1. Approved Document B and the second staircase rule

The amended Approved Document B takes effect on 30 September 2026. More than one common stair is recommended where a block of flats has a top storey at or above 18m, aligning escape provision with the higher-risk threshold.

The 2026 edition also covers evacuation shafts, arrangements where evacuation lifts are provided, routes to alternative stairs, and a minimum clear common stair width of 1,100mm for blocks with a storey at 18m or above.

Following the CLC advisory note of 17 March 2025 and the BSR’s letter, Gateway 2 applications adopting BS 9991 should also use the 2024 edition from that same date. The change most likely to catch people is that the smoke control annex moved from informative to normative, and Corrigendum A1 of June 2025 added a 7.5m dead-end corridor limit in multi-stair buildings, so the edition a designer is working from matters.

2. The Building Safety Levy

The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 come into force on 1 October 2026 (see our separate article). The levy applies to full plans applications and initial notices submitted on or after that date, where the works form part of a major residential development: at least 10 new dwellings, or 30 new PBSA bedspaces. Change of use to residential is also caught.

Rates are set nationally but vary by authority, charged per square metre of chargeable residential floorspace, with a 50% discount for previously developed land.

3. Cladding remediation below 11m

Funding announced on 9 July 2026 extends the Cladding Safety Scheme, administered by Homes England, to eligible multi-occupied residential buildings under 11m with two or more dwellings. Applications opened on 17 August and close around 9 October. Eligibility runs through a PAS 9980 FRAEW by an assessor from the accredited panel, identifying a serious life-critical risk. High-risk buildings are prioritised, and medium-risk buildings where action is required may follow if funding remains.

The Government’s current published funding guidance refers to PAS 9980:2022. This is now an important transition point because PAS 9980:2026 was published on 14 September 2026 and replaces PAS 9980:2022 as the current code of practice.

Anyone commissioning a new FRAEW should therefore be aware that the current standard has changed, while those dealing with an existing funding application should check the specific Homes England/MHCLG requirements applying to that application rather than assuming that publication of the new PAS automatically changes the funding criteria.

The Remediation Bill, confirmed in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026, would create a legal duty to remediate with statutory deadlines: over 18m by the end of 2029, and 11m to 18m by the end of 2031. Failure without reasonable excuse becomes a criminal offence carrying unlimited fines and imprisonment, as does obstructing assessment or remediation of a building over 11m.

Taken together, we expect to see a marked increase in cladding remediation on non-HRB projects.

4. PAS 9980 and the mandation question

PAS 9980:2026 has now been published. BSI published the revised code of practice on 14 September 2026, replacing PAS 9980:2022.

The revised standard provides an updated methodology for Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEWs), with the aim of improving consistency in how external wall fire risk is assessed, recorded and reported. It retains the risk-based approach of the previous edition while providing updated guidance, terminology and assessment processes.

The publication is significant because PAS 9980 has become an important part of the framework surrounding the assessment of external wall systems on existing blocks of flats. It is used to inform decisions about whether remediation or other measures may be necessary, rather than being a blanket requirement to remove cladding.

There is an important distinction between new assessments and existing assessments. PAS 9980:2026 is now the current edition and should be considered when commissioning a new FRAEW. However, the publication of the revised standard does not automatically invalidate every FRAEW undertaken under PAS 9980:2022. Existing assessments should be considered in accordance with the relevant Government guidance and the circumstances of the building, including whether the assessment needs to be reviewed or updated.

The larger question is whether use of PAS 9980 should become mandatory for existing blocks of flats. Criticism that the standard allows remediation to be scoped too lightly sits against the opposite concern, that mandating a voluntary code of practice strips out the professional judgement it was built to accommodate. The publication of PAS 9980:2026 does not, in itself, make the standard a Building Regulation.

Anyone commissioning FRAEWs now should therefore make sure they understand which edition is being used, why it is being used, and whether any specific funding or regulatory scheme has additional requirements.

5. The Building Safety Regulator

The BSR became a standalone arm’s-length body sponsored by MHCLG on 27 January 2026, the staff transfer out of the HSE completing in June. For the year to March 2027 it has published targets of 18 weeks for non-complex Gateway 2 applications and 12 weeks for remediation applications.

The data shows genuine improvement. In the twelve weeks to 1 August 2026 the regulator made 349 Gateway 2 decisions at an 82% approval rate overall. For new higher-risk buildings and conversions the rate was 91% with a median determination of 22 weeks, against 39% and 43 weeks a year earlier.

Of the 319 Gateway 3 applications received, 235 were internal refurbishments. No new-build project that passed Gateway 2 had reached Gateway 3 by August 2026, so that test is still ahead of us.

6. The Category A problem

The consultation ran from 26 March to 28 May 2026, with the response on 9 July. Option 1 would take most work inside individual flats out of Category A, retaining it for active fire safety measures, load-bearing walls, external walls other than windows, and fire doors onto communal areas. Option 2 would exclude small-scale communal work: three or fewer operatives, five days or less, and no effect on active fire safety measures, load-bearing walls or external walls.

Government is minded to proceed with Option 1 but has not settled it, citing four outstanding issues: which in-flat works stay in Category A, the cumulative effect of multiple minor works, the risk to passive fire protection and compartmentation, and the risk to the integrity of the golden thread. Option 2 remains under exploration. Changes will come by statutory instrument when parliamentary time allows. Separately, the emergency repairs consultation closed on 3 September 2026 and the response is awaited.

One change has already landed. New directions reduce regulatory oversight of drilling for telecoms cable installation. From the start of September, drilling holes of 25mm or less in diameter in internal or external walls to install fibre optic cables in existing higher-risk buildings no longer requires sign-off by the BSR. The same work in non-HRBs no longer requires a building notice, an application for building control approval or a completion certificate. The MHCLG directions require appropriate firestopping, weatherproofing and soundproofing to be installed on the same day any hole is made. Installers must also be able to demonstrate the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out the job, and use materials conforming to BS 6701:2016+A1:2017.

7. Handover information

This consultation is still open and will have an important effect on Gateway 3 applications. An industry task and finish group convened by the CLC Building Safety Group with BIM in Asset Management has published draft guidance on as-built and handover information requirements, and it closes at midday on 16 October 2026.

It gives a practical definition of as-built information and the handover pack, sets minimum content for any project deemed construction or building work, and matches detail and accuracy to risk. The drafting is candid that as-built, O&M and handover information are read differently across project teams, and that what gets delivered is frequently incomplete, out of date or untrustworthy. Once published, this becomes the benchmark for handover quality.

8. The BS 999X series

Expect several new and revised documents in the BS 999X series:

• BS 9994, new, on creating, documenting and managing fire strategies across a building’s lifecycle, replacing and expanding PAS 911. Consultation was expected in the first half of 2026, with publication late 2026 or early 2027. Given how much Gateway 2 assessment turns on the legibility of the fire strategy, a standard structure and terminology is overdue.
• BS 9996, new, on commissioning and maintaining integrated fire safety systems: alarms, suppression, smoke control, evacuation lifts and cause-and-effect logic. Draft for public comment expected in 2026, publication 2027. The aim is that later changes to systems do not quietly undermine the original fire strategy, which is a Gateway 3 and in-occupation problem as much as a construction one.
• BS 9990, revised, on non-automatic firefighting systems including wet and dry risers and firefighting mains. Consultation expected late 2026, publication 2027.