ARL response to House of Lords Inquiry into the Building Safety Regulator
黑料专区, the membership body for all institutionally backed, professionally managed purpose-built rental living sectors, has contributed to the (BSR).
The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, chaired by Baroness Taylor of Bolton, opened an inquiry into building safety regulation in June 2025, with a particular focus on the work of the Building Safety Regulator, established following the Building Safety Act 2022. At the opening of the inquiry Baroness Taylor of Bolton stated that 鈥渢he Committee wants to hear from all stakeholders to find out if the BSR has the skills and resources required to ensure the safety of all buildings and its residents in the process of approving applications for high-rise buildings.鈥�
Submitting a written response to the inquiry which closed on 31st August 2025, the ARL put forward several positions with input from, and behalf of, the organisation鈥檚 membership.
The ARL鈥檚 contribution stated that BSR has laid a strong foundation for long-term safety improvements, but its immediate impact on the physical safety of buildings remains limited. And that the success of the regime will ultimately depend on the timely delivery of remediation works and the regulator鈥檚 ability to streamline its processes.
The ARL also highlighted that there seems to be more of a blame culture instead of a collaborative one, evident through new appointments with clients with a suggestion that the BSR needs to be positive, encouraging and collaborative, which is not the case currently.
In consideration of the impacts the framework could have on the delivery of the Government鈥檚 housing targets, the ARL stated that there has been a significant impact on the delivery of new high-rise rental homes since the introduction of the BSR regulatory framework with numerous examples of continuous delays to delivery of schemes due to lack of clarity over Gateway requirements and inconsistent advice and guidance from building control.
The significant impact on the viability of high-rise schemes due to the complexity of additional requirements in design and construction, that has led to a slowing of investment into such schemes, and investment shifting either overseas or into lower rise blocks and houses was also stated.
Whilst the ARL did highlight that a positive impact of the BSR has been the cultural shift it has driven with designers, clients and contractors engaging with building regulations far more rigorously, the organisation made clear that without urgent reform to streamline the Gateway process, improve regulatory capacity, and provide clearer guidance, the BSR framework risks becoming a significant barrier to meeting national housing targets.
The ARL also asserted that to build trust and ensure effective regulation, the BSR must invest in a strong in-house technical team, improve training pathways, and engage more meaningfully with industry. Without this, delays and inconsistent decision-making will continue to undermine the regulator鈥檚 credibility.
The full ARL inquiry contribution can be found听here.
ARL response to House of Lords Inquiry into the Building Safety Regulator听