Transparency data

Building control approval application data September to December 2025

Updated 19 February 2026

Applies to England

All data is correct as of 22 December 2025 and provided by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

Gateway 2: Priority headline numbers for new build

Status	Legacy cases	Innovation Unit	Legacy transitional cases	Total
New cases received	0	101	0	101
Decisions made	54	31	9	94
Live cases as of 1 October	91	27	34	152
Live cases as of 22 December	40	102	29	171

Gateway 2: headline numbers for residential units

Total number of units in new cases received 22,261

Total number of units in decisions made 22,768

Total number of units in live cases as of 22 December 37,773

Commentary

• In the 12 weeks to 22 December, 94 new build applications have been determined with 101 new applications received.
• With a strong focus on closing out legacy cases, the majority of decisions (54 out of 94) have been made on these older cases and that cohort has now reduced to 40 with another 4 likely to be decided by 31 December.
• All new applications for new-build higher-risk buildings (HRBs) continue to flow into the Innovation Unit (IU). Applications which are clearly deficient have been identified and rejected early, with good quality applications now achieving approvals at around the 12-week point. Complex cases are being dealt with by account managers and several of these are now beyond the 12-week SLA.
• The rate of incoming applications is increasing. Pipeline engagement suggests this is likely to continue. Over the past 12 weeks new applications representing 22,261 residential units have been received. Applications representing 22,768 units have been determined, of which 15,117 were approvals. There are currently 37,773 units in live cases.

Gateway 2: Innovation Unit (national)

Innovation Unit: new in versus decisions (national)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	4	1	35
6 Oct	7	1	41
13 Oct	4	1	44
20 Oct	8	0	52
27 Oct	3	0	55
3 Nov	2	0	57
10 Nov	14	3	68
17 Nov	7	1	74
24 Nov	12	3	83
1 Dec	8	0	91
8 Dec	11	5	97
15 Dec	21	16	102

Innovation Unit: performance totals (national)

Description	Total
New in	101
Live	102
Units approved	317
Units in progress	24,624

Innovation Unit: performance percentages and weeks taken (national)

There were a total of 31 decisions made, taking a median time of 9 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	48%	1
Withdrawn	3%	12
Rejections	16%	14
Decision made, with account manager	23%	14
Approval	10%	12

Commentary

• The rate of new applications has risen over the past month. Thus, the head of work in the IU continues to rise – but we expect this to stabilise somewhere between 120 and 180 once in steady state.

• Three applications have now been approved with a further 4 approvals expected before the end of the year. These initial approvals have been at the 12 to 13 week point.

• As part of our work to drive up approval rates for safe applications, cases which are over 12 weeks, but are considered to have the potential to achieve an approval with further information, are now held by account managers who liaise closely with the applicant. Whilst this will see more cases breach the 12-week SLA, it is a pragmatic approach to ensure cases with merit are given the opportunity to progress.

Gateway 2: Legacy cases (national)

Legacy cases: new in versus decisions (national)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	0	2	92
6 Oct	0	0	92
13 Oct	0	4	88
20 Oct	0	3	85
27 Oct	0	5	80
3 Nov	0	6	74
10 Nov	0	2	72
17 Nov	0	8	64
24 Nov	0	4	60
1 Dec	0	4	56
8 Dec	0	2	54
15 Dec	0	14	40

Legacy cases: performance (national)

Description	Total
New in	0
Live	40
Units approved	13,674
Units in progress	8,474

Legacy cases: performance percentages and weeks taken (national)

There were a total of 54 decisions made, taking a median time of 37 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	0%	not applicable
Withdrawn	2%	18
Rejections	15%	26
Decision made, with account manager	0%	not applicable
Approval	83%	37

Commentary

• Legacy new build cases continue to reduce
• From 94 at the end of September, as of 22 December, 54 decisions have reduced the legacy cohort to 40, with a further 4 cases likely to be approved by the end of the year.
• The approval rate of these older cases continues to be high at 83%
• A number of complex and/or contested cases are likely to remain in January and these will be individually managed to resolution by account managers

Gateway 2: Remediation (national)

Remediation: new in versus decisions (national)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	17	10	286
6 Oct	7	4	289
13 Oct	4	2	291
20 Oct	6	4	293
27 Oct	7	15	285
3 Nov	5	5	285
10 Nov	5	4	286
17 Nov	12	4	294
24 Nov	4	11	287
1 Dec	6	9	284
8 Dec	6	4	286
15 Dec	4	10	280

