Which professionals do I need for a BSR application?

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) does not say you must use one particular type of professional. What it requires is that the application names a client, a principal designer and a principal contractor, and that it includes a set of technical documents showing how the work will meet building regulations (GOV.UK). GOV.UK adds that if you need help with your application, you can get advice from a competent contractor or other building control professional.

The three named roles

• Client. The person or organisation commissioning the work. The client must make sure approval is granted before work starts, and the legal responsibility for the application stays with the client even if someone else submits it. If you are a leaseholder commissioning work on your flat, you are the client.
• Principal designer. Named in the application. Their duties are set out in GOV.UK's guidance, Design and building work: meeting building requirements.
• Principal contractor. Also named in the application. They create and maintain the change control log that records changes made during the build.

If someone other than the client submits the application, they must upload written proof that the client authorised it.

What the client must declare

The client signs a competence declaration confirming they have taken all reasonable steps to check that the principal designer and principal contractor are competent, and have asked everyone working on the project whether they have been issued with a serious sanction in the last 5 years.

The documents the application needs

For work on an existing higher-risk building, expect to provide:

• drawings and plans, and a description of the proposed work
• a building regulations compliance statement
• a change control plan and a construction control plan
• the client's competence declaration
• a fire and emergency file for category A work, or a fire compliance statement for category B work that might affect the spread of fire
• a mandatory occurrence reporting plan
• a partial completion strategy, if you will occupy new residential units created by the work or move people out of part of the building and back in

Who might help with what

Depending on your project, you may need several of these: a building surveyor or architect for drawings and the compliance statement, a fire engineer for the fire strategy, a structural engineer if the structure is affected, and a contractor experienced in higher-risk buildings as principal contractor. The right team depends on your work, so ask for advice at the start rather than hiring piece by piece.

Questions to ask before you hire

1. Have you worked on higher-risk buildings or BSR applications before?
2. Who will prepare and submit the application, and who is the named principal designer and principal contractor?
3. What will you give me in writing, and by when?
4. Have you or your team been issued with a serious sanction in the last 5 years?
5. What are your fees, and what is not included?

Introductions

We may receive a referral fee from consultants we recommend if you instruct them. This does not change your screening result, and you are free to use any consultant you choose.

Not sure whether you need an application at all? Try the BSR screener.

Sources: GOV.UK, Preparing information for a building control approval application (updated 1 October 2026); GOV.UK, Building control approval for higher-risk buildings (updated 1 October 2026).