occurrence reporting system to
enable those undertaking design work or building work to report safety occurrences
to the dutyholder(s); and
2. to report safety occurrences to the Regulator in a required manner.

100. Under the regulations there is a duty on the c lient to ensure they take all reasonable
steps to satisfy themselves that the principal contractor and principal designer appointed

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can fulfil the mandatory occurrence reporting requi rements and have a mandatory
occurrence reporting system in place.

101. The principal dutyholders must also take reaso nable steps to ensure each reporting
person is provided with adequate instruction and information on the system established
and the incidents or situations that must be reported by the reporting person throughout
the system. In addition, the principal contractor and principal designer must ensure that
an appropriate frequency of inspections of higher-r isk building work for safety
occurrences throughout the construction phase.

102. When a dutyholder becomes aware of a safety oc currence, they must notify the
Regulator of the safety occurrence without undue de lay and provide the Regulator with
a written report containing required information wi thin 10 calendar days of becoming
aware of the occurrence.

103. If a dutyholder contravenes this requirement, they will have a defence if they believe
another dutyholder has already notified the Regulator, or they have already provided the
Regulator with a written report.

Transitional arrangements for the higher-risk regime
104. When the Building (Higher Risk Building Proced ures) Regulations 2023 come into
force on 1st October 2023, transitional arrangement s will determine the rules and
procedures that in-scope building work will need to follow if they have already notified a
building control body of their plans (“in-flight bu ilding work”). This should provide clarity
and reduce the risk of developers being impacted by changes to requirements part way
through the design and construction process.

105. For transitional arrangements to apply to high er-risk building work, two conditions
must be met:
1. An initial notice must have been given to a loca l authority (and not be rejected), or
full plans must have been deposited with a local au thority (and not be rejected)
before the day the new regime comes into force (1 st October 2023).
2. The higher-risk building work must be “sufficien tly progressed” within six months of
the new regime coming into force (6th April 2024).

106. For the construction of a new higher-risk buil ding, “sufficiently progressed” means
the placement of permanent foundations has started and concrete has been poured into
trench, pad or raft foundations or piles have started to be placed. For work to an existing
higher-risk building or a material change of use, “sufficiently progressed” means that the
work has started on site.

107. If the two above conditions are met, those car rying out the work would not be subject
to the higher-risk regime for that individual in-sc ope building. They would instead
continue under their existing building control body. Where building work fails to meet the
first condition, the work is subject to the higher- risk regime immediately on 1 st October
2023 and will be overseen by the Regulator. Where t he first condition is met, but the

25

second condition has not, the building work will tr ansfer to the jurisdiction of the
Regulator. The route of transfer and the higher-ris k regime requirements applied will
differ dependent on whether the building work was p reviously overseen by the local
authority or private sector building control.

108. Separately by 6 th April 2024, the building control profession will become a registered
profession. All private sector building control bod ies, formerly approved inspectors, will
need to join the register overseen by the Regulator and become registered building
control approver. Similarly, all building control i nspectors will have to register with the
Regulator and meet competence standards to perform building control functions. For
‘in-flight’ building work subject to an initial notice, the approved inspector overseeing the
project must have registered by day one of the new registered building control approver
regime (6 th April 2024) for the project to continue to benefit from the transitional
arrangements and continue under private sector building control. Furthermore, an initial
notice may be cancelled at any point after 1 st October 2023. Where an initial notice is
cancelled after 1 st October, the in-scope building work is subject to the higher-risk
building regime and must be overseen by the Regulator. The requirements of the higher-
risk regime that will apply in these cases will dep end on whether the work covered by a
cancelled or lapsed initial notice has “sufficiently progressed” or not.

109. On the basis of the above conditions of the tr ansitional arrangements, we consider
there to be six routes an ‘in-flight building’ may follow:
1. Route 1 – Failure to give an initial notice or deposit plans to local authority by
1st October 2023: An initial notice has not been given to a local au thority or full
plans have not been deposited with a local authorit y in respect of the in-scope
building work before 1st October 2023 – the buildin g work is subject to the full
higher-risk regime.
2. Route 2 – Higher-risk building work has ‘suffici ently progressed’ and, if work
is under an initial notice the approved inspector has registered as a registered
building control approver: The developer, and registered building control
approver (formerly approved inspector), have met all the relevant criteria under the
transitional provisions. As a result, the work will not be subject to the higher-risk
regime and will continue to be supervised by their existing building control body
under the previous building control regime.
3. Route 3 – Higher-risk building work overseen by the local authority fails to
‘sufficiently progress’ work: The developer has deposited full plans with a local
authority before 1 st October 2023, but the building work fails to sufficiently progress
the work. The building work is subject to the higher-risk regime and transfers to the
Regulator. The client will not be required to submit an application for building control
approval but must send the Regulator the original f ull plans application and other
relevant information related to the work already undertaken to the Regulator within
four weeks of 6 th April 2024. Apart from the regulations covering the application for
building control approval, the proposed requirement s of the higher-risk regime will
be imposed but with some modifications. The dutyhol der and competence
regulations, functional requirements, reviews and a ppeals, enforcement and
commencement notice requirements will apply in full. The statutory change control
process during construction will apply, but changes will be in relation to the original

26

full plans application. Mandatory occurrence report ing requirements will apply, but
dutyholders will have 10 days of the transfer to th e Regulator to establish their
mandatory occurrence reporting system. Golden thread requirements will apply, but
the client will have 45 days from the transfer to e stablish the electronic facility (or
before a completion certificate application is subm itted). On completion of building
work, a completion certificate application must be submitted, excluding some
prescribed documents e.g., construction control pla n, and approved before lawful
occupation can take place.
4. Route 4 – Higher-risk building work subject to an i nitial notice fails to
‘sufficiently progress’ work or the initial notice ceases before work is
‘sufficiently progressed’: As soon as an initial notice ceases to be in force, the
Regulator is the building control authority for the work. Within ten working days of
an initial notice ceasing to be in force, the person carrying out the work must notify
the Regulator that they are carrying out higher-ris k building work. Before any work
can continue on site, the client for the project mu st also submit an application for
building control approval. This application must me et all the relevant requirements
under the higher-risk regime, as well as provide sufficient plans of the work already
carried out on site to show whether any part of the work contravenes building
regulations. On receipt of the application, the Regulator will validate the application
to ensure it satisfies the information requirements . If the application is valid, the
building work may continue ‘at risk’ following all applicable regulations (excluding
change control requirements). The client must comply with any notice in writing from
the Regulator requiring them to lay open, test, sam ple or pull down building work
completed on site that prevents the Regulator from ascertaining whether the work
contravenes any requirement in building regulations . Any plans certificates or final
certificates issued to parts of the building work w ill have no effect (these are
documents issued by approved inspectors) and all bu ilding work is subject to
enforcement from the Regulator should non-complianc e be identified. Any work
completed on site will be reviewed and assessed by the Regulator, the Regulator
may utilise requirements when approving an applicat ion to make sure non-
compliant building work is remediated. The building work will be subject to all the
requirements of the higher-risk regime and will receive a completion certificate from
the Regulator when it is satisfied the as-built bui lding work is compliant with all
applicable building regulations.
5. Route 5 – Higher-risk building work has ‘sufficient ly progressed’ but the
approved inspector fails to register as a registered building control approver
or the initial notice ceases for any other reason: As soon as an initial notice
ceases to be in force, the Regulator is the buildin g control authority for the work.
This may be because the approved inspector does not register as a building control
approver by 6 th April 2024, or the initial notice is cancelled for any other reason after
the work has ‘sufficiently progressed’. Within ten working days of an initial notice
ceasing to be in force, the person carrying out the work must notify the Regulator
that they are carrying out higher-risk building wor k. Before any work can continue
on site, the client for the project must submit an application for building control
approval. This application must meet all the relevant requirements under the higher-
risk regime (excluding all prescribed documents apa rt from the competence
declaration) as well as provide sufficient plans of the work already carried out on

27

site. On receipt of the application, the Regulator will validate the application to
ensure it satisfies the information requirements. I f the application is valid, the
building work may continue ‘at risk’ following all applicable regulations (excluding
change control requirements). The client must comply with any notice in writing from
the Regulator requiring them to lay open, test, sam ple or pull down building work
completed on site that prevents the Regulator from ascertaining whether the work
contravenes any requirement in building regulations. Any plans certificates will have
no effect, but final certificates will protect duty holders from enforcement from the
Regulator. Any work completed on site will be revie wed and assessed by the
Regulator, and the Regulator may utilise requiremen ts when approving an
application to make sure non-compliant building work is remediated. If building work
has sufficiently progressed, we do not intend to ap ply all the requirements of the
higher-risk regime. The gateway application require ments (excluding prescribed
documents), enforcement powers of the Regulator, du tyholder and competence
regulations and all regulations related to reviews, appeals and non-determinations
procedures will apply. All other requirements will not apply.
6. Route 6 – Building control approval lapses before w ork has commenced or
the initial notice or full plans are rejected by a local authority after 1 st October
2023: Where building control approval lapses (under secti on 32 or 52(5) of the
Building Act 1984) or the initial notice or full plans are rejected, the building work is
subject to the higher-risk regime in full.

Enforcement and Appeals
110. Dame Judith Hackitt found that those responsible fo r the safety of buildings were
not sufficiently deterred from failing to comply wi th their responsibilities due inadequate
regulatory oversight and enforcement tools. Where enforcement is necessary, it is often
not pursued. Where it is pursued, the penalties are so small as to be an ineffective
deterrent.

111. The 2022 Act strengthens regulators powers to enforce building regulations.
Enforcement across the new regime, by the Regulator and local authorities, uses a three-
stage approach. The first stage is informal engagement to encourage good practice; the
second stage is intervention in the form of compliance notices; and the final stage ends
with prosecution in the criminal courts, potentiall y resulting in imprisonment for those
deliberately flouting the rules.

112. The government is giving regulators stronger e nforcement powers, to make sure
those responsible for non-compliance are held accou ntable and provide a strong
deterrent against non-compliant action. This includ es strengthening enforcement
measures for all buildings, as well as ensuring the Regulator has appropriate powers to
enforce against non-compliance in higher-risk buildings. The Regulations set out further
detail around the procedural and administrative req uirements of compliance and stop
notices.

28

113. The 2022 Act also made amends to the appeals r outes and procedures for all
building work. As part of the higher-risk regime, a specialist unit within the First-tier
Tribunal has been set up to deal with building safety matters.

Compliance and stop notices

114. The Regulator and local authorities will be ab le to issue compliance and stop notices
where building regulations are breached. Compliance notices will require remedial action
by a set date and stop notices will require work to be stopped altogether until remedial
action has been taken.

115. The information to be included on compliance a nd stop notices, includes but is not
limited to, date of issue, name/description of recipient, description of the work where the
breach has occurred, the provision of the building regulations which was contravened,
and details of the contravention. This is to ensur e that where notices are issued, they
are served with the correct information and to the relevant individuals. Stop notices can
also be issued where work on a new or existing high er-risk building has started without
building control approval and where a major change has been carried out without building
control approval.

116. Interested parties should be notified where no tices are issued. These can include:
the client, the principal or sole contractor and th e principal or sole designer, the local
authority where the regulator is the building contr ol authority, or, if there is a
contravention of the Fire Safety Order, the relevan t enforcing authority. Additionally,
where the building is owned by a registered social housing provider, the Regulator of
Social Housing must be notified.

117. To simplify legal proceedings for the Regulato r and local building control authority,
the recipient and the First-tier Tribunal, the Regu lator or local building control authority
can withdraw compliance and stop notices at any time at their discretion. Building control
authorities can extend and amend notices at any tim e, except where an appeal is
pending. This is to avoid notices being amended or extended whilst tribunal proceedings
are in progress.

Enforcement of non-higher-risk building work
118. Local authorities can issue compliance and stop not ices against non-compliant
work. Compliance notices will require work to be co rrected by a certain date, and stop
notices will require non-compliant work to be stopped until the non-compliant action has
been addressed. Failure to comply with either notic e will be a criminal offence, with a
maximum penalty of up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Internal reviews and appeals
119. As part of the new regime, the tribunal servic e is e setting up a specialist unit within
the property chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. Th is will deal only with building safety
matters. We want to align the appeals procedure for all building regulations appeals so

29

that they sit with the Tribunal. That is why we are moving appeals from the magistrates’
court to the Tribunal.

120. For building control decisions on higher-risk buildings (and other buildings in relation
to which the Regulator is the building control auth ority), the Building Safety Act 2022
envisages appeal routes will follow a two-stage process. First, an internal review by the
Regulator. This appeal route will be available wher e the Regulator makes a decision in
relation to building control matters, including an application for building control approval,
change control, and completion certificates. Where parties are still unhappy with the
outcome of the Regulator’s review, the Tribunal wil l handle escalated appeals. This
procedure also applies to building control professi on decisions and appeals, except
disciplinary matters which go directly to the tribunal.

Building control decisions
121. For building control decisions by local authorities , the 2022 Act transfers the route
of appeal under the 1984 Act from the magistrates’ court to the Tribunal. There is no
internal review process by the Regulator for non-hi gher-risk buildings; applicants
unhappy with a building control decision will appeal directly to the Tribunal.

Scope decisions
122. The Regulations provide the procedural and administrative detail for a new appeals
route to determine whether, or not, building work i s higher-risk building work. The
appeals route will apply where a local authority re fuses to consider an application for
building control approval, an initial notice or an amendment notice on the grounds that
the work is, or includes, higher-risk building work . If this happens, the developer can
appeal this refusal the Secretary of State or a per son appointed on behalf of the
Secretary of State on the grounds that they think t he building work is not higher-risk
building work.