Remediation: performance (national)

Description	Total
New in	83
Live	280
Units approved	3,898
Units in progress	24,229

Remediation: performance percentages and weeks taken (national)

There were a total of 82 decisions made, taking a median time of 34 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	11%	2
Withdrawn	5%	45
Rejections	40%	30
Decision made, with account manager	0%	not applicable
Approval	44%	43

Commentary

• Open remediation cases have held steady over the period at just over 280
• There is a focus on closing out older applications submitted at the start of the regime which typically do not contain sufficient detail for a decision and so require significant effort to move through to a successful conclusion
• In parallel we focus on higher-risk projects and those where there is a funding constraint
• Several remediation cases are now in the batching process and are progressing more quickly than in the previous model

Gateway 2: All categories (national)

All categories: new in versus decisions (national)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	67	38	1,217
6 Oct	60	49	1,228
13 Oct	46	35	1,239
20 Oct	52	68	1,223
27 Oct	50	49	1,224
3 Nov	30	56	1,198
10 Nov	58	36	1,220
17 Nov	61	49	1,232
24 Nov	59	53	1,238
01 Dec	53	112	1,179
08 Dec	66	59	1,186
15 Dec	103	123	1,166

All categories: performance (national)

Description	Total
New in	705
Live	1,166

All categories: performance percentages and weeks taken (national)

There were a total of 727 decisions made, taking a median time of 19 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	36%	1
Withdrawn	13%	43
Rejections	17%	27
Decision made, with account manager	1%	14
Approval	34%	32

Commentary

• The number of live applications of all categories at gateway 2 now shows a downward trend, reducing from 1,219 to 1,158 over the past 12 weeks.
• The final quarter of 2025 will see the highest number of decisions in any quarter since BSR commenced operations, with a total likely in excess of 700 compared to just over 200 in Q1 2025.
• Category A, B & ‘other’ accounts for circa 75%+ of gateway 2 volume of decisions

Gateway 2: Regional distribution

Data as of the 20 December 2025.

Regional gateway 2 applications (London)

Region	Innovation Unit	Legacy cases	Remediation	Total
London	52	23	153	228
Rest of England	50	17	127	194

Regional gateway 2 applications (rest of England)

Region	Innovation Unit	Legacy cases	Remediation	Total
East	1	0	14	15
East Midlands	1	2	16	19
North-east	1	0	3	4
North-west	22	5	30	57
South-east	6	2	23	31
South-west	3	6	11	20
West Midlands	3	1	12	16
Yorkshire and The Humber	13	1	18	32

Gateway 2: Innovation Unit (London)

Innovation Unit: new in versus decisions (London)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	2	0	21
6 Oct	2	1	22
13 Oct	3	1	24
20 Oct	4	0	28
27 Oct	1	0	29
3 Nov	0	0	29
10 Nov	4	3	30
17 Nov	2	1	31
24 Nov	7	1	37
1 Dec	8	0	45
8 Dec	7	5	47
15 Dec	15	10	52

Innovation Unit: performance (London)

Description	Total
New in	55
Live	52
Units approved	317
Units in progress	11,233

Innovation Unit: performance percentages and weeks taken (London)

There were a total of 22 decisions made, taking a median time of 10 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	45%	1
Withdrawn	0%	not applicable
Rejections	23%	14
Decision made, with account manager	18%	14
Approval	14%	12

Commentary

• Nearly half of the current live IU applications are in London
• This represents around 43% of the overall residential units handled by the IU
• As is the case nationally, the rate of submission of new applications is increasing but this appears more notable in London
• 22 of the 31 decisions that the IU has made are in London

Gateway 2: Legacy cases (London)

Legacy cases: new in versus decisions (London)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	0	1	52
6 Oct	0	0	52
13 Oct	0	2	50
20 Oct	0	1	49
27 Oct	0	3	46
3 Nov	0	5	41
10 Nov	0	1	40
17 Nov	0	4	36
24 Nov	0	2	34
1 Dec	0	2	32
8 Dec	0	1	31
15 Dec	0	8	23

Legacy cases: performance (London)

Description	Total
New in	0
Live	23
Units approved	7,354
Units in progress	5,406

Legacy cases: performance percentages and weeks taken (London)

