Where to get approval

The Building Safety Regulator is part of Health and Safety England, as delegated by The Building Safety Act 2022¹. They act as the regulator for higher-risk buildings and building control bodies.

Higher-risk buildings

Applications for higher-risk buildings must be submitted to the Building Safety Regulator. A higher-risk building is a building that has at least:

• 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high
• 2 residential units or is a hospital or a care home.

Regulating building control bodies

The Building Safety Regulator works alongside public and private building control bodies to ensure professional standards are met. Through assessment and monitoring against professional codes and operating standards, both types of building control body are held to account.

Operational standards rules

The operational standard rules define how building control bodies should plan and deliver their building control functions. The rules are split out into categories focusing on:

• Systems and controls
• The people involved in the delivery of building control functions
• The delivery of building control functions
• Enforcement and intervention.

You can view the complete operational standard rules here.²

Monitoring arrangements

Building control bodies are required to report and evidence their work to the building safety regulator. This is achieved through monitoring arrangements focused on the performance of the building control body.

Monitoring arrangements assess building control bodies on how they carry out their functions, enforcement, competence and systems.

You can view the complete monitoring arrangements here.³

1. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/30/section/2
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-control-bodies-professional-codes-and-standards/operational-standards-rules
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-control-bodies-professional-codes-and-standards/operational-standards-rules-monitoring-arrangements