Non determination appeals
123. As set out above, the higher-risk regime introduces hard stop decision points for
prescribed applications through the new gateways pr ocedure. There are statutory
timescales in which the Regulator should decide app lications, although the Regulator
can agree extensions with the applicant. If the Regulator does not reach a decision within
the statutory timescales, and an extension has not been agreed or has ended without a
decision being given, applicants will be eligible to make a non-determinations application
to the Secretary of State.

Hospitals and Care homes

124. When building work is being carried out, the higher-risk regime will apply to hospitals
and care homes which meet the 18 metre or seven storey height threshold, whether this
is a new building or work in an existing building. The full requirements of the higher-risk
regime in design and construction set out above will apply to hospitals and care homes.

30

Wider changes to Building Regulations
125. In addition to setting up the higher-risk regi me for higher-risk buildings, government
is also introducing several wider legislative chang es to building regulations as it is
important that there is robust oversight for all bu ilding work, to improve standards and
ensure safety throughout the built environment Thes e changes will align parts of the
application process more closely with the type of i nformation needed for higher-risk
buildings, while also making responsibilities and r equired duties clearer. New policies
being introduced include regulator’s notices, which will be used where a project
comprises both higher-risk buildings and non-higher -risk buildings. This will allow
developers to use the Regulator as the single build ing control body for both higher-risk
and non-higher-risk building work on the same proje ct, simplifying the building control
process We are also introducing a new definition o f commencement for existing and
new buildings, to bring clarity and support enforcement, together with an automatic lapse
of building control approval after three years, fro m when the building control approval
was granted, for projects that do not meet the defi nition of commencement. If the
dutyholder cannot demonstrate a project has met the definition of commencement within
three years from the date the building control appr oval was granted, they will have to
apply for building control approval again and comply with the building regulations in place
at that time. This will ensure that projects where a significant part of the building work
has not been commenced will not be able to be built to old standards. The regulations
also strengthen the fire safety information handove r for buildings where the Fire Safety
Order applies, to make the process safer and more e fficient and set out transitional
arrangements for the procedural requirements for non-higher risk building work.

Regulator’s notices
126. Where a project comprises both higher-risk building work and non-higher-risk
building work, developers will, by default have two building control bodies, the Regulator,
and a local authority or a registered building cont rol approver (formerly approved
inspector) for non-higher-risk building work. Under this provision developers, should they
wish to and in agreement with the Regulator, will be able to apply to have the Regulator
act as their sole building control body overseeing all building work within that project.
They will not be able to apply for the local authority or registered building control approver
(currently known as an approved inspector) to oversee higher-risk building work.

127. A regulator’s notice must be in writing and must include:
1. The name, address, telephone number and (if avai lable) email address of the client
for the project to which the notice relates;
2. a statement that the notice is a regulator’s not ice under section 91ZB of the 1984
Act;
3. the location of the proposed building work to which the regulator’s notice is to apply;
4. a description of the proposed building work to w hich the regulator’s notice is to
apply, including a statement explaining how that wo rk is connected to higher-risk
work and the location on the site of that higher-risk building work;
5. a statement giving the date it is proposed the b uilding work will start and how long
it is proposed to take to complete;
6. a plan to a scale of not less than 1:1250 showin g—

31

i. the size and position of the building, or the bu ilding as extended, and its
relationship to adjoining boundaries;
ii. the boundaries of the curtilage of the building , or the building as extended,
and the size, position and use of every other build ing or proposed building
within that curtilage;
iii. the width and position of any street on or wit hin the boundaries of the
curtilage of the building or the building as extended;
7. a declaration, signed by the client and signed b y an employee of the regulator who
is authorised to do so, confirming—
i. the client and the regulator consent to the givi ng of the notice;
ii. the proposed building work to which the notice relates includes no higher-
risk building work;
iii. the proposed building work falls within the re quirements of regulation 19A
(regulator’s notices: description of work and connection).
iv. they understand the proposed building work is to be subject to the procedural
requirements of these Regulations.

128. Local authorities can only reject a regulator's notice within five working days if:
1. the conditions in regulation 19A (regulator’s no tices: description of work and
connection) are not satisfied in relation to the work specified in the notice;
2. the work specified in the notice is not within t he area of the local authority;
3. an application for building control approval, an initial notice or a public body’s notice
has been given in relation to the work (or any part of it);
4. the notice does not comply with the requirements of regulation 19B (regulator’s
notices: content of notices).

129. Rejections for a regulator's notice can be appealed , but only within 21 days of the
rejection notice being issued.

New procedures for building control approval applications for non-higher-risk buildings
130. To maintain consistency with the minimum requiremen ts for higher-risk buildings,
the current requirement for deposit of plans will b e replaced with an application for
building control approval. An application for building control approval with full plans must
be made in writing and signed by the person making the application. The application will
include basic details, such as name and address, as well as current and proposed details
of the building, and plans showing the process being proposed.

Definition of commencement
131. Currently, the definition of commencement is not su fficiently clear and allows for
very minor works on site to count as the site being commenced. We want to ensure
dutyholders demonstrate that sufficient work has been carried out to retain their building
control approval and prevent them beginning minor t asks to claim they have
“commenced” and then building to meet old standards many years later.
Definition of commencement - non-higher-risk buildings

32

132. Where building work consists of the construction of a non-higher-risk building, or
the horizontal extension of a non-higher-risk build ing, work is to be regarded as
commenced when the sub-surface structure of the building or the extension including all
foundations, any basement level (if any) and the st ructure of ground floor level is
completed.
Definition of Commencement - higher-risk buildings
133. Where the work consists of the construction of a hi gher-risk building, work is to be
regarded as commenced in relation to that building, or the first stage of building work for
that building, when the foundations supporting the building and the structure of the lowest
floor level of that building (but not the other bui ldings or structures to be supported by
those foundations) are completed.
Definition of Commencement – other building work
134. Where the work consists of any other building work, work is to be regarded as
commenced when at least 15% of the work specified i n the approved plans for the
building work is completed.

Lapse of approval

135. The regulations provide for building control approv al to automatically lapse after
three years from the date the building control approval was granted, where projects have
not met the definition of commencement. If the dutyholder cannot demonstrate a project
has commenced according to the definition within three years from the date the building
control approval was granted, they will have to app ly for building control approval again
and comply with the building regulations in place a t that time. This replaces the current
system where the lapse was not automatic and requir ed local authorities to notify and
enforce. This will reduce the workload for local au thorities and give developers more
certainty about when the approval will lapse, while ensuring buildings are built to current
standards.

Transitional Provisions (non-higher-risk buildings)
136. There will be transitional arrangements for non-hig her-risk buildings, after plans
have been accepted that building work must start on site. If an application has not been
submitted or work has not started on site within 6 months, a new building control approval
application must be made, and the new procedures and requirements will apply.

Extending scope of Regulation 38 of the 2010 Regula tions to cover all building work considered
material alteration
137. Work carried out under competent persons and other third-party scheme
arrangements will require competent person scheme i nstallers to pass on information
set out in Regulation 38 to the Responsible Person. This must be done within 30 days of
the installation being completed. This is only where work has implications for compliance
with the requirements of Part B 2010 Regulations.

33

138. For other non-higher-risk building work, the person carrying out the works must
notify the local authority on its completion, or prior to occupation (whichever is earliest),
that they have sent the regulation 38 information to the Responsible Person.
139. This will strengthen fire safety information handov er, to make the process more
robust, for buildings where the Fire Safety Order a pplies. This will include handing over
the information earlier in the process, gaining confirmation from the person who receives
the information that it is sufficient to enable the m to understand, operate and maintain
the building, and giving notice to the relevant aut hority that the transfer of information
has taken place.

Revoking Article 45 of the Fire Safety Order and consolidating consultation requirements with Fire
and Rescue Authorities in the 2010 Regulations
140. As provided for in the 2022 Act, we are revoking Article 45 of the Fire Safety Order
and amending regulation 15 in the 2010 Regulations to set out consultation requirements
between building control authorities (including the Regulator when overseeing a
regulator’s notice), and Fire and Rescue Authoritie s on non-higher-risk building work to
which the Fire Safety Order applies, or will apply, on completion .
141. In separate commencement regulations the Department intends to commence
section 33 (testing) of the 1984 Act. Once section 33 is commenced Article 45 of the Fire
Safety Order and the 2010 Regulations are no longer needed.
142. We are providing for new consultation requirements which will apply when erecting,
extending or make any structural alteration to a bu ilding to which the Fire Safety Order
applies, or will apply, after completion of the work, or when changing the use of a building
to which the Fire Safety Order applies, or will apply, after the change of use. Where this
applies the relevant building control authority must consult the enforcing authority before
determining the application for building control ap proval with full plans given to the
relevant authority.

Summary and preferred option with description of implementation plan
143. We are implementing these reforms through secondary legislation.

144. The requirements provided for by the Building (High er-Risk Building Procedures)
Regulations 2023 and the Building Regulation etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations
2023 will come into force on 1 October 2023, and th e Regulator will be responsible for
the ongoing operation and enforcement of the new requirements. These regulations have
been developed following extensive engagement with industry, pre-legislative scrutiny,
scrutiny during the passage of the 2022 Act and two public consultations: one on the
policy and proposals for the Building Safety Act 20 22 and more recently on the policy
and proposals for the Regulations. Our continued engagement with industry and affected
stakeholders will ensure that the statutory duties can be complied with as soon as the
regime comes into effect in October 2023.

34

145. There will be specific transitional arrangements fo r certain buildings which have
already submitted an initial notice and started the design and construction process.
These are outlined in the policy section of this document above.

35

Monetised and non-monetised costs and benefits
Total costs and benefits
146. Table 1 below presents the total estimated costs of part 3 of the 2022 Act. These
estimated costs represent the ‘first-order’ costs. These figures are an estimation of the
total that is initially incurred by industry or the Regulator over the 15-year appraisal
period. The Regulator intends to operate a cost recovery model and will pass the majority
of its costs on to industry (see the ‘Costs to the regulator’ section below for more detail).
The costs to the Regulator included in the table be low are gross costs, before cost
recovery has been factored in.

147. We have not included the benefits in this table, as the benefits are estimated for the
regime in its entirety, covering both the regulations being made under part 3 of the 2022
Act (considered in this Impact Assessment) and the Regulations being made under part
4 of the 2022 Act (covered in a separate Impact Ass essment). The benefits cannot be
disaggregated between Parts 3 and 4, and we have no t included them in the total
assessment of net present value (NPV) for this Impa ct Assessment. For a full
assessment of the NPV across Parts 3 and 4, including the benefits, see table 31 below.
Table 1 : Total costs and benefits

Total costs and benefits (NPV) (£m)
Low Central High
Costs to industry £619.9 £907.0 £1,220.0
Costs to the Regulator 2 £605.7 £607.7 £610.3
Benefits See table 26 See table 26 See table 26
Total £1,225.6 £1,514.7 £1,830.3

General Assumptions
148. While many of the individual (policy) areas in the following sections will have their
own assumptions (set out below for those areas) there are some broad assumptions that
affect cost estimates for most, if not all, of the new regime.

Building Numbers

2 Regulator costs have been presented for a central scenario only for higher risk buildings. This is to maintain consistency with the internal
business case. These figures are informed by HSE analysis. Costs to the regulator also include costs to local authorities for changes to
enforcement and appeals related to non-higher risk building work. These costs are estimated to be £3.3m to £7.9m with a central estimate of
£5.4m in NPV terms.

36

149. The Department’s published figures on the number of high-rise residential buildings
estimate that as of April 2020 there were 12,500 3 buildings which are at least 18 metres
in height in England. Using this figure as a base, we combined planning data and Office
for Budget Responsibility (OBR) housing stock proje ctions 4 to estimate the number of
new buildings being completed each year (and, there fore, the estimated stock of
buildings at least 18 metres). The number of new bu ilding completions is held constant
after 2030, due to the uncertainty of projecting pa st this point. Table 2 below presents
the building stock estimates. We estimate that, on average, there will be 430 new
buildings completed per year over the appraisal per iod (15 years). Both industry and
Regulator cost sections use the same building number assumptions.

150. We have used two and a half years as our estimate for the average amount of time
it takes for a building of at least 18 metres to go through the design and construction
process. We estimate the number of buildings that begin work each year (and, therefore,
will go through the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings) by taking our
estimates of building completions and counting back by two and a half years (to account
for the build time). These new building starts are used to estimate the number of buildings
at each gateway stage, and therefore the costs to industry of going through the building
control process. New building start estimates 5 can be found in table 3 below.

Table 2Building Stock Estimates

Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Building
Stock 12,500
6 12,900 13,300 13,800 14,200 14,600 15,000 15,300 15,700
Year 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037
Building
Stock 16,200 16,600
17,100 17,500 18,000 18,400 18,900 19,400 19,800

Table 1New building start estimates
Year 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
New building
starts
7 360 380 420 440 450 460 460 460
Year 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037
New building
starts
460 460 460 460 460 460 460

3Building Safety Programme Monthly Data Release England: February 2023
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1143191/Building_Safety_Data_Release_Feb
ruary_2023.pdf
4 OBR Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2022 https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2022/
5 The new building start estimates are based on current understanding and expectations. The actual number may be different in practice, and
we have not assumed any potential behavioural shifts in response to the regulations, such as industry building several storeys/metres lower to
avoid the regime.
6 Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest hundred
7 Figures in this table are rounded to the nearest ten

37

Regulator Cost Recovery
151. The costs presented in the industry section below are the cost estimates for industry
to comply with the Regulations. They do not include any additional fees or charges that
will be levied by the Regulator (cost recovery) and represent the costs that fall initially on
industry. The Regulator intends to operate at a 90% cost recovery rate across activities
related to managing building safety in higher-risk buildings from 2024/25 onwards. The
cost recovery rate for the operational Regulator across all areas of delivery is 75% across
the period 23/24 to 29/30. The Regulator will pass these operating costs on to industry
via fees and charges. This Impact Assessment has no t assessed the specifics of those
fees and charges.