There were a total of 30 decisions made, taking a median time of 37 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	0%	not applicable
Withdrawn	3%	18
Rejections	7%	46
Decision made, with account manager	0%	not applicable
Approval	90%	37

Commentary

• Legacy cases in London have reduced sharply, mirroring the national picture
• From 53 live cases in August, 30 decisions have reduced the London legacy cohort to 23, with 7,354 residential units approved
• Of note is the sustained high approval rate of 90%

Gateway 2: Remediation (London)

Remediation: new in versus decisions (London)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	12	8	150
6 Oct	4	2	152
13 Oct	1	2	151
20 Oct	4	3	152
27 Oct	3	2	153
3 Nov	2	3	152
10 Nov	0	1	151
17 Nov	7	4	154
24 Nov	4	5	153
1 Dec	1	2	152
8 Dec	4	2	154
15 Dec	3	4	153

Remediation: performance (London)

Description	Total
New in	45
Live	153
Units approved	1,852
Units in progress	12,107

Remediation: performance percentages and weeks taken (London)

There were a total of 38 decisions made, taking a median time of 37 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	11%	1
Withdrawn	5%	63
Rejections	50%	37
Decision made, with account manager	0%	not applicable
Approval	34%	42

Commentary

Open remediation cases in London have increased slightly over the period from 146 to 153

Gateway 2: All categories (London)

All categories: new in versus decisions (London)

Week commencing	New in	Decisions	Total live cases
29 Sept	46	25	812
6 Oct	44	35	821
13 Oct	28	23	826
20 Oct	29	57	798
27 Oct	27	25	800
3 Nov	18	40	778
10 Nov	28	22	784
17 Nov	37	37	784
24 Nov	47	33	798
1 Dec	33	74	757
8 Dec	40	46	751
15 Dec	75	86	740

All categories: performance (London)

Description	Total
New in	452
Live	740

All categories: performance percentages and weeks taken (London)

There were a total of 503 decisions made, taking a median time of 19 weeks.

Description	Percentage	Weeks taken (median)
Invalid	36%	1
Withdrawn	13%	52
Rejections	17%	32
Decision made, with account manager	1%	14
Approval	33%	30

Commentary

• The number of live London applications of all categories at gateway 2 now shows a clear downward trend, reducing from 791 to 740 over the past 12 weeks.
• The final quarter of 2025 will see the highest number of determinations in London since BSR commenced operations, with the 503 decisions over the past 12 weeks.
• 69% of all decisions across all gateway 2 categories in the past 12 weeks related to London cases

Building control: Batching pilot

Batches 1 to 4	Cases (status)
New build	45 (in progress)
Remediation	46 (in progress)
Category A: refurbishments	80 (in progress)

Commentary

• Due to demand across all application types (remediation, new build, refurbishment), a new batching process was launched during September, acknowledging that the original multi-disciplinary team (MDT) model was not effective for managing the volume of cases.
• This new pilot process scales capacity by bundling applications to specialised engineering services suppliers for accelerated assessment.
• The primary goal of batching is to accelerate backlog resolution in new build and remediation applications, thereby creating sustainable future capacity.
• The first of these mixed-category bundles (26 cases) was sent to engineering services suppliers on 30 September; the second followed the week of 6 October.
• Weekly dispatch of subsequent bundles have been and continue to be based on verified supplier capacity.
• We will provide more detailed tracking of the progress of all applications processed through this new system from January 2026.

Innovation Unit resourcing

Gateway 2: Innovation Unit resources

Role	Steady state target	Actual as of 22 Dec	Forecast January (mid-month)	Forecast February (mid-month)	Forecast March (mid-month)
Registered Building Inspectors	20	18.5	20	25	26
Structural Engineers	10	12.4	13	13	13
Fire Engineers	5	7.6	8	8	8

All numbers are full-time equivalent (FTE) – for example, some people are available to BSR fewer than 5 days per week, so the totals shown are aggregated.

Commentary

• BSR draws building inspector, structural engineer and fire engineer resources from partner organisations across the public and private sector
• These resources were brought in-house within BSR for the first time as part of the IU and allow BSR to have better control over resource allocation and tasking
• The provision of sufficient resource of this type is therefore critical to enabling the IU’s work
• Class 3 registered building inspectors (RBIs) are the most scarce
• We currently have a total of 18.5 full-time equivalent RBIs within the IU against our steady state target of 20.