Recommendation P2-2: Review Building Safety Act higher-risk building definition
From Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report, published 4 September 2024.
Recommendation
We therefore recommend that the definition of a higher-risk building for the purposes of the Building Safety Act be reviewed urgently. (113.7)
In brief (written by this site)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government stated in September 2026 that this recommendation was complete and had been fully discharged (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sep 2026). In February 2026, the department reported that an initial review by the Building Safety Regulator concluded there was insufficient evidence to amend the regime's scope, and that the government had published the findings alongside plans for ongoing assessments in December 2025 (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Feb 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
The government accepts this recommendation. The Building Safety Regulator has conducted an initial review of the definition of a higher-risk building. Plans for an ongoing review, which will help strengthen the building system, reassure residents and identify whether the list of buildings which are subject to the enhanced regulatory oversight and requirements of the higher-risk regime should be amended in any way, will be set out in summer 2025.
How this response relates to the recommendation
Site note: This is the government's response to the Phase 2 report (CP 1248, published 26 February 2025). It prints each recommendation and then the response to it. Where the recommendation is addressed to a body outside government, the response prints that body's own acceptance (the Architects Registration Board and RIBA, HMICFRS, London Fire Brigade, the National Fire Chiefs Council, the British Standards Institution, the National Police Chiefs' Council), and the row is filed under that body.
Delivery
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says completed (10 September 2026)
This recommendation is complete and has been fully discharged.
Site note: This is the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's progress report of September 2026 on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations. Where the passage describes work by another body, such as the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade, fire and rescue services, the British Standards Institution or the Cabinet Office, it is the Ministry's account of that body's progress, and the row is filed under the Ministry.
Earlier statement on delivery (1)
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (25 February 2026)
The initial review of the definition of higher-risk buildings is now complete.
The Building Safety Regulator’s review found the current definition appropriately reflects the available evidence on risks to individuals from the spread of fire and structural failure. The review concluded that, at present, there is insufficient evidence to suggest changes should be made to regime scope. This view is supported by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The Building Safety Regulator has also set out plans for the ongoing review, ensuring data and evidence are regularly assessed to determine whether the categories of buildings subject to enhanced regulatory oversight of the higher-risk regime should be amended in any way.
The government published the results of the initial review and plans for the ongoing review in December 2025. The review was extended to December 2025 to give time to fully consider and incorporate concerns raised about the operation of the higher-risk regime.
This recommendation is complete and has been fully discharged.
Site note: This is the annex of the government's Phase 2 annual report (CP 1512, published 25 February 2026) as GOV.UK publishes it, one page per theme: the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's account. Where the passage describes work by another body, such as the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade, the British Standards Institution, the Health and Safety Executive or the Cabinet Office, it is the report's account of that body's progress, and the row is filed under the Ministry. The status is what the passage says: completed only where it says the recommendation is complete or closed.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response - Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Delivery statement