Regulation of Higher Risk Buildings
LABC via our local authority members is pleased to support the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in England in the regulation of higher risk buildings
The Building Safety (Regulator’s Charges) Regulations 2023 enable the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to make and recover charges for, and in connection with, the performance of its relevant (“chargeable”) functions, in accordance with a BSR charging scheme, which sets out BSR hourly rates and other charges.
Section 13 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA22) makes provision for the BSR to formally request or, if necessary, direct assistance from any local authority in England to support the performance of a BSR function.
Local authorities charge the BSR for costs incurred in providing assistance under section 13 based on an hourly rate determined independently by those authorities in accordance with the appropriate accounting codes and practices. The BSR reimburses the local authority and recovers these costs from the relevant duty holder, with costs of such support shown as a separate item on the BSR’s request for payment.
Local authorities are asked to review these rates annually, for the start of the financial year, and to make their rates available to the public.
The table below provides an indication of the range of the 2024/25 hourly rates across the 11 Local Authority Building Control (LABC) regions in England as of April1, 2024.
|
LABC Region |
Lowest Rate |
Highest Rate |
Average Rates |
|
Central |
£58.00 |
£175.00 |
£112.00 |
|
East Anglia |
£51.00 |
£175.00 |
£85.00 |
|
East Midlands |
£37.00 |
£98.00 |
£66.00 |
|
London |
£119.00 |
£237.00 |
£166.00 |
|
North West |
£47.00 |
£128.00 |
£79.00 |
|
Northern |
£51.00 |
£131.00 |
£88.00 |
|
South East |
£38.00 |
£107.00 |
£79.00 |
|
South West |
£30.00 |
£109.00 |
£71.00 |
|
West Midlands |
£28.00 |
£111.00 |
£71.00 |
|
West of England |
£45.00 |
£96.00 |
£69.00 |
|
Yorkshire |
£45.00 |
£101.00 |
£70.00 |
Questions or requests for further information in relation to individual local authority rates to support the BSR should be directed to the relevant Local Authority, details of which can be found via the postcode search function on the LABC website.
Guidance on how to make an application to the BSR in respect of a higher risk building is available via:
Managing building control approval applications for higher-risk buildings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For those who are ready to make an application directly to the BSR, the service is available via:
Manage a building control application for a higher-risk building - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
You can contact the BSR via:
Contact the Building Safety Regulator - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For any further information please contact LABC directly via mdt@labc.co.uk