Delays and uncertainty stemming from the Building Safety Act (BSA) have caused significant disruptions in construction timelines and frustrated many stakeholders within the UK’s Living Sector.
While developers and contractors are unable to circumvent the requirements of the BSA – and its lengthy timeframes – there are steps they can take to mitigate the fallout from hold-ups and build resilience into their project.
The role of the Building Safety Act
The BSA introduced a new regime specifically targeting high-rise residential buildings to ensure that safety is prioritised throughout the development process. The criteria for building within the scope of the BSA, are construction projects over 18 metres in height, or over seven storeys, with continuous occupation.
To enforce adherence to these new rules, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) was established by the BSA. Since October 2023, the BSR subjects new construction projects to strict ‘gateway’ checks at three separate stages:
Gateway1 – planning approval
Gateway2 – prior to construction
Gateway3 – prior to occupation
Why are projects being delayed?
The BSR has been impeded by both a large volume of applications and inadequate resourcing of in-house, experienced, technical staff to judge submissions. Currently, the average wait for a decision from the BSA regulator is 25 weeks, however, in some cases, projects have waited for up to 60 weeks for a result.
Construction project delays overwhelmingly occur at the Gateway2 stage, which must be passed before construction can begin. Submissions can be challenging, and from 1 October 2023 to 16 September 2024, the BSR received 1,018 Gateway 2 applications, with an approval rate of 14% (opens a new window).
Coming efficiencies
However, the BSR is actively looking to improve the BSA process for constructors and clear the current backlog of Gateway2 applications – conceding that the current model is ‘not effective for managing the volume of cases’.
In October 2025, the regulator unveiled a batching process (opens a new window) for assessing applications that will boost capacity by putting applications to specialised engineering services suppliers for ‘accelerated assessment’.
Additionally, the UK Government has also signalled its intention (opens a new window) to transition the BSR from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) into the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The associated risks with projects being delayed
Delays are making projects more costly and harder to initiate – putting financial strain on developers and potentially jeopardising the viability of some projects. Regulatory gridlock can result in the following knock-on effects for developers and construction companies:
Deadline extensions
Budget overruns
Design rework
Prolonged contracts with suppliers/contractors
Difficulty securing project funding
Extended timelines are particularly relevant to purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) developers, who may be targeting the beginning of an academic year to begin tenancies. Delays can also limit the opportunity for developers to secure appropriate insurance or confirm funding, as there is too much uncertainty surrounding construction timeframes.
Before entering contracts, developers should pay particular attention to any required completion dates that could trigger events of default under a loan agreement. Developers must ensure completion dates are realistic and be mindful if agreed contracts are linked to inflation, as fluctuations can significantly affect costs in the future.
Looking forward, hold-ups could also negatively impact the confidence of investors and funders for future projects, as significant delays to transaction timetables and construction programmes can affect investor returns and risk profiles.
Early engagement with insurance professionals
When embarking on a Living Sector project that is subject to Gateway2 sign off, it is important to engage with insurance professionals as early as possible.
Early communication with brokers and insurers can facilitate dialogue on any issues regarding the design that may arise out of the quotation process. Additionally, this also helps to keep insurers appraised so that policies are ready to instruct as soon as sign off is received, enabling works to then commence.
The knowledge that a project is insurable on beneficial terms can give some comfort to developers when the timescales of the Gateway2 process are uncertain. To help keep costs down, developers could also consider working with brokers to secure policies in advance with a small deposit.
In response to BSR delays, developers will need to build additional time into their programmes to take account of the approval process at each gateway and ensure that agreed contracts include a clear procedure for addressing delays. Engaging with insurance professionals and the BSR can help understand the requirements and timelines of each gateway in the planning stage of the project.
Securing Latent Defects Insurance (LDI) for a project ahead of time could be one method to help derisk an element of the Gateway2 process. Providing initial designs ahead of formal Gateway2 sign off can ensure that an LDI insurer’s technical team has reviewed the design and approved it in order to provide terms.
Ultimately, this enables the developer to go into the Gateway2 process knowing that required reworks to the design will not arise out of the LDI technical review. This can also negate future market movement and give certainty around pricing.
Visit our Living Sector (opens a new window) page for more information, or contact a member of the Lockton Global Real Estate and Construction team.
