Building Safety Levy 2026: What Developers Need to Know
The Building Safety Levy came into force in England on 1 October 2026, introducing a new charge on certain major residential developments.
For developers and project teams submitting relevant building control applications now, understanding how the levy works and what information is required, has become part of the compliance process.
The levy forms part of the government’s wider building safety reforms and is intended to raise funding towards the cost of addressing building safety defects across England. Full details are available in the official Building Safety Levy guidance on GOV.UK.
What is the Building Safety Levy?
The Building Safety Levy is a charge linked to the building control process for qualifying residential developments.
It generally applies where works form part of a major residential development, defined for levy purposes as:
- 10 or more new dwellings, or
- 30 or more new bedspaces in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).
Importantly, splitting a larger development into smaller building control applications does not necessarily avoid the levy.
If the wider planning permission is for a major residential development, individual applications forming part of that development may still be chargeable.
Which developments are affected?
For the levy to apply, the works must meet the charging conditions set out in the regulations, including the creation of new chargeable residential floorspace.
This can include:
- construction of new residential buildings
- conversions or changes of use that create residential accommodation
- extensions or additional storeys that create new residential floorspace
- qualifying purpose-built student accommodation.
Developments below the major development threshold are generally exempt, while other exemptions also apply.
What is exempt from the Building Safety Levy?
Exemptions include certain developments involving:
- social, affordable or supported housing
- care homes and hospices
- hospitals
- hotels and hostels
- children’s homes
- school accommodation
- temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness
- accommodation for the armed forces.
There are also exemptions relating to non-profit registered providers of social housing and qualifying wholly owned subsidiaries.
Developers should check the specific exemption criteria before assuming that a project falls outside the levy.
How is the Building Safety Levy calculated?
There is no single national levy rate.
Rates are set per square metre of chargeable floorspace and vary between local authority areas.
Developments that meet the levy definition of previously developed land benefit from a reduced rate, equivalent to 50% of the standard rate for that local authority area.
However, the definition used for the levy has specific criteria. Developers should not automatically assume that a site described as brownfield or previously developed for planning purposes will qualify for the reduced levy rate.
The government provides further information on Building Safety Levy rates and calculations.
What changes for project teams?
The levy introduces additional information requirements into the building control process.
Relevant applications and notices may need to include information covering areas such as:
- planning permission
- residential floorspace
- exemptions
- whether land qualifies as previously developed
- supporting evidence where required.
Local authorities can also carry out spot checks on levy information submitted by project teams.
Keeping this information organised throughout a project becomes particularly important as it approaches completion.
Our construction handover checklist looks at the wider information and documentation that should be considered when handing a completed asset over to a client.
Where a levy is payable, it must be paid in full before the relevant completion process can be successfully concluded. Once full payment has been received, the collecting authority must issue a levy payment certificate in accordance with the regulations.
Why information management matters
The Building Safety Levy is another example of how accurate project information is becoming increasingly important throughout the construction lifecycle.
Planning information, building control information, floorspace calculations, exemptions and supporting evidence all need to remain accurate as a project develops.
This reflects the wider move towards structured information management across construction.
As we explored in our guide to the ISO 19650 changes in 2026 – the industry is increasingly focusing on managing reliable information throughout the whole lifecycle of an asset rather than treating BIM simply as a modelling process.
For clients and project teams, having clear information management processes in place can make it easier to demonstrate compliance, respond to change and reduce the risk of missing or inaccurate information delaying a project.
The benefits continue once a building moves into operation. REBIM’s One YMCA case study demonstrates how bringing property, compliance, maintenance and operational information together can reduce duplicated data, improve reporting and support better-informed decisions across a large property portfolio.
The Building Safety Levy applies to relevant building control applications submitted on or after 1 October 2026.
Applications submitted before this date are generally outside the levy, including where an existing application is subsequently varied. However, if an application submitted before 1 October is rejected and then resubmitted on or after that date, the levy may apply.
For developers and project teams, the wider lesson is clear: regulatory requirements are becoming increasingly dependent on accurate, accessible and well-managed project information.
Getting that information right early can make compliance easier, support smoother handover and reduce the risk of avoidable delays later in the project.
Need better control of your project information?
REBIM helps construction and property teams bring project and asset information together in one place, making it easier to manage data, improve visibility and support better decision-making throughout the building lifecycle.