The building safety levy is a new tax on the development of residential buildings in England. The levy forms part of the government’s post-Grenfell reforms, designed to require developers to contribute to the cost of remediating historical building safety defects.

The regulations imposing the levy, made under the changes brought in by the Building Safety Act 2022, will come into force on 1 October 2026 and will catch applicable developments where the building control application is submitted on or after that date. The levy will not apply if the original application was made before that date, even if it is subsequently varied after 1 October 2026.

The levy will apply to new residential projects comprising 10 or more homes – or, for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), 30 bed spaces – and is based on the gross internal area of affected developments as measured under the RICS Code of Measuring Practice. While rates are set centrally, the levy is administered by each local authority, which sends the collected payments to central government quarterly.

Read more…