Gateway 3 delays leave thousands of new homes empty

Under the Building Safety Act 2022, Gateway 3 is the final Gateway that developers need approval for higher risk buildings, before their buildings can be occupied. However, due to delays in this statutory approval process, it is reported that nearly 5600 homes have now been left unoccupied.

Regulation 41 of The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 states that decisions on Gateway 3 approvals must be made within 8 weeks of the application (unless otherwise agreed), However, public data suggests that 44 projects have been waiting for over 3 months for the Building Safety Regulator (“BSR”) to sign-off on their Gateway 3 applications.

In a statement to Construction News, the BSR clarified that none of the 44 buildings in question are new build buildings (except transitional legacy cases), but instead older projects that have “significant safety issues”. They further expressed that they are continuing to proactively work with applicants to get the buildings to an occupiable state.

Further investigation into the data (accurate as of 21 January 2026) reveals that 55 out of the 158 applications submitted in 2025, took the BSR more than three months to provide a decision, and also revealed that one application took 550 days to process.

These delays could potentially be financially detrimental to both developers and homeowners waiting to occupy their new homes. These delays could also have a knock-on negative impact on both main contractors and sub-contractors who are at the end of the supply chain. This is primarily because it is not uncommon for employers and main contractors to withhold retentions and final payments until Gateway 3 is approved on the project. It is also not uncommon for the retention or final payment to be a contractor or subcontractor's entire profit margin.

When retention and other payments are stalled by Gateway 3 delays, some contractors may find that they have difficulty with cashflow, are unable to progress new projects and are unable to pay for labour, goods and materials, which subsequently could lead to insolvency. Furthermore, if a subcontractor has not agreed to extensions of time for BSR delays, depending on the terms of their contracts, the Gateway 3 delays and subsequent liquidated damages may have even more of a detrimental effect. 

In turn, there may also be an unfavourable effect to developers, who may face additional finance if they are unable to sell their units as expected.

On 26 January, we saw the transfer of the BSR from the Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”) to a standalone body. While the BSR is now an independent body, there is still a collaborative relationship between the BSR and HSE. It can only be hoped that this transfer will strengthen the review process and reduce significantly or eradicate all future Gateway delays.

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