Running for 12 weeks until 17 June 2026, the consultation seeks views on a package of targeted technical and policy changes to the statutory guidance underpinning the fire safety requirements of the Building Regulations in England. Beyond its technical content, the consultation is significant as an early indication of how the BSR is beginning to define its regulatory role and priorities within the post‑Grenfell building safety framework.
The BSR was established under the Building Safety Act 2022 as a central component of the Government’s response to the systemic regulatory failures exposed by the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017. Initially positioned within the HSE to allow the new regime to draw on existing regulatory expertise and infrastructure, the BSR became a standalone regulator in January 2026. This transition reflects the Grenfell Inquiry’s emphasis on independence, accountability and cultural change, and marks a shift from the design of the new regulatory system towards its active operation.
ADB sits at the heart of that system. It provides the principal statutory guidance on how compliance with the fire safety requirements of the Building Regulations may be achieved, and is relied upon daily by designers, contractors, building control bodies and dutyholders. However, arguably, long before Grenfell, ADB had become a source of confusion, inconsistency and contested interpretation. Industry practitioners and, critically, Government officials were aware of shortcomings in the clarity, structure and internal logic of the guidance.
While the Grenfell Inquiry brought those issues into public focus, many of the problems it identified were not new. Rather, Grenfell exposed and magnified structural weaknesses that had persisted within ADB for many years, including ambiguity around compliance routes, over-reliance on prescriptive guidance divorced from real-world building behaviour, and a lack of alignment between fire safety objectives and permitted construction practices.
Against that backdrop, the decision to place ADB under active review is highly significant. It illustrates how the BSR is positioning itself not merely as an enforcement authority, but as a curator of regulatory standards, responsible for reducing ambiguity and supporting more consistent, evidence‑based decision‑making.
The consultation proposes a series of focused but significant amendments aimed at addressing areas of persistent risk and uncertainty highlighted during the Inquiry, but which arguably pre-dated it. These include revised and expanded guidance on external wall systems and balconies, including:
- A review of the scope of the ban on combustible materials;
- The introduction of a recommended threshold for combustible structural elements beyond which reliance on ADB guidance would be inappropriate; and
- New recommendations for the provision of evacuation lifts in residential buildings above 18 metres.
The proposals also seek to consolidate guidance for work to existing buildings, update terminology by replacing “sheltered housing” with “specialised housing”, enhance alarm coverage for those premises, and introduce updated guidance on roofs, including the integration of photovoltaic panels.
For dutyholders, the direction of travel is clear. The proposed amendments reinforce the post‑Grenfell move away from minimum‑compliance approaches towards more rigorous consideration of fire strategy, clearer articulation of design intent, and demonstrable compliance across the building lifecycle. In doing so, they respond not only to the Inquiry's findings, but also to longstanding industry concerns about regulatory ambiguity and fragmented accountability.
Taken together, the proposals reflect lessons that were made unavoidable by Grenfell, but which were arguably apparent well before 2017. Their timing, nearly nine years on and following extensive reviews, legislation and a public inquiry, inevitably invites scrutiny. While the breadth and complexity of the post‑Grenfell reform programme goes some way to explaining the delay, the prolonged absence of updated guidance has contributed to uncertainty, inconsistent interpretation and reliance on interim advice.
The consultation therefore marks an important shift from structural reform to embedding long recognised lessons into the technical rules governing real world building design and safety decisions. It also represents a moment for the BSR to assert itself as an authoritative regulator, not merely enforcing standards, but actively curating them. The challenge now lies in ensuring that the outcome of the consultation delivers clarity, proportionality and, above all, tangible improvements in life safety.
For further information on the Building Safety Regulator and the consultation, please contact Steffan Groch and Simon Belfield.
