News from 10 July 2026
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The Building Safety Regulator has described changes to its assessment approach for higher-risk residential buildings, with particular attention to resident-led management. Building owners and managers can use the announcement to understand the regulator’s approach and the responsibilities that remain.
What is changing in the assessment approach
The Building Safety Regulator says it will modify how it issues building assessment certificates. It has described the planned approach as more proportionate and targeted, with greater support for resident-led principal accountable persons.
The regulator says more than 6,000 principal accountable persons and accountable persons remain legally responsible for higher-risk buildings across England. Since the certificate process began in April 2024, it has directed applications for nearly 2,000 buildings, initially focusing on those thought to carry the most significant risks.
That risk view was based on information supplied when buildings were registered, including height, number of apartments, the presence of combustible aluminium composite material, and whether large panel system construction methods were used. The regulator says it has made progress, but also acknowledges that assessment times have been around twice as long as first expected and that 66% of applications so far this year have been refused.
A key point for landlords is why refusals have happened. The regulator says applications have often focused on process compliance rather than effective management of safety. In plain terms, evidence that looks tidy on paper may not be enough if it does not show how fire and structural risks are being controlled.
Why resident-led buildings are getting attention
The update specifically recognises the difficulties faced by volunteer-led resident management companies, commonhold organisations and Right to Manage bodies. Resident groups may have fewer staff and resources than a large professional landlord while still carrying serious legal responsibilities.
The regulator says some resident-led organisations have struggled to navigate the requirements, leading to refused certificates and extra or unexpected costs being passed on to residents. Its new plan includes giving smaller, volunteer-run resident management companies more time to prepare their evidence and providing more targeted support.
Landlords with flats in affected buildings should watch this closely. Even where a private landlord is not the principal accountable person, building safety delays, service charge pressure, insurance issues and remediation works can affect leaseholders, tenants and day-to-day management. The government also announced expanded support for residents living with unsafe cladding on the same day, including new funding for under-11 metre buildings with serious fire safety risks through the existing Cladding Safety Scheme.
The responsibilities that continue
The most important point is that legal duties do not pause while the assessment process changes. The regulator says principal accountable persons and accountable persons must continue to meet their ongoing duties under the Building Safety Act.
For landlords and managing agents, that means records should show more than a folder of policies. They should help demonstrate how risks are identified, managed, reviewed and communicated. Where a building has known fire safety issues, cladding concerns, structural questions or incomplete remediation, the paper trail needs to be clear enough for residents, advisers and regulators to understand what is happening.
