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Building Safety Levy

We want to let you know about the Building Safety Levy which comes into force on 1 October 2026.

What is the Building Safety Levy?

The levy is a charge on most new residential developments in England. The levy is collected by local authorities and passed to Central Government to help fund building safety work.

When does it apply?

From 1 October 2026, the levy will apply to all residential developments unless they are exempt.

You can read the full rules in the Building Safety Levy Regulations and the government’s Building Safety Levy guidance.

Key points

  • The levy is linked to building control applications and notices
  • Applications for full plans, initial notices or higher-risk building work must include levy details. If not, we have to reject the application. There is a lot of further information which needs to be provided with residential applications from October 1st. This can be found in chapter 11 of section 3 in the guidance link below.
  • We will need more information for calculating the levy at the commencement notice stage
  • We will collect the levy. Rates vary by council and by whether the land is previously developed. The rates per sq.m of internal floor space are set by Central Government and can be found at the link below.
  • Some developments are exempt, including affordable housing, supported housing and homes built by non-profit registered providers
  • The levy must be paid before the building is occupied or completed
  • If a developer disagrees with the charge, they can ask us for a review within 28 days. If they still disagree, they can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal
  • If the levy is not paid, we cannot issue a completion certificate and will be required to reject any final certificate from a private building control company.

Find out more

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