Price year, present value year and appraisal period

152. All the costs and benefits presented in the following analysis are in real terms, and
in 2019 prices. The base year for the PV (present v alue) calculations is 2023 (the
beginning of the appraisal period), and a discount rate of 3.5% has been applied (except
for some specific benefits, as mentioned below).

153. The appraisal period for the costs is 15 years.

154. The benefit estimates have been calculated over a 7 5-year appraisal period. This
includes benefits experienced in the 15-year policy appraisal period (equal to that used
to estimate costs) and benefits that may persist over the lifespan of a building, assumed
to be 60 years. This is to best capture all the ben efits and reflects the Green Book
guidance on ‘persistence’ of benefits. For example, benefits associated with residents’
engagement are likely to last the 15-year policy pe riod (or for a brief period thereafter),
while improvements in the construction quality of new buildings will likely last the lifespan
of the building. For the first 30 years of the appraisal period, a discount rate of 3.5% has
been applied to costs and non-health related benefi ts and 1.5% to health-related
benefits. For the subsequent 45 years, 3% and 1.29% discount rates have been applied
respectively. This is in line with guidance in HM Treasury’s Green Book 8.

Costs to Industry

Total Cost to Industry
155. Table 4 below presents the total cost to industry. The costs in the table have been
presented in both equivalent annual cost (EAC) and net present value (NPV) terms.
Table 4: Total industry costs, annual and net present value 9

8https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/685903/The_Green_Book.pdf
9 Figures may not sum due to rounding

38

Annual cost (EAC) (£m)

Low Central High
Dutyholder roles and
responsibilities £18.4 £23.1 £27.9
Gateways (new buildings) £17.0 £28.3 £39.7
Building work in existing higher-risk
buildings (refurbishments) £7.5 £12.5 £17.4
Golden Thread £2.7 £4.4 £6.6
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting £0.1 £0.1 £0.1
Enforcement £0.5 £0.6 £0.8
Appeals £0.3 £0.7 £1.2
Hospitals £0.4 £0.5 £0.6
Transitional provisions £3.0 £3.0 £3.0
Wider changes to building
regulations £0.01 £0.01 £0.02
General familiarisation 10 £1.7 £3.4 £5.1
Total £51.4 £76.7 £102.3

Total cost over appraisal period (NPV) (£m)
Low Central High
Dutyholder roles and
responsibilities £218.8 £275.4 £332.1
Gateways £202.1 £337.8 £473.6
Building work in existing higher-risk
buildings (refurbishments) £89.1 £148.4 £207.8
Golden Thread £38.6 £46.1 £78.2
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting £0.8 £1.1 £1.3

10 This is to account for familiarisation that falls outside of any specific policy areas

39

Enforcement £6.2 £7.7 £9.2
Appeals £3.8 £8.5 £14.4
Hospitals £4.5 £5.6 £6.8
Transitional provisions £35.6 £35.6 £35.6
Wider changes to building
regulations £0.01 £0.02 £0.03
General familiarisation £20.3 £40.5 £60.8
Total £619.9 £907.0 £1,222.0

General Industry Assumptions

156. In addition to the general assumptions set out abov e, there are a few assumptions
that affect cost estimates for all the industry costs, but not costs related to the Regulator.

Wage rates
157. A substantial portion of the resource burden on ind ustry arises from the time
required for the appropriate people to conduct the activities needed to meet the
requirements of the regulations. As such, many of o ur estimates include the cost of
individuals’ time to conduct these activities. Esti mates of wage rates for industry have
been calculated using a combination of data from two sources. The first of these is wage
rates for comparable roles (to those specified in the regulations, accountable person(s),
etc.) gathered from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The second is a
call out rate for specific roles, obtained by external consultants from speaking to industry
directly. The data from these two sources are combi ned to form a blended wage
estimate. Wage costs are assumed to grow in line with inflation, so stay constant in real
terms.

Section specific assumptions
158. Assumptions in the industry costs section have been developed with extensive
expert input from external consultants with industry experience.

Familiarisation
159. Industry will need to ensure that they are familiar with the higher-risk regime,
including the requirements and expectations of duty holders, interactions with the
Regulator and any guidance or published policy docu ments. The number of estimated
persons that work on residential buildings at least 18 metres in height was derived from
a series of assumptions including the total number of employees in specific

40

occupations
11 , estimated numbers working in construction, the nu mber working on
ADB 12 (approved document B) related work, as well as consultant assumptions on what
proportion of these would be exposed to work in buildings at least 18 metres in height.

160. Exactly how individual dutyholders familiarise them selves may vary in practice,
however, for the purposes of this assessment we hav e assumed it will fall into three
broad areas: awareness raising within a firm, external events/training days and the costs
of specific training. Table 5 below presents the total estimated cost of familiarisation. We
assume the entire cost of familiarisation will fall in the first year 13 of the appraisal period
(2023).

161. The changes introduced through the 2022 Act are par t of the government’s wider
programme of reform, which includes amending the Fi re Safety Order, to ensure a
disaster like the one at Grenfell tower is not repe ated. To meet the requirements of this
holistic package of changes, and in line with Dame Judith Hackitt’s challenge not to wait
for legislation before taking action, industry has been preparing and adapting in advance.
While the cross-government reforms are interconnected, our estimates only consider the
costs of familiarisation with the 2022 Act.

Table 5Breakdown of familiarisation costs to industry 1415

Cost (NPV) (£m)
Low Central High
Recruitment and training new
staff £1.6 £3.2 £4.8
Awareness raising within firm £9.9 £19.8 £29.8
External events/training days £2.9 £5.8 £8.7
Specific training £17.5 £35.0 £52.5
Total £31.9 £63.8 £95.7

162. The estimated recruitment costs presented above are the cost to developers of
recruiting the additional staff required to ensure the principal designer and principal
contractor roles can be filled. Dutyholder responsi bilities create additional tasks and
some of these will be completed by staff already in post, however, we expect the

11 Taken from annual population survey and census data
12 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b
13 With the exception of some recruitment costs, see below.
14 Half of the costs of familiarisation for golden thread are captured in the part 4 Impact Assessment. (golden thread is split across parts 3 and
4, so its familiarisation is split between both Impact Assessments).
15 Figures may not sum due to rounding

41

additional time taken to complete the tasks associa ted with the principal designer and
principal contractor roles mean developers are like ly to need to recruit new staff. New
recruits will need to complete some training to wor k in the role. We expect these costs
to be incurred in the first four years of the appraisal period.

163. We have split awareness raising within a firm into general familiarity and specific
duties and requirements as set out in the 2022 Act and Regulations. General familiarity
is required by all relevant occupations that would be affected by the regulations
introduced under the 2022 Act, ranging from the clear cut (accountable persons, principal
designer etc.) to the less obvious (housing officers, health and safety). We assume that
nearly every relevant individual will spend, on ave rage, 2 hours 16 familiarising
themselves with the general changes to building saf ety requirements. For the specific
obligations, we have made assumptions about the occ upations that would need to
ensure they are aware of the regulatory requirement s relating to that area. This Impact
Assessment only considers familiarisation costs for general requirements and the areas
that relate to part 3, the design and construction stage of the regime 17 .

164. External events/training days are events where external expertise will be brought in
(or individuals will attend training events at an external venue) to provide more detail on
specific areas of the regime. We have assumed only a subset of person(s) from
occupations relevant to the duties and requirements introduced by the 2022 Act and
regulations will attend these events, and that thes e events will last either half a day or
one day.

165. The fourth and final element of familiarisation is the cost of specific training
individuals in certain roles will need to undertake. Although external events and training
days will provide an overview of the areas comprising the regime, specific training will be
needed to equip individuals with the knowledge and capabilities required to meet the
specific requirements and duties in those areas. Th is training is likely to be bespoke/
tailored, for example, how to progress through the building control process for the higher-
risk regime.

166. The familiarisation cost for specific sections of t he regime (where relevant) is
presented in the relevant sections below (gateways, golden thread). When summing up
total costs in table 4, these costs have been included in the totals of the policy area they
relate to. General familiarisation costs in table 4 exclude these costs.

Dutyholder roles and responsibilities

167. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to industry of
dutyholder roles and responsibilities will be betwe en £218.8m and £332.1m, with a
central estimate of £275.4m, in present value (PV) terms. This equates to equivalent
annual cost (EAC) of between £18.4m and £27.9m over the appraisal period. Table 6
below presents the cost estimates dutyholder roles and responsibilities.

16 The exceptions are ‘Estate agents and Valuers’ and ‘Other professionals’, who are estimated to spend an hour each.
17 An assessment of the part 4 (in-occupation) familiarisation costs can be found in the part 4 Impact Assessment.

42

Table 6Breakdown of dutyholder roles and responsibilities costs to industry
18

Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High
All buildings £8.5 £10.7 £12.8
Higher-risk buildings only £8.7 £10.9 £13.0
Familiarisation £1.1 £1.6 £2.0
Total £18.4 £23.1 £27.9

168. In this section dutyholder roles and responsibiliti es have been split into additional
tasks which need to be completed during the design and construction of all buildings and
additional requirements during the design and construction of higher-risk buildings only.

All buildings

169. This subsection refers to additional checks which m ust be completed to meet the
dutyholder responsibilities during the design and construction of all buildings. However,
only the costs of completing these checks during th e design and construction of non-
higher-risk building work are presented here. The cost of completing these checks during
the design and construction of higher risk building s is captured in the building control
process for higher-risk buildings section below.

170. We estimate the total cost of dutyholder responsibi lities during the design and
construction of non-higher-risk buildings to be bet ween £112.6m and £168.9m, with a
central estimate of £140.8m, in PV terms over a 15- year appraisal period. This is
equivalent to a cost of between £9.4m and £14.2m, per annum on an EAC basis.

Table 7Breakdown of dutyholder roles and responsibilitie s costs to industry (All
buildings) 19

Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High
Additional checks £8.5 £10.7 £12.8

18 Figures may not sum due to rounding
19 Figures may not sum due to rounding.

43

Familiarisation £0.9 £1.1 £1.4
Total £9.4 £11.8 £14.2

171. The costs presented above include the costs of fami liarising with the new
requirements, and transitional costs including amen ding scopes of services and
contracts and having systems in place so that their work can be delivered in accordance
with building regulations. We estimate these costs to be between £10.9m and £16.3m
with a central estimate of £14.6m present value terms (£0.9m - £1.4m on an EAC basis).

172. Costs that arise annually because of the dutyholder requirements will result from
the named dutyholders (principal designers, princip al contractors, designers,
contractors, and clients) completing additional che cks of work to ensure that all work
complies with building regulations.

173. We assume that approximately 43,000 development projects 20 per year will require
additional time for competency checks to be completed. This is a comparison with what
we believe currently happens in the sector where we assume that the checks which are
set out in part 3 of the 2022 Act are already completed on some building projects.

174. We estimate that the new requirements will lead to dutyholders spending a total of
3.5 additional hours per development project comple ting additional checks on average.
This time is broken down across the different dutyholders below.

175. The client must check the competency of those they appoint to ensure they have
the right competence (skills, knowledge, experience , and behaviours) to do the work.
Clients will need to challenge the systems and processes of those they appoint to ensure
they can demonstrate compliance with all relevant r equirements. We assume this will,
on average, take an additional 2hrs per affected project.

176. The principal designer must collect information from designers which demonstrates
their work complies with all relevant requirements. We assume this will, on average, take
0.5hrs per project. We assume it will take 0.25hrs for designers to provide this
information.

177. The principal contractor must interpret plans and d ecide how to demonstrate they
comply with all relevant requirements. We assume this will, on average, take 0.5hrs per
project. We also assume it will take, on average, 0 .25hrs per project for contractors to
provide information showing that work complies with all relevant requirements.

20 This is a comparison with the counterfactual where we believe these checks are already carried out on a proportion of projects. The estimate
is based on a breakdown by building type, for example, we estimate that 40% of single dwellings will require additional time to complete the
checks and 80% of retail premises will require this additional time.

44

178. All the above time estimates are estimated averages and vary based on the type of
project. For example, we have assumed extra time pe r dutyholder for more complex
projects such as a block of flats, and less time fo r simpler projects such as single
dwellings.

Higher-risk buildings

179. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to industry of
dutyholder roles and responsibilities for higher-ri sk buildings will be between £106.2m
and £163.1m, with a central estimate of £134.7m, in present value (PV) terms. This
equates to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of between £8.9m and £13.7m over the
appraisal period. Table 8 presents these cost estimates below.

Table 8Breakdown of dutyholder roles and responsibilitie s costs to industry
(higher-risk buildings) 21

Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High
Competency checks (new
builds) £3.4 £4.2 £5.0
Competency checks (building
work on existing higher-risk
buildings)
£4.5 £5.6 £6.8
Building handover (new
builds) £0.3 £0.4 £0.5
Building handover (building
work on existing higher-risk
buildings)
£0.5 £0.6 £0.7
Familiarisation £0.2 £0.4 £0.6
Total £8.9 £11.3 £13.7

180. During new higher risk building projects and buildi ng work in existing higher risk
buildings the client, designer, principal designer and principal contractor and contractor

21 Sum of individual costs and total may not match because figures have been rounded.

45

will incur costs because of the time required for t he client to assess the competency of
the other dutyholders. The estimated additional time per development project of carrying
out these competency checks is set out in table 9 below.

