BSR Delays 'Unacceptable' Says Lords Committee

The Government has been warned by a cross-party House of Lords Committee that “unacceptable” delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) approval processes is leaving residents waiting for remediation of dangerous cladding in unsafe buildings and increasing costs for leaseholders.

Whilst welcoming the increased scrutiny the Building Safety Regulator has brought to the design, construction and management of buildings in the interest of safety, the Industry and Regulators Committee’s report ‘The Building Safety Regulator: Building a better regulator’, published on Thursday 11 December, also warns that the delays mean the Government is in danger of missing its target to build 1.5 million homes by 2029.

Key findings of the report

After hearing from a range of witnesses including representatives of campaign groups and other organisations, developers, housing associations and regulators which work closely with the BSR, the Committee also found:

The BSR has not given clear enough guidance on how applicants are supposed to demonstrate that their buildings are safe;
Many applications are being rejected or delayed due to basic errors and applicants’ inability to evidence how they are considering elements of fire and structural safety, which reflects poorly on the construction industry;
Many construction products do not have relevant product standards, leaving them entirely unregulated;
Difficulties in Local Authority funding and the introduction of regulation have left an ageing workforce of building inspectors who are struggling to meet demand;
Despite these skills shortages, smaller works such as bathroom renovations in high-rise buildings are being subject to the scrutiny of the BSR’s hard-pressed multidisciplinary teams.

As a result, the report is calling on:

The BSR to give greater guidance to its MDTs on how compliance with the Building Regulations should be evidenced and assessed to ensure greater consistency;
The Government to remove smaller works from the BSR’s Building Control approval processes, or introduce a streamlined approval process for them;
The BSR to allocate the same MDTs to similar buildings or projects built by the same organisation, which could improve efficiency and consistency;
The Government to provide long-term funding for the training of new building and fire inspectors.

On 27 January 2026, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) officially moved to a standalone organisation, paving the way for the creation of a single construction regulator - a key recommendation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

More info:

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/517/industry-and-regulators-committee/news/210888/building-safety-regulator-delays-unacceptable-says-lords-committee/