Scope: The Building Safety Regulator's data applies to building-control work on higher-risk buildings in England. It reports system performance; it does not set a guaranteed approval period for an individual project.
The BSR July-to-September 2026 transparency release is based on data at 5 October. In the rolling 12-week view, 114 new-HRB and conversion applications arrived and 57 decisions were made. Fifty-five were approvals and two rejections, giving a 96% approval rate in the detailed table and a 23-week median approval time.
The wider workload remains material. BSR reports 1,706 Gateway 2 applications in progress across new build, remediation, internal works, NHS and transitional cases. New-HRB submissions rose from 17 in July to 34 in August and 64 in September ahead of the levy introduction.
Good headline figures do not remove programme risk
A median is not a promise. BSR separates complex cases, which show a 34-week median in the same dataset, and says demand-management measures are being used as application volumes rise. Specialist programmes should therefore distinguish an internal target from an external statutory decision and avoid fixing labour or manufacture to an approval assumption that the project team cannot control.
The practical response is not to hold every subcontract decision until approval. It is to identify which design and procurement activities can proceed safely, which require approved information, and what evidence will demonstrate that installed work follows the agreed design.
Change control reaches the services package
The publication reports 208 live major change requests. For new HRBs and conversions, 92 were received and 72 closed during the period, with a seven-week median closure time. Changes to builders' work, fire strategy, risers, plant access or coordinated routes can therefore affect both physical installation and the controlled information set.
A ductwork contractor should not decide whether a change is major. The principal team owns that process. The subcontractor does need a clear instruction route, revision status and stop point so manufacture and installation do not run ahead of the project's change decision.
Questions to close before mobilisation
- Is this an English HRB?Confirm the building and work are within the Gateway regime before importing these assumptions.
- What information is approved?Record drawing, model, schedule and specification revisions for the package.
- Where are the hold points?Separate design development, procurement and installation activities that require a formal decision.
- How are changes classified?Use the project's agreed notification and approval route; do not rely on informal site instructions.
- What proves conformity?Plan inspection records, photographs, test results, commissioning and as-built information as the work progresses.
Build the RFQ around controlled information
A useful ventilation enquiry should include the current design, revision register, package scope, fire and acoustic interfaces, access strategy, proposed dates and the person authorised to resolve queries. If the approval programme is uncertain, state alternative mobilisation assumptions rather than hiding the uncertainty inside a fixed date.
Use Cliventa's pre-start checklist and progress-reporting guide to structure the package evidence.
Responsibility remains with the appointed team
This article is a delivery summary, not building-control or legal advice. BSR and the appointed dutyholders determine the application and change-control requirements. A specialist contractor's contribution is disciplined information, coordinated installation and timely evidence within its defined appointment.