Table 9Additional time per development team

Number of days
Client Designer Principal
designer
Principal
contractor
New builds (Year 1) 12.7 8.6 4 8.3
New builds (Year 2) 2.1 1.8 0.3 0
Building work in existing
higher-risk buildings 12.7 8.6 4 8.3

181. Table 9 above presents the time, on average, we ass ume that each development
team will spend undergoing and completing competenc y checks. Once employed, we
assume that each development team will, on average, oversee 2 development projects.
The number of days presented is a weighted average between the time taken for
experienced, inexperienced and arm’s length design teams. We expect the time taken
to complete the tasks required will vary between the different design team structures.

182. The estimated additional time per dutyholder presen ted in table 9 and described
below is based on how we expect industry to impleme nt the dutyholder responsibilities,
however, the process set out is not mandatory. The client could follow a different process
to assess the competency of the dutyholders they ap point, providing the requirements
are met. For example, we have assumed that the clie nt will interview other dutyholders
before appointing them to the role and designers wi ll assemble an annual pack of
information, although these are not a requirement of the regulations. We have assumed
that the time estimates provided represent a reason able estimate of the additional time
required per development project, even if a different process is followed.

183. Additional tasks for the client include assessing t he competency of designers,
principal designers, and principal contractors, inc luding whether those they intend to
appoint have had a serious infraction within the previous 5 years, whether this brings into
question their competence for the work they are to undertake, and if mitigations are
needed. Establishing this will involve correspondi ng with those they intend to appoint
and considering their suitability for the role.

184. We expect designers to prepare an initial submissio n and attend an interview to
demonstrate their competence to the client. Followi ng this, we expect the designer will
assemble a pack of information annually, which demo nstrates their continued
competency to perform the role.

46

185. We expect that principal designers will prepare an initial submission and may attend
an interview to demonstrate their competence to the client. This will allow them to join
the competency framework which the client has in pl ace. We expect the principal
designer will assemble a pack of information, annua lly, which demonstrates their
continued competency.

186. We expect principal contractors to spend time corre sponding with the client before
attending an interview. They will also need to perf orm a detailed review of the
specification for the job.

187. There will be further costs in the handover of buildings at the end of the construction
phase. We estimate this will take 1 additional day (7.5 hours) of accountable person/
Responsible Person (where needed), and one other st aff member’s time. This is time
that is additional to the time taken to complete the handover of buildings presently.

188. At the end of the construction phase, the client is expected to pass-on ownership of
the building to a new dutyholder. For residential b uildings this will be an accountable
person(s). The handover stage involves the client t ransferring the datasets and
information required as part of their duties under part 3 of the Act. This information and
datasets will be transferred to the accountable per son or Responsible Person who will
be responsible for managing the building during the occupation phase.

Familiarisation
189. We have assumed a one-off familiarisation cost to i ndustry that can be associated
with dutyholder requirements during higher-risk bui lding work, estimated to be between
£2.6m and £7.7m with a central estimate of £5.1m in present value terms (£0.2m - £0.6m
on an EAC basis). This cost is assumed to be incurr ed in year 1 and covers raising
awareness within firms of the policy change and employees attending external events to
become familiar with the new policy.

The building control process for higher-risk buildings
190. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to industry of the
building control process for new higher-risk buildi ngs will be between £202.1m and
£473.6m, with a central estimate of £337.8m, in present value (PV) terms. This equates
to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of between £17.0m a nd £39.7m over the appraisal
period. Table 10 below presents the cost estimates for the gateways process.

Table 10Estimated total cost of the building control proc ess for new higher-risk
buildings

Annual Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High

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Gateway two £5.4 £8.9 £12.5
Gateways two – three (during
construction) £9.3 £15.5 £21.7
Gateway three £2.0 £3.4 £4.7
Familiarisation £0.3 £0.5 £0.8
Total £17.0 £28.3 £39.7

Familiarisation
191. We have assumed a one-off familiarisation cost to i ndustry that can be associated
with gateways, estimated to be between £3.1m and £9 .2m with a central estimate of
£6.1m in present value terms (£0.3m - £0.8m on an EAC basis). This cost is assumed to
be incurred in year 1 and covers raising awareness within firms of the policy change and
employees attending external events to become familiar with the new policy.

192. The building control approval application stage at gateway two and the completion
certificate application stage at gateway three represent hard stops, and impose different
requirements that industry must fulfil before they are able to progress. The building
control process for higher-risk buildings (gateways two and three) section above provides
more detail on the specifics of what developers will be required to provide. The following
sections go into detail on the cost estimates for each of the gateways, and table 11 below
presents a time estimate (in hours) for an average building to progress through the
building control process. These estimated figures represent an average building, and the
time it takes may vary substantially between buildings. The time and cost estimates are
for the additional time to meet the requirements of the higher-risk regime, and do not
include the time and cost that is incurred under the current regime.

Table 11Estimated time to progress through building control process (gateways)
Time taken (hours)
Low Central High
Pre-application meeting 22 9 15 21
Building control approval application
stage at gateway two 188 313 439

22 The pre-application hours here are included as indicative timings should a dutyholder wish to utilise it. Costs for pre-application meetings
have not been included in the total cost estimates.

48

Change control between gateways
two – three (during construction) 513 856 1,198
Completion certificate application
stage at gateway three 98 164 230
Total 809 1,348 1,888

Pre-application meeting/gateway one – two
193. Early advice may benefit dutyholders that are required to go through the higher-risk
building control process. The Regulator will be able to provide discretionary advice prior
to the submission of a building control approval application at gateway two submissions
at the request of dutyholders. Pre-application meetings are not a mandatory requirement
and, as such, have not been included in the cost estimates for this Impact Assessment.
They will, however, be heavily encouraged and we expect substantial uptake by industry,
particularly in the formative years of the new regime.

194. If a developer decides to conduct a pre-application meeting, it would mean a
meeting between the principal designer of the proje ct, representatives from the
Regulator, local building control and Fire and Resc ue Services. We have assumed that
it will take between 1.2 days (9 hours) and 2.8 day s (21 hours), with a central estimate
of 2 days (15 hours) of the principal designer’s time to attend the meeting and complete
subsequent correspondence. We estimate that it will cost the developer £1,100 (the time
cost from attending the meetings).

Applications for building control approval – “gateway two”
195. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to industry of the
building control approval application stage at gate way two will be between £63.8m and
£149m, with a central estimate of £106.4m, in present value (PV) terms. This equates to
equivalent annual cost (EAC) of between £5.4m and £12.5m over the appraisal period.

196. The requirement to submit an application for buildi ng control approval at gateway
two replaces the building control ‘deposit of plans ’ stage under the current regime, and
the time and effort costed here is additional to wh at is currently required. The analysis
assumes that it will take an estimated 42 days (313 hours) (including a full review of
plans) to prepare the application and prescribed do cuments for submission and submit
information at gateway two. This is inclusive of 15 hours to prepare a description of the
partial completion strategy, if desired; should thi s not be required, the time to prepare
the application will be 40 days (298 hours).

197. Where a staged approach to submitting a building co ntrol approval application at
gateway two is proposed, dutyholders must still pro vide a comprehensive application
with plans and all prescribed documents, as well as a staged work statement providing
a detailed description of the proposed stages of th e work if appropriate. The detailed
plans and the building regulations compliance statement included in the application need
only show how the work up to the specified stage wo uld comply with all building

49

regulation requirements but must be accompanied by outline plans for the whole
building. We expect that the staged approach will o nly be a feasible option for complex
developments. For the purposes of this analysis, we have assumed that all dutyholders
will submit a full plans application before construction begins.

During construction (in between gateways two and three)

198. We estimate that during construction, gateways’ req uirements will cost Industry
between £111.1m and £259.2m, with a central estimat e of £185.2m, in PV terms over
the 15-year appraisal period and between £9.3m and £21.7m, on an EAC basis. This
cost includes both site inspections and the change control process.

199. We assume that there will be additional 23 site inspections throughout the
construction phase. We estimate that the principal designer (site inspector) will spend 1
day a week undertaking site inspections (780 hours per building on average), on top of
the 2.5 days a week of inspections they already do. This is to provide assurance that the
work of the principal contractor and any sub-contra ctors is compliant, and that
construction is following the agreed plans.

Change control

200. During the construction phase, dutyholders will be required to comply with the
change control process by either i) making a change control application and waiting for
building control approval if the change is major ii) notifying the Regulator if the change is
notifiable before making the change or iii) for changes which are not major or notifiable,
recording them in the change control log before making the change. The Regulator does
not need to be notified of these ‘recorded’ changes.

201. The change control plan is a prescribed document to be shared with the Regulator
at gateway two – this is expected to take 6 hours o f industry time to prepare and is
included in the time estimates in paragraph 195.

202. Due to the nature of the types of changes in each category, we estimate that there
will be, on average, 4 major changes, 4 notifiable changes and 17.5 recorded changes
per building. We have assumed that 1 notifiable change would be considered to be major
by the Regulator, and our analysis includes that change in the number of major changes
per building.

203. For major changes, a change control application in writing to the Regulator is
expected to take 8 hours of industry time per change, so on average 32 hours per
building.

204. Where the Regulator has made a decision on a change control application for a
major change, we estimate it will take, on average, 2.5 hours for industry to review the
response and respond where necessary.

23 Additional to what happens under the current regime

50

205. We estimate that the time taken for industry to sub mit a notification of a notifiable
change to be shorter than for a major change, taking 4 hours per change, so on average
16 hours per building.

206. We expect that 40% of notifiable works will be responded to by the Reg ulator. In
these cases, we expect the Regulator to request mor e information. When they do, we
expect that industry will use 2.5 hours per change to respond and, on average, 5 hours
per building.

207. The change control log should be created before con struction begins – this is
expected to take 1 hour of industry time per building and should occur between gateways
two and three. All three types of change then also require record-keeping in the change
control log, which is expected to take 0.5 hours per change in all instances.

Completion certificate applications – “gateway three”

208. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to industry of
gateway three will be between £24.1m and £56.1m, wi th a central estimate of £40.1m,
in present value (PV) terms. This equates to equiva lent annual cost (EAC) of between
£2.0m and £4.7m over the appraisal period.

209. Once the construction stage has been completed, a b uilding can move on to
completion (gateway three). The requirement to subm it a completion certificate
application at gateway three replaces the current c ompletion certificate and final
certificate stage, and the time and effort costed h ere is additional to what is currently
required. We estimate that a completion certificate application and the activities at
gateway three will require an average of 22 days (1 64 hours) of industry time. The time
taken at the completion certificate application stage at gateway three includes (but is not
limited to) the preparation of prescribed documents , review and submission of those
documents, and time for final inspections.

Partial completion

210. Partial completion will be permitted for higher-ris k buildings and phases of
occupation will be project specific but must never come at the expense of resident safety.
The Regulator will be able to permit partial completion in higher-risk building on a case-
by-case basis, when it is satisfied that specific safeguards have been met. Where partial
completion is sought, a partial completion certificate application must be submitted when
work on the relevant part or parts of the building is complete. The application will need
to include updated plans and prescribed documents reflecting the as-built building work.
Under the higher-risk regime, we expect partial com pletion to be considered a viable
option for complex higher-risk buildings, such as w here there are multiple towers are
built on one shared podium.

211. Based on an analysis of planning data we estimate t hat 6% of all higher-risk
buildings being constructed will be multiple towers on one shared podium. Podiums with

51

multiple towers have an average of three towers. The towers are likely to be constructed
one by one, and the developer may wish to utilise partial completion. We assume that in
all instances of multiple towers on one podium, the developer wishes to make use of a
partial completion strategy. Therefore, we assume t hat 4% of all towers (
2/3 of the 6%,
representing towers two and three) will be towers constructed on podiums after the first
tower on that podium has been completed.

212. We assume that the building control process for add itional towers on a shared
podium to be largely similar to the first tower, bu t with some time savings. These
reductions feed into the summary costs for gateways.

Cost estimates for the risk of additional time needed to meet ‘gateway’ requirements

213. In discussions with stakeholders, many have raised concerns about the additional
time needed to meet the requirements of the gateway s process prior to construction
commencing as the higher-risk regime will introduce new requirements for dutyholders
to meet and a ‘hard stop’ where building work cannot legally commence without approval
from the Regulator. We expect stakeholders to facto r the additional requirements into
their development planning and use the time between the approval of their planning
application at gateway one and the submission of th eir building control approval
application at gateway two, to be ready to meet the se new requirements in a quick and
efficient manner.
214. Nonetheless, we expect that for higher-risk building work under the new gateways
process, dutyholders may expend additional time whe n collating the necessary
information and putting in place sufficient process es in order to meet the new
requirements. This additional time is more likely t o be needed when completing an
application building control approval application a t gateway two, particularly in the
formative years of the higher-risk regime when dutyholders are beginning to recalibrate
their working practices to accommodate for the new requirements. This additional time
may create knock-on impacts in terms of the time it takes to complete the entire schedule
of works for these projects, which will come at a cost to dutyholders. We expect that this
could cost around £150 per flat per week. This resu lts in a per building delay cost of
around £10,000 per week. However, this figure may i ncrease should additional time be
required on completion of building work that delays the selling and occupation of the
building.

