Building control approval application data

BSR sees overall Gateway 2 approval rate rise to 67% following complex case resolutions, with more than 10,000 units approved in last 12 weeks

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has released its latest building control Gateway 2 update.

It demonstrates a continuing positive momentum against a backdrop of increasing decisions, improvements from its pilot batching process for applications and a focus on existing remediation projects.

Illustrated laptop with a pie chart on the screen

Highlights to 29 March 2026

Across all categories, 284 Gateway 2 decisions were made by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in the 12-weeks to 29 March, with a 67% approval rate.
New applications representing 12,975 residential units were received and applications representing 16,721 units have been determined, of which 10,165 (61%) were approvals.
61% of decisions (19 out of 31) made by the Innovation Unit (IU) in the last 12 weeks were approvals. This means the 12-week rolling approval rate (less invalidations and withdrawals) is significantly up from last month, with a median approval time of 22 weeks.
62% of all decisions across all Gateway 2 categories related to London cases.
In the last 12 weeks, 92 remediation decisions were made (49 in London) with an overall approval rate of 61%. This compares to only 228 decisions made throughout 2025.
The batching process is outperforming the previous MDT model, delivering initial assessments in support of decisions in a median time of just 4 weeks.
Legacy cases have reduced to 2, with 13 long-term cases with significant technical challenges now transferred to a complex case category.

New build approval rates rise

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has released its latest building control Gateway 2 update.

The update demonstrates a continuing positive momentum against a backdrop of increasing decisions, improvements from its pilot batching process for applications and a focus on existing remediation projects.

Across all categories 284 decisions were made in the 12-weeks to 29 March with a 67% approval rate, including 31 new build applications determined with 19 approvals (61% of decisions).

The Innovation Unit (IU) made 19 approvals (61% of its 31 decisions) in the last 12 weeks with a median approval time of 22 weeks.

New applications representing 12,975 residential units were received and applications representing 16,721 units were determined, of which 10,165 (61%) were approvals. There are currently 28,761 units in live cases.

62% of all decisions across all Gateway 2 categories over the past 12 weeks also related to London cases, with 372 applications closed in the capital over the past 12 weeks.

This follows recent government Housing supply indicators of new supply for England (to December 2025), which highlighted a higher number of starts in 2025 Q4 being part due to BSR reporting 7,089 total starts in 2025 Q4.

Batching pilot delivers significant processing improvements

Initial data shows that processing times under the batching model are significantly quicker than the previous MDT model.

The process scales capacity by bundling applications to specialised external suppliers for accelerated assessment, with BSR maintaining full regulatory oversight.

Across all three major categories – new build, remediation and refurbishment – the median time from a case being issued to a supplier to them returning a full assessment is just 4 weeks.

242 new build cases have been issued through batching, with 39 decisions (of 83 returned to date) reached at a median time of 9 weeks from issue to the supplier to decision which includes the time for BSR to consider the supplier’s assessment and make a decision.
372 remediation cases with 30 decisions (of 139 returned) reached at a median time of 10 weeks which again includes the time for BSR to consider the supplier’s assessment and make a decision.
For refurbishment 681 cases have been issued to the batching process so far. 49 decisions (of 317 returned) have also been reached at a median time of 10 weeks.

A clear focus on existing buildings

92 remediation decisions were made over the last 12 weeks, with an approval rate of 61%. This is compared to 228 decisions made throughout the whole of 2025.

97 new cases were received during this period with 299 live cases now being processed, representing 25,921 units.

To put a clearer focus on the existing high-rise buildings, a remediation improvement plan sets out how we intend to increase resources, improve processes and continue to work with applicants to improve application quality.

As part of the plan, initial guidance will be published in early April alongside improved feedback and support provided to applicants.

Innovation Unit progress

New build applications continue to move through the Innovation Unit with a growing number of decisions and a rising approval rate.

The Innovation Unit (IU) made 31 decisions, of which 10 were in London, during the past 12 weeks.

All time IU approvals now stand at 24, more than double the approvals reported at the end of February. The median approval time now at 22 weeks.

This increase is a consequence of applications that have moved into account management post-12 weeks reaching a successful outcome – with additional work to resolve challenging technical issues rather than rejecting the application.

For applications post-validation (or withdrawal), 61% are approved and 39% are rejected. The IU is currently managing 135 live applications, representing 24,824 units.

London application volume and decisions

London cases continue to be a key area of focus, with London decisions being the majority of all closed cases. Over the past 12 weeks, 62% of all decisions across all Gateway 2 categories were for projects located in the capital.

During this period, 372 applications were closed in the capital, with 470 new applications received. The total number of live London applications across all categories is now 845.

This regional concentration is particularly evident in the work of the Innovation Unit (IU). Currently, 65% of all live IU applications are based in London, representing more than half (54%) of the overall residential units the unit is handling.

Open remediation cases in London have seen a slight decrease over the 12-week period, dropping from 172 down to 164.

The update comes after the recent government and Mayor of London announcement of emergency measures to unblock dozens of stalled sites and build thousands more affordable homes for Londoners priced out of the housing market.

The announcement noted that BSR, under new leadership, is driving stronger operational performance, with clearance of almost all legacy Gateway 2 cases and 3,800 new homes approved across London reported in BSR’s February’s Gateway 2 data.

Resolving historical cases

The backlog of legacy new build cases has almost been cleared. The number of active legacy cases is now down to 2 regular cases.

There is a small cohort of 13 technically complex applications which are now being dealt with via a complex case process.

Increasing availability of safe new and existing homes

Charlie Pugsley, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Building Safety Regulator, said:

We continue to see improvements to numbers of approvals for new build and remediation cases and the time taken to get to a decision.

“The data we have published today reinforces the significant improvements we have seen when you look at where we were in July 2025, with median decision times of 51.5 weeks.

“A big part of our work to drive improvements is now focused on improving technical consistency in the sector and ensuring that learning from challenging designs or applications is shared. So, we have less complex cases to work through, further reducing decision times.

“This is directly increasing the availability of thousands of safe new and existing homes across England.

“To manage applications – particularly the intense demand we are seeing in London, which accounts for six in ten of our Gateway 2 decisions – our batching pilot is proving highly effective.

“By collaborating with specialised external engineering suppliers, we are significantly accelerating processing times, while maintaining our rigorous regulatory oversight.

“However, we recognise the need to push further on existing buildings. That is why our remediation improvement plan provides targeted measures to bolster our resources and support industry in submitting higher-quality applications.

“Speed can never come at the cost of safety. Our goal continues to be to ensure industry can construct safe buildings and that residents see the essential safety improvements they deserve.”

Building Control Approval application data – to 29 March 2026