Before the Building Safety Act came into force in April 2022, the UK had no formal system in place for checking building safety. Construction typically followed a ‘design and build’ approach, which often left many critical aspects of a building, such as the firestopping, unchecked and non-compliant, resulting in tragedies like the Lakanal House and Grenfell Tower fires.
The Building Safety Act has brought much-needed change to the sector, introducing the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and Gateways, for instance. However, this hasn’t come without a few initial challenges.
Gateway 2 – where approval is required before work on site can proceed – is currently proving to be a considerable challenge across the sector, with stats showing that around 69% of applications were either withdrawn or rejected between October 2023 and March 2025.
In September 2025, Build UK published guidance examining the reasons why many Gateway 2 submissions continue to be rejected.
This short article will explore these reasons and provide simple ways companies can work ahead of the curve.
What the BSR is looking for
The BSR’s main objective is to ensure that all Gateway 2 applications clearly demonstrate how the design and construction of the said building will comply with building regulations. Submissions will need to:
- Identify all elements that must demonstrate compliance with building regulations;
- Clearly state what code or standard will be used to demonstrate compliance, alongside an explanation of ‘why’;
- Justify how requirements have been met, including suitably labelled plans and drawings.
Build UK stated that according to the data released by the BSR, “around a third of applications have been approved to date [September 2025] with the remainder invalid, rejected, or withdrawn.”
The key reasons for rejection were:
- A lack of detail in the submission, for example, missing structural loading data and documentation for key elements;
- Failure to meet the legal requirements for higher-risk buildings, for example, not demonstrating how requirements are met;
- Applications that disregard building regulations or are unclear on how changes will be managed when construction begins;
- Missing or little demonstration of the golden thread of information, dutyholder roles, management of changes, and reporting.
Looking beyond
In reality, a rejected or withdrawn submission impacts more than just the project schedule; it also affects budgets and, unsurprisingly, everyone’s confidence involved.
The Building Safety Act and subsequent Gateways are in place to ensure that buildings are made safer and that those designing and constructing them are held accountable. But the number of rejections shows just how much the industry is still learning to adapt.
The BSR is sending a clear message that more time and attention need to be put into applications.
Early engagement and collaboration are the key takeaways here. Project teams need to be involved earlier to make sure all details are covered and demonstrate how they meet the requirements.
This is only achievable when the documentation submitted shows that you are being proactive instead of reactive, and clearly outlines each person's responsibilities.
Just as important is sharing knowledge: learning from past submissions and openly having these conversations across teams to prevent similar challenges in the future.
As Dame Judith Hackitt emphasised at Sertus Live 2: Smoke Control in Action in October 2025: “To shift from a tick-box mindset to actively demonstrating safety.”
Gateway 2 offers the industry an opportunity to learn – improve – and get it right from the start.
If you’d like to hear from those working on Gateway 2 projects, listen to our panel discussion at London Build 2025 titled, ‘Gateway 2 Submissions: What We Know Now.’ It will be held on November 20, 2025, on the Fire Safety Stage at 2 pm.