215. The requirements of the higher-risk regime should, however, mean dutyholders get
things right earlier in the design and construction phase, which should reduce additional
time and costs at later stages, including the need to correct non-compliant or defective
work. The Regulator will also have statutory time-l imits to determine the applications
required at gateway two and gateway three, with the ability to agree extensions if needed.
216. These illustrative costings remain uncertain, and i t is not yet clear how many
projects might experience delays. We have therefore not included an estimate for delays
in our summary of total costs to industry.

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Building work in existing higher-risk buildings

217. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, duties linked to building work in
existing higher-risk buildings (refurbishments) wil l cost industry between £89.1m and
£207.8m, with a central estimate of £148.4m, in PV terms over the 15-year appraisal
period and between £7.5m and £17.4m, on an EAC basis.

Table 12Estimated total cost of building control approval for building work in
existing higher-risk buildings

Annual Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High
Pre-application meeting - - -
Building control approval
application for work in an
existing higher-risk building
£3.7 £6.1 £8.6
During construction £1.5 £2.5 £3.5
Completion certificate
application £2.3 £3.8 £5.3
Total £7.5 £12.5 £17.4

218. Under the higher-risk regime, there will be three m ain approaches to building work
in existing higher-risk buildings: those works carr ied out under a third-party certification
scheme, works carried out under the competent person scheme (CPS) and the building
control application route. The latter category requ ires a building control approval
application to the Regulator and splits building wo rk into Category A and Category B,
dependent on the nature of the work. Category A requires a more extensive approach to
the process, with the submission of prescribed docu ments similar to a gateway two
application, whereas Category B requires a lighter touch approach in terms of the
documents which accompany an application. Category B is a catch all category for any
work that does not fall under Category A and does not require the prescribed documents
(unless the Regulator asks for them), however, comp liance with all relevant building
regulation requirements will need to be demonstrated.

53

219. We assume that 4% of existing buildings will undertake building work which requires
an application to the Regulator (an average of 670 works per year over the appraisal
period).

220. Those building works in Category A always require f ull plans, a competence
declaration, a construction control plan, a buildin g regulations compliance statement, a
fire and emergency file, a change control plan, a m andatory occurrence reporting plan,
a partial completion strategy (if applicable) as part of the application. Once building work
is complete, a completion certificate application i s required, however, as work in an
existing building may be undertaken while the building remains occupied, unlike work to
create a new higher-risk building, a completion certificate application won’t act as a hard
stop in the same way.

221. The table below presents the time estimates to prog ress through building control
approval for work in an existing higher-risk building. There is no pre-application meeting
assumed for refurbishments. In the central scenario the analysis assumes that this type
of building work will require 20 days (153 hours) o f industry time for the building control
application, 11 days (86 hours) during the building work, and 15 days (113 hours) for a
completion certificate application. The difference in time for new buildings and building
work in existing buildings is driven by a substanti al gap between the inspection time
required during construction.

Table 13Estimated time to progress through building contr ol approval for building
work in existing higher-risk buildings

Time taken (hours)
Low Central High
Pre-application meeting - - -
Building control approval
application for work in an
existing higher-risk building
92 153 214
During construction 51 86 120
Completion certificate
application 68 113 158
Total 211 351 492

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222. Building works in Category B require none of the pr escribed documents, but the
applicant must demonstrate the proposed work will comply with all relevant requirements
of the building regulations. We expect that the onl y types of work that will fall outside of
Category A (and therefore in Category B) are certai n instances of roof work (where it is
not being done as part of wider Category A work). We estimate this to be roughly 3% of
the higher-risk building stock per year. What is required to be submitted to the Regulator
for Category B works is very similar to that requir ed under the current regime and,
therefore, we have not estimated any additional time or cost for Category B works.

223. Building work in existing buildings covered by the competent person scheme will
also require that the Regulator is notified on comp letion of the building work. We have
assumed an average of 8.5 works of this type per building per annum. Under the current
regime, the installer must give the occupier a cert ificate and notify the local authority of
completion; we have, therefore, not included additi onal time in the analysis for industry
to notify the Regulator.

224. Building work in existing buildings covered by a third-party certification scheme will
require the scheme operator to notify the work to the Regulator. This is already required
under the current regime and, therefore, we have no t modelled any additional time for
building work covered by a third-party scheme.

Regularisation
225. Regularisation refers to the process of certifying building works that have been
carried out without building control approval. The process enables the submission of a
retrospective application relating to the previously unauthorised works.

226. Under part 3 of the 2022 Act the owner of the prope rty will need to apply for a
regularisation certificate through the Regulator in stead of applying through the local
authority as is the current process. Following the changes, we expect industry will follow
a similar procedure and have, therefore, not assume d any additional costs due to the
changes being brought in.

Golden Thread
227. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost of the golden
thread to industry will be between £38.6m and £78.2m, with a central estimate of £46.1m,
in present value (PV) terms. This equates to equiva lent annual cost (EAC) of between
£2.7m and £6.6m over the appraisal period. The brea kdown of golden thread costs to
industry can be found in Table 14 below. The costs in the table below are for both new
buildings and work on existing higher-risk buildings.

Table 14Breakdown of golden thread costs to industry 24

24 Figures may not sum due to rounding

55

Annual Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High
COBie setup (including co-
ordinating, managing and
handling data received
from suppliers and
contractors)
£1.2 £1.8 £2.5
Software, training and data
entry £1.3 £2.4 £3.8
Familiarisation costs 25 £0.1 £0.2 £0.3
Total £2.7 £4.4 £6.6

228. The costs in the following section only relate to b uildings whilst they are under
construction. Golden thread costs that arise during the in-occupation stage have been
considered in a separate, part 4 Impact Assessment.

Familiarisation

229. We also assume a one-off familiarisation cost to industry associated with the golden
thread of information, estimated to be between £1.3m and £3.9m with a central estimate
of £2.6m in present value terms (£0.1m - £0.3m on an EAC basis). This cost is assumed
to be incurred in year 1 and covers raising awarene ss within firms of the policy change
and employees attending external events to become familiar with the new policy.

New builds
230. We assume that firms that already comply with Building Information Modelling level
1 standards, by using a Common Data Environment and complete COBie files, will not
incur any additional costs (due to the expectation that they already meet proposed
standards). We estimate that firms that do not curr ently meet these standards will face
additional costs for digitalising information, estimated to be £5,000 - £7,000 per affected
building. This includes (but is not limited to) setting up a COBie file, setting up some form
of shared information storage and management system , coordinating, managing and

25 Half of the costs of familiarisation for golden thread are captured in the part 4 Impact Assessment.

56

handling data received from contractors/suppliers, software costs, and training to use the
appropriate software.

231. Whilst this method will not be employed by all building owners, we have assumed it
represents an average of what building owners will use to create and track their golden
thread information. In practice, any functional sys tem can be used if it is digital,
information is being tracked and information can be securely and efficiently accessed,
shared and stored,

232. We have also modelled the cost for dutyholders on all new higher-risk projects to fill
out a COBie file during construction for handover at project completion. This method will
allow dutyholders in the occupation stage to access “as built” information on their
buildings using their choice of software. We estima te this will cost £4,000 - £8,000 per
building, due to the time taken for data entry. Aga in, while this method of information
exchange will not be employed by all building owners, we have assumed it represents a
useful estimate for costs, as COBie is a recognised method of transferring information.

Building work in existing higher-risk buildings (refurbishments)
233. The requirements for carrying out category A work in an existing higher-risk building
are comparable to those for new higher-risk buildings. We assume, as a minimum, BIM
level 1 standards will have to be used, and documen ts required for building control
approval applications and completion certificate ap plications will have to be digitalised,
including building data being in a COBie format for handover. As with new higher-risk
buildings, there will not be additional costs for p rojects which already use a Common
Data Environment and fill out a COBie file. However , projects not yet meeting this
standard will incur an estimated additional cost fo r complying of £5,000 - £8,000. The
costs differ from new buildings because refurbishments are typically shorter projects and,
therefore, have lower software license costs and require less data entry.

234. Again, in practice although any functional system c an be used, we have assumed
this represents an average of what building owners will use for their golden thread
information during a refurbishment project.

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting
235. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to industry of
mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) during the des ign and construction phases will
be between £0.8m and £1.3m, with a central estimate of £1.1m, in present value (PV)
terms. This equates to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of between £0.07m and £0.1m over
the appraisal period. These costs are broken down in table 15 below.

Table 15Breakdown of mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) costs 26
Annual Cost (EAC) (£m)

26 Figures may not sum due to rounding

57

Low Central High
MOR – New buildings £0.05 £0.06 £0.07
MOR – Building work in
existing higher-risk
buildings
£0.03 £0.03 £0.04
Total £0.1 £0.1 £0.1

236. Mandatory occurrence reporting or “near miss reporting” is common in other sectors
including the Civil Aviation Authority. There are n o specific familiarisation costs for this
requirement, as familiarising with the requirements is captured in the general
familiarisation costs.

237. In the analysis mandatory occurrence reporting is b roken down into reporting of
safety occurrences during new build higher-risk bui lding projects, work on existing
higher-risk buildings (that goes through building c ontrol) and existing buildings (in-
occupation). This Impact Assessment focuses on part 3 (design and construction) 27 and,
therefore, will only consider mandatory occurrence reporting for new buildings and work
on existing higher-risk buildings during the design and construction stages.

238. The analysis assumes that there will be an average 28 of approximately 850
instances of reporting per annum for new build constructions, and around 500 for building
work in existing higher-risk buildings.

239. The reports can be made for a number of reasons and by any relevant person on
the site of the building. Table 16 below presents o ur assumptions on the proportion of
buildings that we expect to encounter each type of report, and how many reports we
expect them to receive per annum. These assumptions drive the total number of
instances reported per annum.

Table 16Incidence of mandatory occurrence reports

Proportion of
buildings where
issues are
reported per
annum
Number of
reports per
building per
annum 29
Design

27 The impacts of mandatory reporting for existing buildings has been covered in a separate, 4 Impact Assessment
28 Average over the 15-year appraisal period
29 The figures in this column are the number of reports for a building where an issue is reported. For the first row, it is one report per annum in
the 15% of buildings that make reports.

58

Design issues not identified by the design risk
management process 15% 1
Product Specification and Installation
Misleading or inaccurate product literature in respect of
fire and structural safety 3% 1
Substandard products delivered to site with fire an d
structural safety implications 3% 2
Unreported major change from classified product (no t
reported under Change Control) 5% 2
Construction
Inadequate installation of products and materials
relating to fire and structural safety. 15% 2
Installation of materials with inadequate fire or
structural performance
8% 1.5
Inadequate or unsafe means of horizontal or vertica l
escape 1% 1
Construction of unstable masonry walls 1% 1

240. The analysis assumes that instances are dealt with through a single report that will
take on average 0.5hrs of a dutyholder’s time to report to the lead dutyholder and then 1
hour of the lead dutyholder’s time to report to the Regulator.

Transitional provisions (higher-risk buildings)
241. Prior to the introduction of the higher-risk regime in October 2023, there will be
building projects that have already deposited their full plans or given an initial notice to
the local authority and started the design and cons truction process. These building
projects will be eligible for transitional arrangements which will allow certain development
projects to continue under local authority building control or private sector building
control. These projects have not been included within the original assessment of the part
3 higher-risk regime. This has instead been estimated below.

242. The analysis below estimates the amount of higher-r isk building projects that will
enter each of the individual routes laid out in paragraph 108 above, split between the six
different routes that take place.

243. Some higher-risk building work will fail to deposit their plans or given their initial
notice to the local authority before 1 st October 2023. These projects will be ineligible for
the transitional arrangements (Route 1). Around 2,8 00 higher-risk buildings 30 (c.1200
new builds, c.1600 building works on existing higher-risk buildings) are expected to have
either deposited their full plans with or given their initial notice to a local authority across
October 2020/21 to October 2023/24, split equally b etween local authority building
control and approved inspectors. 85% of which are e xpected to meet the definition of
“sufficiently progressed” (Route 2), and 15% failin g to meet it. This is based on the

30 This estimate is based on our estimates of expected starts across 2020/21 to 2023/24.

59

expectation that the majority of new builds will be able to meet the “sufficiently
progressed” definition, even if they were to start shortly before 1
st October 2023. The
only likely exception is for particularly large or complex buildings. All building work in an
existing higher-risk building is expected to be “sufficiently progressed” as the requirement
is to start on site. As a result, we expect c.180 n ew builds to not be “sufficiently
progressed" within six months of the higher-risk regime coming into force. These projects
are covered in Routes 3 and 4. Furthermore, for som e building work building control
approval may lapse before work has commenced or the initial notice or full plans
submitted to the local authority may be rejected af ter 1st October 2023. These projects
will not be eligible for the transitional arrangements and will be subject to the higher-risk
regime immediately (Route 6).

244. In addition, around 20% of building projects assign ed to approved inspectors are
expected to not meet the conditions of the transiti onal arrangements due to their initial
notice ceasing to be in force. This may be due to their approved inspector not registering
as a registered building control approver by 6 th April 2024 or because their initial notice
is cancelled for any other reason. These projects w ould fall under Route 5. This case
results in 101 additional new builds and 158 buildi ng works in existing higher-risk
buildings being affected by Route 5.

245. As a result of the transitional arrangements and ho w they have accommodated for
building work being previously overseen by local au thority building control and private
sector building control, it is expected that a total of 280 new builds and 158 existing works
will transfer to the jurisdiction of the Regulator. Therefore, in total, 437 buildings are
affected. These figures are derived from our own es timates of the buildings stock and
new building starts, combined with HSE estimates on the local authority and approved
inspector split and initial notice cancellations.

