Keeping Pace with Building Safety in England: Latest Developments on the Building Safety Levy, Building Assessment Certificates, and Cladding Remediation Funding

The process of remediating unsafe buildings and managing the safe development and occupation of Higher Risk Buildings (“HRBs”) continues to evolve. The Building Safety Regulator (“BSR”) and the government have recently announced updates impacting several areas – the Building Safety Levy regulations, a new approach to processing Building Assessment Certificates for HRBs, and an extension to the funding available to remediate unsafe cladding.

Amendments to the Building Safety Levy Regulations

Before the Building Safety Levy (“BSL”) comes into force on 1 October 2026, the government has made some amendments to the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 (the “BSL Regulations”) by virtue of the Building Safety Levy (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 (the “BSL Amendment Regulations”).

By way of a reminder, the BSL will be charged on all new residential dwellings (including purpose-built student accommodation (“PBSA”) and build to rent properties) which require a building control application in England. Some types of residential building are exempt from the levy so as not to deter their development, and to protect smaller sites and enterprises. For example, affordable housing, non-social homes built by not-for-profit registered providers, hospitals, care homes, supported housing, children’s homes, domestic abuse shelters, criminal justice accommodation, and developments of fewer than 10 units (or fewer than 30 bedspaces in PBSA developments) will all be exempt. 

In addition, a 50% discount applies to the rates where the development is constructed on previously developed land (“PDL”).  One of the key changes in the BSL Amendment Regulations is a refinement of the definition of PDL, which will now include areas of hardstanding such as car parks or service yards.  These structures were not included in the original definition of PDL, which was inconsistent with the definition of PDL in a planning context. This amendment should make it easier for the planning and building control processes to align, and for developers to assess whether their sites are eligible for the PDL discount on any levy that applies to their development. The BSL Amendment Regulations also confirm that wholly underground buildings and unlawful developments are excluded from the scope of PDL.

With the implementation date for the BSL fast approaching, developers will want to ensure that they have submitted their building control application prior to 1 October 2026, wherever possible. Developers intending to submit a building control application after the levy comes into force will need to factor the cost of the levy into their viability calculations.

BSR changes course on Building Assessment Certificates

In a move intended to make regulation more proportionate and targeted, the BSR has announced that it is revising its current approach to the grant of Building Assessment Certificates (“BACs”) under the Building Safety Act 2022 (“BSA”).

A BAC confirms that, at the time of assessment, the legal duties relating to spread of fire and structural failure under the BSA have been met. Since the commencement of the assessment programme, the BSR has directed Principal Accountable Persons (“PAPs”) to apply for BACs for nearly 2,000 HRBs. However, processing times have been much longer than expected and application refusal rates are high.

To improve the process, the BSR intends to shift its approach to an “intelligence-led and risk-based approach”, including:

• concentrating on organisations responsible for multiple HRBs;
• producing clearer technical guidance;
• allowing smaller, volunteer-run resident management companies more time to prepare evidence, and exploring the provision of pre-application advice support for resident-managed HRBs; and
• supporting applicants with ongoing applications and those where BAC applications have previously been refused.

The BSR has confirmed that despite the change in approach, safety oversight will not diminish and all PAPs and Accountable Persons must continue to comply with their duties to proactively assess and manage building safety risks whilst these proposed changes are implemented.

Cladding remediation support expanded

The government has also announced an expansion of support for residents living in buildings under 11m in height that are affected by unsafe cladding but are not covered by existing statutory protections that protect leaseholders from remediation costs. The expanded funding will assist in covering the costs of these remediation works, with the government prioritising those where risk is highest with priority given to buildings that present a high life-critical cladding fire safety risk. An eight-week application window will open on 17 August 2026.

Whilst substantial progress has been made in remediating the highest-risk buildings, a significant number of residential properties remain affected by unsafe cladding systems. Delays are not always the responsibility of developers failing to remediate where legally required to do so, but can arise from funding issues, technical challenges, project management difficulties and disputes between stakeholders. Although the government's expanded support package is designed to remove some of these barriers and enable projects to move forward more quickly, there are other issues in play, such as the lengthy delays experienced when dealing with the BSR, that will also require attention for remediation to meaningfully accelerate.