Building Safety Levy Compliance Check

Why this matters

The Building Safety Levy is a new charge on most new residential development in England, introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022 to help fund the remediation of unsafe cladding on existing high-rise and mid-rise buildings — separate from the Act’s Higher-Risk Building registration and Principal Accountable Person regime, which covers occupied buildings rather than new development. Following the government’s response to its 2024 technical consultation, the Levy is set to come into force in England from autumn 2026: local authorities will calculate and collect the charge, rates vary by local authority area and are higher for developments without any affordable housing, and — critically — building control approval cannot be granted for a qualifying development until the Levy liability has been confirmed and, in most cases, paid. That makes it a gating item on the construction programme itself, not just an added cost.

A range of exemptions apply — including small sites (developments of fewer than 10 units, or fewer than 4 on land under one hectare), affordable and social housing, NHS facilities, and supported and specialist housing — but developers, self-build clients on larger plots, and property companies bringing forward residential schemes need to work out early whether their specific development qualifies, and if so, budget the Levy into their appraisal from the outset rather than discovering it at the building control application stage. Housebuilders and developers with schemes due to submit building control applications from autumn 2026 onwards are most exposed, but any business converting or developing residential units — including commercial-to-residential conversions — should check their exposure now, since a late Levy assessment can stall a site waiting on a completion deadline.

What you'll need

• The type and size of your development (number of residential units, site area)
• The local authority area where the development is located
• Whether the development includes any affordable or social housing
• Your expected building control application date

What you'll get

A personalised compliance report covering: a score out of 100, an executive summary, a list of findings ranked by severity, and a prioritised action plan with timeframes.