There has been much said and written about the delays endured by the construction industry in getting Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Now it is Gateway 3 鈥� sign-off post completion 鈥� that is emerging as an obstacle.
A freedom of information (FOI) request submitted by law firm Irwin Mitchell from has indicated that 5,594 completed units are currently unoccupied, despite being ready for residents.
That's what the lawyers say 鈥撀燽ut the BSR says that they have got hold of the wrong end of the stick.
Under the building safety regime for higher risk buildings, developers must pass through three regulatory gateways overseen by the BSR. Gateway 2 applies at the design stage, before construction begins, while Gateway 3 is the final approval required before a completed building can be occupied. Higher risk buildings are defined generally as residential buildings at least 18 metres tall or with at least seven stories.
Gateway 3 approvals are intended to be completed within eight weeks, but according to Irwin Mitchell鈥檚 FOI request, out of 158 applications submitted last year, 55 took more than three months to receive a decision.
The FOI also revealed that 44 schemes remain undecided more than three months after submission, with the longest case waiting 550 days for approval. These delayed schemes total 5,594 units.
Vijay Bange, national head of construction at Irwin Mitchell, said: 鈥淲e fully support the need for a strong, independent regulator and recognise the importance of rigorous oversight. But our FOI findings show that the current Gateway 3 process is not delivering decisions within the statutory timeframe.
鈥淭housands of completed homes are sitting empty for months on end. This is financially damaging for developers and deeply frustrating for residents waiting to move into safe, modern homes.
鈥淭he transition to a standalone regulator provides an opportunity for improvement, but the delays we are seeing now are unsustainable. Greater transparency, clearer communication and better resourcing are essential if Gateway 3 is to operate effectively.鈥�
However, a BSR spokesperson said that Irwin Mitchell鈥檚 conclusions were wrong. "No new-build HRB that has gone through the GW2 process has yet applied for GW3 approval,鈥� the BSR said. 鈥淭he only new-build properties that have reached GW3 are transitional legacy cases (where the building was assessed under the old regime and not gateway 2, but transferred to the BSR after the Building Control body ceased trading). We have found significant safety issues in some of these older projects and continue to work proactively with applicants to get the buildings to a state where they can be occupied.
鈥淭he vast majority of GW3 applications and decisions so far are for Category A or B work alongside some remediation work, most of which is carried out whilst residents remain in their homes.
鈥淚t is therefore not correct to equate these applications to empty properties."
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