246. Table 17 Error! Reference source not found. shows the number of buildings in
each route by new build and building work in existing higher-risk buildings.

Table 17Number of buildings going through individual routes
New Builds
Building
Work in
Existing
Higher
Risk
Buildings
- Total
Cost
Total
Building
Projects
Total number of buildings in scope of transitional
arrangements 1190 1575 2765
Route 1 – Failure to give an initial notice or depo sit plans
to local authority by 1 st October 2023 N/A N/A N/A

60

Route 2 – Higher-risk building work has “sufficien tly
progressed” and, if work is under an initial notice the
approved inspector has registered as a building con trol
approver
1011 1575 2586
Route 3 – Higher-risk building work overseen by the local
authority fails to “sufficiently progress” work 89 0 89
Route 4 – Higher-risk building work subject to an initial
notice fails to “sufficiently progress” work or the initial
notice ceases before work is “sufficiently progressed”
89 0 89
Route 5 – Higher-risk building work has “sufficien tly
progressed” but the approved inspector fails to register as
a Registered Building Control Approver or initial n otice
ceases for any other reason
101 158 259
Route 6 – Building control approval lapses before work has
commenced or the initial notice or full plans are rejected by
a local authority after 1 st October 2023
N/A N/A N/A
Total buildings transitioning to new/hybrid higher-risk
regime 280 158 437
Note that Route 5 is a proportion of Route 2, hence summing routes 1-6 will not total up to the total
number of buildings in scope of transitional arrangements in the first row.

Additional time required for transferred higher-risk building work to meet new requirements

247. Under Route 4, an initial notice will cease to have effect before work has "sufficiently
progressed". A valid building control approval appl ication must be submitted to the
Regulator to enable work to continue. It is expecte d that most projects will prepare for
the transfer should their initial notice be at risk of ceasing. Nonetheless, some time will
likely be required to prepare and submit their buil ding control approval application.
Furthermore, some time may be expended in updating processes and procedures to
comply with new requirements. We estimate these delays to be around 6 weeks.

248. Under Route 3, a project overseen by the local authority will transfer to the Regulator
but will not need to submit a building control appr oval application. The full plans
application approved by the local authority will re tain its status and will be sent to the
Regulator. However, dutyholders will need to comply with many of the new requirements
of the higher-risk regime, but in relation to their original full plans application. As a result,
some time may be expended in preparing documentatio n and updating processes and
procedures to meet new requirements, such as the ch ange control regulations. We
estimate these delays to be around 4 weeks.

249. Under Route 5, an initial notice will cease to have effect after work has "sufficiently
progressed". A valid building control approval application will be required to enable work
to continue. However, the application requirements are far more limited compared to
Route 4 and many of the “during construction” requirements of the regime are disapplied

61

for this work. As a result, the expected delays are likely to be less. We estimate these
delays to be around 3 weeks.

Costs of each route
250. For new builds falling under Route 4, the expected cost of the higher-risk building
regime for design and construction is £157,000.

251. Under Route 3, new builds will not need to apply fo r building control approval to
continue work, this modified regime will therefore cost around £114,000.

252. Under Route 5, new builds and building work in exis ting higher-risk buildings that
have “sufficiently progressed” but have had their i nitial notice cancelled will need to
complete an inspection schedule which may differ to that under their previous approved
inspector’s. This is expected to cost around £84,00 0 for a new build, and £19,000 for
building work in existing higher-risk buildings.

253. Based on this, the total cost for those going throu gh Route 3 is £10.2m, Route 4 is
£14.0m, and Route 5 is £11.5m (comprising of £8.5m from new builds, £3.0m from
building work in existing higher risk buildings) re spectively. Overall, the total cost is an
additional £35.6m.
Table 18: Cost of each route per project
Per new build
cost
Building Work
in Existing
Higher Risk
Buildings
Cost
Route 3 – Higher-risk building work overseen by the local
authority fails to “sufficiently progress” work £114,000 £0
Route 4 – Higher-risk building work subject to an i nitial notice
fails to “sufficiently progress” work or the initia l notice ceases
before work is “sufficiently progressed”
£157,000 £0
Route 5 – Higher-risk building work has “sufficient ly
progressed” but the approved inspector fails to reg ister as a
Registered Building Control Approver or initial not ice ceases
for any other reason
£84,000 £19,000

Table 19Total cost of each route

New Build
Total Cost
Building Work
in Existing
Higher Risk
Buildings
Total Cost

62

Route 3 – Higher-risk building work overseen by the local
authority fails to “sufficiently progress” work £10.2m £0.0m
Route 4 – Higher-risk building work subject to an i nitial notice
fails to “sufficiently progress” work or the initia l notice ceases
before work is “sufficiently progressed”
£14.0m £0.0m
Route 5 – Higher-risk building work has “sufficient ly
progressed” but the approved inspector fails to reg ister as a
Registered Building Control Approver or initial not ice ceases
for any other reason
£8.5m £3.0m
Total cost of all routes £32.7m £3.0m
Overall total across all project types £35.6m

Risks and assumptions
254. These estimates are representative of a highest est imates scenario of how many
in-scope buildings may fail to meet the conditions of the transitional arrangements and
will transfer to the Regulator. It is possible that some in-scope building work projects may
have started building work prior to 2020/21, and ma y not be ’sufficiently progressed’ by
6th April 2024 although we expect this to be rare. As a result, there may be some building
work unaccounted for, but this number is expected t o be very low. The dutyholders of
transferred building work, which is subject to the higher-risk regime, and must meet the
new requirements that are applied to ensure buildin g work complies with all applicable
building regulations.

Enforcement and appeals
255. This analysis assumes full compliance with the new regime. However, we assume
that achieving full compliance will require interve ntion from the regulator in the form of
compliance notices. This section estimates the admi nistration costs of complying with
these notices. This section does not include the co sts of action to address the
requirements of the notice as the cost to comply wi th the duties has already been
captured in the relevant sections of the Impact Assessment. We have estimated the cost
to industry of compliance notices that may be serve d over the 15-year appraisal period
will be between £6.2m and £9.2m, with a central est imate of £7.7m, in present value
(PV) terms. This equates to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of between £0.5m and £0.8m
over the appraisal period.

Table 20Breakdown of enforcement costs to industry 31

Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High

31 Figures may not sum due to rounding

63

New builds £0.4 £0.4 £0.5
Building work in existing
higher-risk buildings £0.2 £0.2 £0.2
Total £0.5 £0.6 £0.8

256. The costs presented in table 20 cover enforcement r elated to work on higher risk
buildings. As part of its enforcement powers the Regulator can issue compliance notices,
stop notices, and pursue criminal prosecution where building regulations are
contravened. Table 20 only presents the administrat ive costs related to compliance
notices such as corresponding with the regulator and does not include any costs related
to stop notices or prosecutions. There are also cha nges to enforcement of work related
to the design and construction of non-higher risk b uildings, but we do not expect these
changes to create any additional costs for industry.

257. Compliance notices can be issued with respect to ne w builds and existing higher-
risk buildings undergoing building work, where buil ding regulations are breached. This
means there will be approximately 1700 buildings within scope of possible enforcement
by the Regulator each year where there is non-compl iance. We assume that 20% of
higher-risk building work will not meet all the req uirements and have used this number
as a proxy for the number of compliance notices iss ued. We, therefore, estimate there
will be around 340 compliance notices, on average, issued per year by the Regulator.
As this is a result of regulatory non-compliance, the cost associated with complying which
has already been covered in the assessment for each duty it is not costed in the total as
an additional cost.

Internal reviews and appeals
258. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to industry of
reviews and appeals will be between £3.8m and £14.4 m, with a central estimate of
£8.5m, in present value (PV) terms. This equates to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of
between £0.3m and £1.2m over the appraisal period.

Table 21Breakdown of costs to industry of internal reviews and appeals

Cost (EAC) (£m)
Low Central High
Building control and
building control professions
decisions
£0.1 £0.3 £0.5
Appeals of compliance
notices £0.2 £0.4 £0.7

64

Total £0.3 £0.7 £1.2

259. Decisions which are eligible for internal review ar e related to building control
applications and building control profession applic ations. If these decisions are still in
dispute following internal review, they can be appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal. Industry
can also appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal if they want to challenge being issued
compliance or stop notices.

Internal reviews of building control decisions
260. If the relevant dutyholder wants to challenge an el igible building control decision
made by the Regulator they can apply for an interna l review of the decision. Eligible
decisions include:
a. Building control applications for new higher ris k buildings and building control
applications for work in existing higher risk buildings
b. Change control applications
c. Completion and partial completion certificate ap plications
d. Regularisation certificate applications
e. A refusal by the Regulator to vary a requirement under regulation 10

261. As part of the internal review and appeal process the dutyholder will need to prepare
and submit evidence to the Regulator. The amount of time we expect this to take
depends on the decision being reviewed.

262. If the dutyholder disagrees with a decision to reje ct a building control application,
then they must resubmit all relevant documents alon g with an explanation of why the
application should be accepted. We estimate this pr ocess will take 14.25 hours on
average.

263. For reviews of decisions related to change control applications we assume it will
take 7.75 hours to prepare and submit evidence for an internal review.

264. For reviews of a decision to refuse to issue comple tion or partial completion
certificates the dutyholder will need to submit evidence showing that the building meets
requirements. This is likely to involve an on-site visit. We assume this will take 17.75
hours to prepare and submit this evidence for internal review.

Internal reviews of building control profession applications
265. Companies which currently operate as approved inspe ctors must register as
building control approvers. Individuals providing more specialist building control services
will also need to register as registered building i nspectors. Applicants can appeal these
decisions if they disagree with the outcome. The Regulator can reject applications or can
attach conditions to registration, such as an indiv idual can only work as a registered
building inspector on non-higher risk building work . These decisions will be eligible for
internal review and appeal if still in dispute.

65

266. We estimate that an average of 7 decisions per year relating to regulation of the
building control profession will go to internal rev iew. The person requesting an internal
review will need to gather and submit the evidence supporting their appeal. We estimate
this will take an average of 7.75 hours per review.

Appeals

267. If a decision is still in dispute following interna l review, then the decision can be
appealed to the First Tier Tribunal. We estimate th at 10% of decisions will be appealed
following internal review and that all appeals to t he First Tier Tribunal will require legal
input.

268. The dutyholder submitting the appeal will need to prepare and submit evidence for
the appeal. We estimate that preparing and submitting an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal
will take 150% of the time of an internal review.

269. The time estimates presented are estimated averages and actual times will depend
on individual circumstances. For example, industry may request an internal review
because of a mistake with their application which is easily rectified. In this scenario, the
time required to prepare and submit an appeal would be considerably lower than the
times presented above.

Scope Decisions

270. If a local authority determines that building work is considered higher-risk building
work as the building meets the criteria to be consi dered a higher-risk building but the
dutyholder disagrees, then they can appeal that decision. At this point the dutyholder will
need to resubmit the documents previously submitted as part of their building control
application to a person appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State who will make a
determination. We estimate this will take 1.5 hours per application.

Non-determinations

271. The Regulator is required to determine applications on eligible decisions within
specified timeframes depending on the application t ype. Relevant applications are for
building control approval, staged applications, bui lding work in an existing higher-risk
building, change control, completion certificates a nd partial completion certificates. If
there is no determination in the required timescale , then the applicant can make a non-
determinations application to the Secretary of State.

272. To make a non-determinations application the dutyho lder must resubmit all
documents submitted as part of the original applica tion. Construction work cannot
proceed while the application is being determined.

273. We have not monetised the costs of non-determinatio ns because we expect
applications to be very rare, and because it is not possible to estimate the length that a

66

determination may take, and therefore the length of time before construction can
commence if approval is given.

Appeals of compliance notices

274. The dutyholder can appeal to the First Tier Tribuna l if they dispute being issued
compliance and stop notices on eligible grounds. Th is option is available for notices
issued to higher risk and non-higher risk building work.

275. We assume that 10% of compliance notices issued to higher risk buildings will be
appealed to the First Tier Tribunal. Therefore, we estimate there to be an average of 34
appeals of compliance notices per year. We assume i t will take 7.5 hours for the
dutyholder to gather and submit evidence for these appeals.

276. We assume that 5% of compliance notices issued to n on-higher risk buildings will
be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal. We estimate there to be an average of 445 appeals
of compliance notices per year. We assume it will t ake 7.5 hours for the dutyholder to
gather and submit evidence for these appeals.

Hospitals and Care Homes
277. Hospitals and care homes of at least 18m metres or more in height (or 7 or more
storeys) are in scope of the part 3 regulations. Department analysis 32 estimates that there
are 274 buildings on hospitals sites 33 that are over 18 metres in height.

278. The Department of Health and Social Care has confir med that 40 hospitals are to
be built by 2030 34 . Combining this estimate with the proportion of hospital buildings over
18m, we estimate that there will be 2.6 hospitals w ith buildings over 18m built over the
appraisal period.

279. The rate for work on existing hospitals over 18m is the same as for residential
buildings (4%), and we estimate there will be an average of 11 instances of these types
of work on hospital buildings over 18m per year.

280. We estimate that the additional cost of going throu gh the design and construction
process for hospitals under the new higher-risk reg ime will be the same as residential
buildings. We estimate that over the 15-year apprai sal period, the total cost to industry
for hospital construction and work on existing hospital buildings in scope will be between
£4.5m and £6.8m, with a central estimate of £5.6m, in present value (PV) terms. This
equates to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of between £0.4m and £0.6m over the appraisal
period.

