Plans for a new regulator to bring together standards across buildings, products and professionals in the construction sector have been announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). These proposals follow the first recommendation from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report, which was published in September 2024. The Inquiry recommended that government create a ‘single construction regulator’ to reduce fragmentation and complexity in the way the built environment is regulated.
The published prospectus aims to help ensure a well-functioning building system, which will support the industry to build the homes this country needs. This will mean better outcomes for residents and building users, clarity and certainty for industry and investors and a fairer system that benefits those who prioritise safety and quality. Its consultation will be open until 20 March 2026. This is said to inform final plans as MHCLG expects to publish a full response in summer 2026.
Alongside this prospectus, MHCLG launched a consultation which seeks views on the plans from across the construction sector. This will inform final plans and a full response to the consultation will set out more detail on regulatory reform – set to be published in summer 2026.
This announcement comes as the government publishes the next quarterly progress report on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Since the progress report in September 2025, the government reports to have completed 5 further recommendations out of 61 total recommendations from the Inquiry: Recommendations 2, 17 and 25 related to the construction industry, recommendation 39 related to fire and rescue services, and recommendation 58 related to vulnerable people. This brings the total to 8 complete recommendations and 53 in progress. As part of this work, MHCLG has published the Fire Engineers Authoritative Statement and Next Steps Document. Results of the Building Safety Regulator’s initial review of the definition of higher-risk buildings and plans for an ongoing review, as explored in a policy paper.
For more information visit the government’s latest progress report.
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), working with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), has published two new industry guidance notes on Staged Applications and key steps between Gateway 2 to Gateway 3 for Building Control for new Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs). The BSR is now accepting staged applications for all new HRBs at Gateway 2 for single tower new HRBs, based on separating groundwork and foundations from the subsequent construction of the building.
This guidance builds on the initial CLC guidance suite published on 21 July to support those submitting and assessing Building Control Approval applications and managing the process during the construction phase to handover and the submission of a Completion Certificate application. The complete guidance suite and further information can be found on the CLC website. Specific updates include:
- Updated – Guidance Note 01 – The Building Safety Regime for a new Higher-Risk Building: Update and addition to the process map;
- New – Guidance Note 08 – Staged Applications: Approach and baseline information for a Building Control Approval application for a stage of HRB work; and
- New – Guidance Note 09 – Gateway 2 to Gateway 3: Key steps for dutyholders and the BSR between Building Control Approval (Gateway 2) and Completion Certificate (Gateway 3).
For more information, visit: www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/workstream/building-safety/
