The Building Safety Regulator new body and transfer of functions

On 11 November 2025 "The Building Safety Regulator (Establishment of New Body and Transfer of Functions etc.) Regulations 2026" was laid before Parliament. For further information see Building Safety Regulator reforms, The Building Safety Regulator, Grenfell Tower Inquiry and more on the Building Safety wiki.

The new regulations create a new independent Building Safety Regulator to take over all building-safety duties that currently sit with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). From 27 January 2026, the new body becomes legally responsible for regulating building safety in England and Wales.

The regulations laid before Parliament set out how the Regulator will be structured, how its members and chief executive will be appointed, how it can employ staff, manage money, set up committees, and report annually to Parliament. They also transfer all relevant building-safety powers, duties, and ongoing work from HSE to the new Regulator so that nothing is interrupted.

A series of amendments to existing laws, such as the Building Safety Act 2022, Building Act 1984, and health and safety legislation remove references to HSE and replace them with the new Regulator. In short, the instrument formally establishes the new body, gives it the powers it needs to operate, and ensures a smooth transition from HSE without disrupting building-safety regulation.

The Building Safety Regulator reforms which were announced on 30 June, 2025, when Andy Roe KFSM (previously Commissioner of London Fire Brigade) was appointed as non-executive chair of the new board of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) who took on the functions of the BSR as part of initial steps towards creating the single construction regulator, supported by Charlie Pugsley new Chief Executive Officer for the BSR.

At the time Alex Norris, then Minister for Building Safety, said: “The establishment of the Building Safety Regulator has been fundamental to centralising safety in the construction process and it’s time to take the next steps to build on that precedent and create a system that works for the sector whilst keeping residents and their safety at the heart of the process. That’s why we’re announcing a package of reforms to the BSR today to enhance operations, reduce delays, and unlock the homes this country desperately needs – delivering on our Plan for Change.”

These changes follow on from the announcement on 1 April 2025 that the ministerial responsibility for all fire functions was to move from the Home Office to MHCLG. A change considered by the government as delivering on a key recommendation that came from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report, which advised that fire and building safety should be overseen by a single department. This included the role commonly referred to as Building Safety Minister, which was the Minister of Building Safety and Local Growth, and as of September 2025 became the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy.

Rushanara Ali resigned as Building Safety Minister following attendance at the Franco-British Colloque, a conference sponsored by Saint-Gobain, the majority owner of Celotex which was criticised by the Grenfell Inquiry, and on 9 July 2024 was replaced by Alex Norris. In turn, as the result of a government reshuffle in September 2025, Alex Norris was replaced by Samantha Dixon on 16 September, 2025. On 11 November 2025 as the new Regulations for 2026 were laid before Parliament, Samantha Dixon as Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy (Labour), published a written statement in support of the new regulations saying:

"In June 2025, my department announced changes to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Today I am laying before the House draft regulations which will move the functions of the Building Safety Regulator out of the Health and SafetyExecutive(HSE), and to an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

"This change will position the BSR for the coming years. It will strengthen lines of accountability and give a dedicated focus to BSR operations, and is an important first step towards establishing a single construction regulator, the lead recommendation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report.

"I am grateful to HSE for the leadership and experience it has brought to the establishment and early operations of the BSR, and for its ongoing support as this change is made."