281. The Department estimates that over 98% of care home s are below 11 metres in
height, with the remaining at 11 metres and above. Based on limited data coverage, the

32 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-hospital-and-residential-crown-buildings-in-
england/building-safety-programme-estimates-of-hospital-and-residential-crown-buildings-in-england
33 An individually reported hospital site is defined as an NHS site of either over 500m2 or with over 10 inpatient beds.
34 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-confirms-37-billion-for-40-hospitals-in-biggest-hospital-building-programme-in-a-generation

67

Department estimate a maximum of 10 care homes are at least 18 metres. Due to the
very low figure of care homes over 18 metres and the nature of the buildings, we estimate
that 0 new care homes of at least 18 metres will be built during the appraisal period.

Wider Changes to Building Regulations

Regulators Notices
Costs per Regulator Notice
282. Where a project comprises both higher-risk building work and non-higher-risk
building work, developers will, by default, have two building control bodies: the Regulator,
for higher-risk building work, and a local authorit y or a registered building control
approver (formerly approved inspector) for non-high er-risk building work. Dutyholders
can, however, in agreement with the Regulator, apply to have the Regulator as their sole
building control body to oversee all the building work within that project. We expect that
many dutyholders are likely to choose this route, a s they will be able to better manage
the advice provided to the Regulator during the development of their buildings. As such,
in analysing the costs and benefits, we have assume d 100% of dutyholders opting to
take this option.

283. The number of building projects expected to be eligible is around 35 per year. This
is based on a sample of 79 planning applications fi nding 14% of projects involving both
non-higher-risk building work and higher-risk build ing work on the same site. This
proportion has been scaled to account for the numbe r of mixed non-higher-risk building
and higher-risk building projects coming in year on year (approximately 250).

284. We expect that a project manager will spend around 45 minutes on average to
prepare a regulator’s notice, depending on the files sent alongside it. As such, this should
cost around £60 per regulator’s notice in wage cost s for a project manager, therefore,
around £20,000 overall across the 15-year appraisal period and around £1,700 in
equivalent annual net cost. The sensitivity analysi s of ±50% in costs suggests this cost
could vary between £10,000 and £30,000.

Familiarisation
285. Familiarisation with the regulator’s notices is exp ected to take around 0.25 hours
and there are around 41,660 developers in England as of April 2023 35 . Only developers
who do work on higher-risk buildings would be in th e scope of the policy related to
regulator’s notices, which is estimated to be aroun d 15% of all developers. From
discussions with industry consultants, the average hourly rate for developer
administrative work is estimated to be £50. As such , familiarisation should cost around
£12.50 per higher-risk building developer, with a t otal familiarisation cost of around
£156,000. A sensitivity analysis of ±50% suggests this cost could vary between £78,000
and £234,000.

Overall Regulator’s Notices

35 Source: Nomis UK Business Counts 2022 - SIC Code 41.10. Accessed in April 2023.

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286. Overall, the total present cost of regulator’s noti ces to industry is expected to be
around £176,000, varying from £88,000 in a low scen ario and £264,000 in a high
scenario. The EANDC is expected to be around £15,0 00, varying between £8,000 and
£23,000.

Lapse of approval

287. No additional costs are expected from the automatic lapse of approval. There is
unlikely to be a significant change for local autho rities transitioning from manual to
automatic lapse of approval.

Definition of Commencement (non-higher-risk-buildings and higher-risk-buildings)

288. In theory, developers should face no additional cos ts because of this definitional
change. Only those firms that would have otherwise attempted to circumvent the new
requirements could potentially see higher costs compared to the counterfactual. A more
detailed discussion can be found in the non-monetised benefits section and in Annex C .

Extending scope of Regulation 38 to cover all building work considered material alteration

289. The cost of this policy is expected to be limited a nd has not been estimated.
Information from Regulation 38 is expected to be on hand for CPS installers and
providing this to the Responsible Person should result in limited additional cost.

Revoking Article 45 of the Fire Safety Order and co nsolidating consultation requirements
with Fire and Rescue Authorities in building regulations

290. It is anticipated that Local Authority Building Control will already consult Fire Safety
Officers to ensure that developments comply with bu ilding regulations, this change will
solely ensure regulations are consistent with requi rements for approved inspectors /
registered building control approvers. There are therefore no additional costs estimated
for this change.

Transitional provisions (non-higher risk buildings)
291. No additional costs or benefits are expected for non-higher-risk buildings. Given the
transitional period will be six months, the definition of commencement is expected to be
achievable for buildings currently going through planning and for those who have already
started work on site.

292. Repercussions from not meeting the transitional period are expected to have limited
costs, with slightly greater dutyholder responsibil ities and additional basic information
required at building control application stage (see wider changes to building regulations
section). The costs of these have not been monetise d for proportionality and because,
per the rationale above, the transition period should be achievable for buildings currently
in train.

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Costs to the Regulator
Total Cost to the Regulator

293. The regulatory functions of the Regulator are in th e process of being switched on,
with, for example, principal accountable persons be ing able to register their higher-risk
buildings with the Regulator from April 2023. As s uch, the HSE have refined their
operational costs as part of their full business case development. This is reflected below
in setting out the costs to the Regulator for delivering the new regime.

294. Table 22 below presents the total cost to the Regulator. The costs in the table have
been presented in both equivalent annual cost (EAC) and net present value (NPV) terms.

Table 22Total cost to the regulator
Annual Cost (EAC) (£m)
Special Investigations Teams £1.1
Higher-risk buildings: Building
Control £49.0
Operations support – higher-risk
building £0.4
Total £50.5
Total Cost (NPV) (£m)
Special Investigations Teams £13.4
Higher-risk buildings: Building
Control £584.3
Operations support – higher-risk
buildings £4.7
Total £602.4

295. The analysis and costs in this section have been provided to the Department by the
HSE, as they are delivering the Regulator as set ou t in the 2022 Act. We have worked
extensively with them to ensure that any assumption s, and by extension estimates, are
to the best of our knowledge, the most accurate reflection of the impact of the regulations.

296. The analysis in this section utilises the same assumptions asset out in the ‘General
Assumptions’ section set out above.

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297. Regulator costs include a 10% optimism bias.

298. Regulator costs are variable until 2030, and from this point onwards have been held
constant, equal to the value of the costs in 2030 f or all remaining years in the appraisal
period.

299. Regulator costs have been presented for a central scenario only. This is to maintain
consistency with the internal business case. These figures are informed by HSE analysis.

300. The costs presented in this section are the total costs for both resource and capital
spend, however non-FTE (full time equivalent) resou rce costs and capital costs have
been apportioned across the functions based on an allocation. To see this in more detail,
please go to annex B. The discussion here only focuses on the FTE elements.

301. The subsections under Regulator costs will not align with those in the industry costs
section as they were developed independently, altho ugh in parallel, by HSE and the
requirements on the Regulator, and the related acti vities, will be different to those for
industry. The total quantum of these costs, however , aligns with the scope of what is
covered by the costs to industry.

302. The Regulator intends to operate at a 90% cost reco very rate across activities
relating to the regulation of higher-risk buildings from 24/25 onwards 36 . The cost recovery
rate for the operational Regulator across all areas of delivery is 75% across the period
23/24 to 29/30, as it will pass on the majority of its costs to industry via fees and charges.
The specifics of those fees and charges are being a ssessed separately in an Impact
Assessment on fees and charges.

Specialist investigations teams

303. The specialist investigations team’s (SIT) element of the Regulator costs is for
teams within the Regulator to investigate dutyholde rs that are not complying with their
duties under part 3 of the Act. The costs for these teams are split into two areas, as
shown in table 23 below. Mandatory occurrence repor ting 37 covers investigations
triggered via the mandatory occurrence reporting pr ocess, and building control covers
all other investigations relating to part 3 duties under the Act.
Total 23: Cost breakdown for Specialist Investigations Teams
Annual Cost (EAC) (£m)
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting £0.4

36 Cost recovery rates for the three cost areas are as follows: special investigations teams - 70% in 23/24, 90% from 24/25 onwards, Higher-risk
Buildings: In occupation – 90% cost recovery from go live in April 2024, operations support – Higher-risk building – 47% in 23/24, 90% from
24/25 onwards.
37 The mandatory occurrence investigations FTE are split equally between Part 3 and 4, and the part 4 element has been assessed in a
separate Impact Assessment.

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Building Control £0.8
Total £1.1 38

Building Control

304. The building control element of Regulator costs refers to the FTE to conduct all the
required activities and engagement under part 3 of the 2022 Act. These costs are split
into three areas (assessment, build and completion), with table 24 below demonstrating
the breakdown.

Table 24Cost breakdown for Building Control
Annual Cost (EAC) (£m)
Assessment £12.2
Build £29.2
Completion £7.6
Total £49.0 39

305. The following section sets out the activity that will be undertaken for a building going
through the building control process for higher-risk buildings. The Regulator will have to
conduct these activities for every higher-risk buil ding for which it is the building control
authority.

Assessment

306. One element of assessment is application management . This is the time the
Regulator needs to manage and assess the application once it has been submitted. This
includes time for regulatory leads and case officer s to check and ensure that all
documentation and data is present, and potentially request further information from the
applicant.

307. We have included time for the management of resourc es under ‘assessment’. The
Regulator’s operational support will commission multi-disciplinary team (MDT) members
from Local Authorities, Fire and Rescue service and from a private sector framework
contract (if specialist and additional resources are required that the public sector may be
unable to provide).

308. The last element of assessment is for the MDT to re view the application. They will
undertake a building control assessment, tracking and managing any issues and actions
against the application. The case officer will requ est (and receive) the statutory

38 Figures may not sum due to rounding
39 Figures may not sum due to rounding

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consultations and feed these into the building cont rol assessments. We have also
allocated time at this stage for the applicant to draw up an inspection schedule. We have
also allocated time for the regulatory decision to be made, with input from the MDT team,
and communicated to the dutyholder.

Build

309. Once the dutyholder notifies the Regulator they are commencing work, the MDT
team will be mobilised and will provide inspections as per the agreed inspection
schedule. Unscheduled inspections may be performed as and when they are required.
Inspections will continue throughout the entirety o f the build. The Regulator may also
have to review change control applications, submitt ed by the dutyholder as part of the
change control process.

Completion

310. The Regulator will need to assess the completion ap plication, and then also
undertake a final inspection schedule of the finish ed build. The Regulator will work with
the dutyholder to address any compliance issues, wh ich may involve issuing a
compliance notice. The MDT team will undertake a fi nal building control assessment,
and then the Regulator will make its final decision, with input from the MDT team. Lastly,
a case officer will perform the administrative proj ect closedown activities, including
formally standing down the MDT team.

Operations support – building control

311. This cost area includes the administration and support that will be needed to assist
the Regulator in conducting its functions under part 3 of the Act.

Costs to local authorities

312. Local authorities will incur additional costs due t o changes to enforcement and the
appeals and reviews process for non-higher risk bui ldings. These are summarised in
table 25 below.

Table 25Total costs to local authorities

Cost (EAC) (£m) 40
Low Central High
Changes to enforcement £0.1 £0.2 £0.2
Changes to appeals £0.1 £0.3 £0.4

40 Figures may not sum due to rounding

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Total £0.3 £0.4 £0.7

Changes to the enforcement process

313. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to local authorities
of changes to the enforcement process for non-highe r risk buildings will be between
£1.8m and £2.7m, with a central estimate of £2.2m, in present value (PV) terms. This
equates to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of between £0.1m and £0.2m over the appraisal
period.

314. Local authorities will incur costs because of chang es to the enforcement process.
Local authorities will be able to issue compliance and stop notices in response to a
contravention of building regulations. This process will complement the current non-
compliance prosecution and section 36 notice options and is likely to replace the use of
informal enforcement mechanisms.

315. Local authorities will need to update their enforce ment notice templates to reflect
the new notices and incorporate these into back-office systems. We assume this will take
2 hours per local authority in England. Local autho rity staff will also need to undergo
training to familiarise themselves with the new pro cess. We assume, on average. this
will require 4 staff members to undergo 3 hours of internal training per local authority.

316. Local authorities will be required to issue an indi vidual notice for each breach of
building regulations, as opposed to issuing a singl e informal warning letter for all the
contraventions on the site, as occurs in some cases now. Local authorities will then need
to share notices with other relevant agencies such as the Fire and Rescue Service. We
estimate that completing these additional tasks will take an average of 10 minutes of staff
time per notice issued.

Changes to the appeals process

317. We estimate that over the 15-year appraisal period, the total cost to local authorities
of changes to the reviews and appeals process for n on-higher-risk buildings will be
between £1.5m and £5.3m, with a central estimate of £3.1m, in present value (PV) terms.
This equates to equivalent annual cost (EAC) of bet ween £0.1m and £0.4m over the
appraisal period.

318. As part of changes to reviews and appeals 2 local authority staff will need to review
appeals of compliance and stop notices issued to non-higher-risk buildings. We estimate
there will be an average of 445 appeals of complian ce notices per year in our central
scenario. We assume that each appeal will take up 5 hours of a local authority legal
officers time and 5 hours of a local authority building control officer’s time.

Benefits
319. This analysis has estimated the benefits of all measures in the 2022 Act. It has not
been possible to identify the benefits realised by parts 3 and 4 separately. This Impact

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Assessment, therefore, presents the total benefits of the wider regime even though some
of these will be the result of improved building ma nagement practices which result from
measures brought in under part 4 of the Act.

Total Benefits
320. The monetised benefits in this section cover higher-risk buildings only.

