UK Building Safety Levy coming into force in Autumn 2026

When will the building safety levy be imposed? 

Regulations detailing the imposition of the levy will be laid before Parliament later this year, to come into force in Autumn 2026 in order to give developers 18 months to budget for these new costs. The government has indicated these will be supplemented with detailed guidance. 

The Building Regulations, and Higher-Risk Building Regulations will also be amended to reflect the new levy. 

Which buildings will be subject to the levy? 

The levy will be charged on all new dwellings, including mixed use buildings and purpose-built student accommodation in England, which require a building control application. 

Despite some resistance from respondents to the consultation, build-to-rent schemes and retirement housing will be subject to the levy.

The levy will be collected by local authorities. 

Which properties are expected to be exempt from the levy? 

• Affordable housing; 
• Non-social homes built by not-for profit Registered Providers; 
• Hotels; -Internal refurbishments; 
• Developments of 10 units or less and purpose built student housing of fewer than 30 bedspaces; and 
• Community facilities, such as hospitals, care homes, prisons and armed forces accommodation. 

How will the levy be calculated? 

The levy will be charged per square foot, depending on the floorspace (gross internal area) of the development, in a similar way to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This includes communal areas. 

The rates per square foot will be set by central government through regulations, not by local authorities, and will be reviewed every 3 years. The rates will vary for each local authority, based on house prices in that area, and the starting rates are set out at Annex A of the government’s consultation response. The government will publish a note setting out the methodology of how these have been calculated. 

There is a discounted levy rate of 50% for developments built on “brownfield” (previously developed) land, as defined in the National Planning Policy Framework. If 75% of the proposed development falls within brownfield land, it will qualify for the reduced rate. 

The government’s aim is to raise £3.4 billion towards building safety remediation works. 

When must developers provide information to the local authority for calculation of the levy? 

The developer must provide information to the local authority for calculation of the levy when making an application for building control approval, or when an initial notice is submitted by the developer and the Registered Building Control Approver to the local authority. This will include information about the relevant planning permission and the number of dwellings (or bedspaces, in the case of purpose built student accommodation) which will be created. 

Further information must be provided with the first commencement notice submitted in respect of the initial notice or application. This will include information about whether any exemptions apply, whether the development is on a brownfield site, and the gross internal area of the floorspace of the development. 

The local authority should then provide confirmation of the levy payable within 5 weeks of submission, which can be challenged at the First Tier Tribunal. Whether this deadline will be achievable for local authorities remains to be seen, and developers may need to anticipate delays. 

Information provided will be subject to spot checks, and must be updated if changes are made to the proposed development. 

Failure to provide this information will be a ground for the rejection of an application for building control approval or initial notice, and no completion certificate will be issued unless and until the levy has been paid. 

When is the levy payable? 

Developers will have some flexibility about when the levy is paid, although it must be paid before the developer can apply for a completion certificate or final certificate for the development. The local authority will issue confirmation of payment within 2 weeks of receipt. 

What if the development changes? 

Developers will need to notify any changes to the local authority: the form of amendment notices and change control applications will be changed to require submission of updated levy information, and failure to provide this will be a ground for rejection. 

Similarly, if the scope of the development changes so it no longer qualifies for exemptions (such as a development originally designed for fewer than 10 residential units being expanded so it no longer falls within the exemption), the developer should notify the local authority. 

The local authority will then have 5 weeks to issue an updated levy liability notice setting out the payment required (which could increase to 8 weeks if the development falls within the 10% of properties subject to spot checks). 

As the completion certificate or final certificate cannot be issued until payment of the levy has been made, this has the potential to cause significant delays so developers will need to be mindful of the risk of making changes late in the day. This is particularly significant for higher-risk buildings, which cannot be registered without the completion certificate, and cannot be occupied until they are registered. This could be particularly critical for purpose built student accommodation where the ability to occupy before the start of the academic year is key. 

What does this mean for developers? 

While we’ll have to wait for the regulations to get full details of how the levy will operate, it is clear that developers should start planning for its impact now, and factoring the costs of the levy into development business cases. Inevitably, the devil will be in the detail and, just as the operation of CIL has thrown up many conundrums, we can expect the levy to do the same – for example, the regulations and guidance will need to flesh out issues such as how the levy will operate in the context of large masterplans and phased developments. 

Once the levy is in force, developers will also need to ensure they submit the requisite information on time to start the clock ticking on the 5 week notification period for amounts owed, as well as ensuring any changes to the development are notified as quickly as possible - to avoid another 5 week wait for an updated levy calculation. Any delays in payment will also hold up receiving the completion certificate, causing further delay. 

Authored by Paul Tonkin, Gillian Thomas and Hannah Quarterman.