Building Safety Regulator delays: risk and cost takeaways for façade engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
A cross-party House of Lords Built Environment Committee warns that delays in the Building Safety Regulator’s gateway approval processes are stalling cladding remediation on high‑rise residential blocks. Peers say leaseholders are facing rising interim costs for waking watches, higher insurance premiums and extended scaffolding hire while schemes wait for sign‑off. The committee presses the government and BSR to streamline case handling and resource the regulator adequately so life‑critical façade works can proceed at pace.
Technical Brief
- Lords Built Environment Committee scrutinised the Building Safety Regulator’s performance under the post‑Grenfell building safety regime.
- Peers focused on the regulator’s role at the new “gateway” approval stages for higher‑risk residential buildings.
- The committee’s concern centres on life‑safety–critical façade remediation, particularly combustible cladding systems on tall residential blocks.
- Evidence to the committee referenced prolonged pre‑construction approval periods before façade removal and replacement can legally proceed.
- Lords questioned whether the regulator has sufficient technical staff and fire engineering expertise to process complex cases.
- They also queried whether current guidance and requirements for façade design submissions are overly prescriptive or ambiguous.
- For dutyholders, the scrutiny signals likely pressure for clearer gateway documentation standards and more predictable approval timeframes.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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