321. We estimate that the proposals would yield equivale nt annual benefits (EAB) of
£95.6m - £416.5m per annum in monetised benefits. T his is broken down in Table 26
below.
Table 26: Buildings of at least 18 metres benefits

Annual Benefit (£m) 41
Low Central High
Reducing the risk
of fire incidents £47.6 £140.8 £325.9
Avoided cost of
resolving systemic
issues
£10.9 £16.4 £21.9
Indirect benefits to
the construction
industry
£34.4 £49.2 £63.9
Reducing the risk
of structural issues £2.6 £3.7 £4.9
Total £95.6 £210.1 £416.5

322. Some benefits have not been monetised because of th e absence of a sufficiently
robust evidence base, while for others it was not c onsidered proportionate to monetise
benefits. Non monetised benefits are discussed below.

323. The benefit estimates set out here have been calcul ated over a 75-year appraisal
period. This includes benefits experienced in the 1 5-year policy appraisal period (equal
to that used to estimate costs) and benefits that m ay persist over the lifespan of a
building, assumed to be 60 years. This is to best capture all the benefits and reflects the
Green Book guidance on ‘persistence’ of benefits. For example, benefits associated with
residents’ engagement are likely to last the 15-yea r policy period, however,
improvements in the construction quality of new bui ldings will likely last the lifespan of
the building.

41 Figures may not sum due to rounding.

75

324. A more detailed description of the methodology used to estimate overall monetised
benefits and the monetised benefits of the individu al sections below is set out in Annex
A.

Reducing the risk of fire incidents (£47.6m - £325.9m)

325. The 2022 Act proposals are expected to reduce the r isk of fires spreading across
multiple dwellings within a higher-risk building (referred to here as fire incidents), and to
reduce the risk of major fires (the proposals are n ot expected to have a material impact
on the number of fire ignitions). This will be achieved through stronger oversight, clearer
accountability for, and stronger duties on, those responsible for the safety of higher-risk
buildings throughout design, construction, and occu pation, stronger enforcement and
sanctions to deter and rectify noncompliance, and a stronger voice for residents.

326. This analysis has split the benefits of reduced fir e risks into health and non-health
benefits. These benefits are summarised in table 27 below.

Table 27Annual benefit from reduced fire risk (£m) 42

Annual Benefit (£m)
Low Central High
Health benefits £21.1 £79.5 £206.0
Non-health
benefits £26.5 £61.3 £119.9
Total £47.6 £140.8 £325.9

327. The 2022 Act proposals are expected to further redu ce the risk of fire incidents in
higher-risk buildings and consequently the risk of fatalities and injuries to residents. We
also expect there to be reductions in negative impacts on the mental health of residents
involved in such incidents, their family members, and others.

328. There are non-health benefits related to reducing t he risk of fire and structural
incidents. One non-health benefit measures avoided loss/damage of personal
belongings and property loss from avoided higher-ri sk buildings related incidents.
Examples include, avoided rebuilding and demolition costs for fire damaged buildings or
structural failure incidents, avoided costs from lo sing possessions in a fire incident or
structural failure, and hotel and other support costs for displaced residents.

329. Benefits are also realised from avoided legal costs . Reducing fire risks and
structural failure mean there will be fewer legal p roceedings, therefore, costs such as
lawyers’ fees and court costs will be avoided.

42 Health and non-health benefits may not sum to total because figures have been rounded.

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330. Estimates of the scale of these benefits take accou nt of the projected residual risk
of such incidents in the absence of the 2022 Act pr oposals (but after the measures
already taken, some of which are discussed above), the extent to which the proposals
will reduce this risk, and the expected harm caused by such incidents. While the
uncertainty around each of these factors makes any monetised estimates of the scale of
benefits highly uncertain, we have established an indicative range of £47.6m - £325.9m
annual benefit.

331. Substantially reducing the risk of fire incidents, or structural failure, in buildings in
scope is also likely to have the important additional benefit (not monetised in this Impact
Assessment) of reassuring residents and making them feel safer in their homes. This is
further discussed in the section on non-monetised benefits below.

Avoided costs of resolving systemic issues (£10.9m - £21.9m)

Table 28Benefit from avoided costs of resolving systemic issues

Annual Benefit (£m)
Low Central High
Avoided costs of
resolving systemic issues
£10.9 £16.4 £21.9

332. There are wider costs associated with weaknesses in the current regime, where
construction does not meet the necessary requiremen ts and so buildings require
subsequent and urgent remediation (which may or may not be triggered by an incident
involving a specific building). An example of this is the remediation of unsafe Aluminium
Composite Material cladding on multi-occupied resid ential buildings over 18 metres,
following the Grenfell Tower fire and the emergence of other concerns requiring
remediation during investigation. This has involved costs for remediation, waking watch
fees, and related investigative/legal costs.

333. There is a risk that a similar systemic crisis could emerge in future and necessitate
a similar response. The 2022 Act proposals are expe cted to reduce the risk of this
happening and, therefore, to reduce the risk that such associated costs are incurred. An
estimate has been made of the annual benefit from avoided costs of resolving systemic
issues of around £10.9m - £21.9m.

Indirect benefits to the construction industry (£34.5m - £64m)

334. The 2022 Act proposals are likely to lead to the re duction of some costs to the
construction industry and others (the expected costs to industry are set out in the industry
costs section of this Impact Assessment). In total, these benefits are expected to be
worth £34.5m - £63.9m per year.

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Table 29Indirect benefits to the construction industry

Annual Benefit (£m)
Low Central High
Indirect benefits to the
construction industry £34.5 £49.2 £63.9

335. We expect the overall package of additional checkin g and information-gathering to
lead to a reduction in re-work costs relating to de fects identified during, and at the end
of, the construction period, as well as fewer laten t defects identified during building
occupation.

336. The new information requirements help to reduce costs from future invasive surveys
and for general asset management. There will also b e time saving benefits from the
checking of products during design and construction and safety case preparation.

Reducing the risk of structural issues (£2.6m - £4.9m)

337. Finally, there are expected to be some reductions i n costs related to structural
incidents in buildings.
Table 30: Benefit from reducing the risk of structural issues

Annual Benefit (£m)
Low Central High
Reducing the risk of
structural issues £2.6 £3.7 £4.9

338. These cost reductions relate to fewer structural fa ilure incidents such as balconies
failing, windows falling out and collapsed building s. Although the risk of these incidents
happening is low, the measures included in the 2022 Act are expected to further reduce
the probability of these events happening.

Non-monetised benefits

339. There are a range of benefits which we have not mon etised, either because there
is a lack of robust data and evidence available or because it was not considered
proportionate to carry out this analysis. The non-monetised benefits of the proposals that
we have identified are benefits for residents’ ment al health and wellbeing, improved
functioning of mortgage and insurance markets, and greater transparency in
construction.

Mental health and wellbeing benefits

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340. A significant benefit is reassurance to residents that risks to their safety, and that of
their homes, have been reduced. This will help to m itigate negative impacts on mental
health and wellbeing of residents of higher-risk bu ildings, arising from any existing
uncertainty or concerns as to the safety of their h omes. This is likely to be achieved by
the cumulative impact of safety cases mandating a proactive approach to building safety,
the provision of information to residents to help d evelop more transparent and
collaborative relationships regarding managing their building safely, and a more effective
system of handling complaints, where residents have an increased confidence that
issues can be easily and effectively raised and res olved. Similarly, the new Regulator,
will give further confidence to residents that dedi cated action is being taken to ensure
that the fire and structural safety risks in their buildings are being effectively minimised
and managed on an ongoing basis. Improvements in re sidents’ mental health and
wellbeing may translate into higher productivity in the labour market and improve the
educational attainment of the children living in these buildings.

Better functioning mortgage and insurance markets

341. The mortgage market for flats in higher-risk buildi ngs experienced a market failure
due to a lack of information on the materials in the external walls and leaseholders having
to pay to fix any issues identified. The leaseholde r protections under Part 5 of the Act,
alongside government and developer funding for remediation, are helping to open up the
market by addressing these issues and major mortgage lenders committed to lend more
freely on mid and high-rise buildings with building safety issues from January 2023.

342. The new regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings with more stringent oversight
during the design and construction of higher-risk buildings, and the establishment of the
new Regulator as the sole building control authorit y for higher-risk buildings with strong
enforcement powers, will improve confidence that hi gher-risk buildings are being
designed and constructed to meet building regulations in place when the building control
application is approved. This support should further increase the confidence of mortgage
providers, further improving the functioning of mor tgage markets and therefore
availability and value of products to leaseholders and prospective buyers. This will give
residents greater freedom to sell and re-mortgage their homes when they would like to.

343. Research drawing on in-depth interviews with 32 lea seholders affected by the
building safety crisis across the country highlight ed adverse impacts on their ability to
plan and control their own lives, particularly when it came to life stage transitions such
as family planning, moving to a larger home, moving for work or to facilitate caring
relationships. Enabling individuals to mortgage and sell their homes or use their housing
equity as and when they wish to can generate person al welfare benefits and improve
quality of life.

344. These welfare improvements may also translate into higher productivity in the
labour market. There could also be benefits for edu cational attainment of children if the
resulting move reduces overcrowding in the home and /or relocates a family closer to
more suitable schools. Similar benefits could accru e to those buying the homes. In
addition, we can expect improvements in labour mobi lity and therefore economic

79

efficiency from people being more able to supply wo rk where it is needed. However,
more general economic conditions, and regional vari ation in these, are likely more
important in explaining mobility.

345. The existence of unsafe cladding has also led to a decline in the availability and
affordability of insurance cover for buildings with combustible cladding. Evidence
gathered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) s uggests that insurance premiums
across buildings with identified flammable cladding increased by 187% between 2016
and 2021, going from £26,300 in 2016 to £75,600 in 2021 43 .

346. Furthermore, of a sample of 17 insurers, representing most of the multi-occupancy
building insurance market, 10 responded as having reduced their appetite to underwrite
high risk buildings. Reductions in availability of cover and increases in insurance
premiums both have negative impacts on leaseholders.

347. Insurers have low appetite to provide cover for the built environment because of low
confidence in being able to differentiate between b uildings with good and poor
construction. The provisions in the 2022 Act should play a part in improving insurer
confidence, which will improve the availability and affordability of cover for leaseholders.

Greater transparency in construction

348. Design and construction workers are likely to benef it from a more transparent
operating environment as a result of clear and more consistent accountability through
identified dutyholders during the design and construction of higher-risk buildings.

349. Clear and more consistent accountability through th e identification of principal
designers, principal contractors and the mandating of specific duties under part 3 of the
Act, and through these Regulations, will provide assurance that higher-risk buildings will
be effectively managed with regard to building safety risks over their lifecycle.

Non-monetised benefits for regulator’s notices

350. The new higher-risk building regime means that the Regulator must be the building
control authority for all higher-risk building work. The Regulator will not act as the building
control authority for non-higher-risk building work . Some developments are likely to
comprise higher-risk and non-higher-risk buildings. So that the dutyholder does not have
to seek approval from two building control authorit ies, regulator’s notices will be
introduced alongside the higher-risk building regim e. This will improve outcomes, as
dutyholders will have the option to seek agreement from the Regulator to act as the sole
building control authority in these circumstances. This means they can provide one set
of information for the whole development to one body and avoid receiving feedback from
two building control authorities. Government has implemented similar schemes (such as

43 Financial Conduct Authority – Report on insurance for multi-occupancy buildings: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-
documents/report-insurance-multi-occupancy-buildings

80

Primary Authority) to ensure that there is only one enforcing authority providing advice
to businesses in the past, which has led to significant cost savings
44 .

Non-monetised benefits for lapse of approval

351. No additional benefits have been monetised from the automatic lapse of approval.
There may be a cost saving towards local authoritie s who manually enforced lapse of
approval, but this has not been estimated as this i s expected to be a rare occurrence
under the counterfactual and is unlikely to be significant.

Non-monetised benefits for definition of commencement

352. The policy intent behind the new commencement defin ition infers that the
effectiveness of all future building regulations wi ll be higher compared to the current
building regulations. In the context of the rest of the policy outlined in this Impact
Assessment, the benefit of this change arises from the additional number of buildings
meeting current building regulations, including the additional oversight for higher-risk
buildings.

353. Due to the complexity of estimating how many develo pers would avoid regulations
under the counterfactual scenario, the benefit of t his change has been left non-
monetised.

354. To assess the potential benefits of a new definitio n of commencement, we
conducted a survey in March 2023. The aim of the su rvey was to investigate whether
there is any evidence to suggest that developers wi ll attempt to circumvent the new
building regulations about to come into force, by d oing the minimal amount of work
required under the transitional arrangements, so th at the new regulations do not apply
to them. The survey results showed that there is so me evidence to suggest that this
behaviour exists, hence supporting the rationale fo r redefining the definition of
commencement.

355. The results of the survey are discussed in greater detail in Annex C.

Summary assessment of parts 3 and 4

356. It has not been possible to compare the overall cos ts and benefits for the part 3
regulations and part 4 regulations Impact Assessments against the benefits because the
benefits are estimated for the new regime in its entirety. This following section combines
the cost estimates from the part 3 regulations Impact Assessment and part 4 regulations

44 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/609990/2015-pa-evaluation-quantitative-
report.pdf
Primary Authority is a similar scheme, allowing businesses that work within multiple local authority areas to only have a single local authority
(named Primary Authority) to speak to. This prevented conflicting advice and unreasonable enforcement across different local authority areas.
In 2014/15, businesses self reported benefits of Primary Authority from £8 to £2m, with a median of around £4,400 per business. Given building
development is high in cost, the benefit of Regulator’s notice to developers could be much greater.