The Building Safety Act 2022 (“BSA”) introduced a series of critical gateways to enhance safety standards and oversight for higher-risk buildings (“HRB”) in the design, construction and occupation phases. These gateways are designed to make sure that safety is considered at every stage of the building process, emphasizing accountability and liability for those involved in the construction and management of high-rise buildings.
Buildings categorised as HRB’s (as defined under the BSA) are those standing at least 18 meters in height or has at least 7 storeys and contains at least two residential units.
Under the new building control gateway approval regime, the Building Safety Regulator (“BSR”) is responsible for building-control approval for works to new and existing HRBs.
There are three gateways that form the new building control approval process which are set out in The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 (the “HRB Regs”).
Gateway One (Planning) – Ensures fire safety matters are incorporated at the planning stage for schemes involving relevant HRBs.
At this stage, it requires a Fire Statement to be included in a planning application setting out fire safety considerations specific to the development which must be submitted to the BSR. This must be approved by the BSR before proceeding to Gateway Two.
Gateway Two (Pre-construction) – Occurs before construction on a new or existing HRB (subject to the limited exceptions for work on an existing HRB) can begin. It is the building control application stage. The BSR needs to be satisfied that the design meets building regulations before construction commences.
At this stage, the applicant must submit an application for building control approval (gateway two application) to the BSR.
The application requirements are set out in Regulations 4 and 12 and Schedule 1 of the HRB Regs. Applicants will need to submit “prescribed documents” in relation to an HRB as detailed in the HRB Regs. The prescribed documents include:
- A competency declaration
- A Building Regulation compliance statement
- A fire and emergency file
- A construction control plan
- Change control plan
- A mandatory occurrence reporting plan
- A partial completion strategy
- A client statement
The BSR has 12 weeks (for HRB work) or eight weeks (for works to an existing HRB) from the date of the relevant application to assess the application or, such longer period as agreed between the BSR and the applicant.
It is a “hard stop” gateway in that building work cannot commence unless and until the BSR has approved the building control application.
Gateway Three (Completion) – On completion of all HRB work, the applicant must submit an application to the BSR for a completion certificate (gateway three application). The HRB Regs 40 to 45 sets out the process for a completion certificate. Essentially, the application must show how the works conform to the approved design and that they satisfy all functional requirements.
Before the building can be occupied, the BSR must assess the application, carry out a final inspection of the building work and if satisfied, issue a completion statement. The BSR has 8 weeks from the date of receipt of the valid application to determine the application or such longer period as agreed between the BSR and the applicant.
Occupation is prohibited until the BSR has issued a completion certificate for the work and it has been registered with the BSR.