The Building Safety Levy

The Building Safety Levy, introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022, is a government measure designed to help fund the remediation of life-critical safety defects in residential buildings across England. The Levy is expected to raise £3.4 billion over a ten-year period.

The Levy applies to eligible building control applications submitted on or after 1 October 2026.

Applications submitted before this date are not subject to the Levy, even if they are subsequently amended or varied.

Local authorities are responsible for administering and collecting the Levy.

Who Does the Levy Apply To?

All building control applications submitted on or after 1 October 2026 that include:

One or more new dwellings; or One or more bedspaces within Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) must be assessed for Building Safety Levy liability.

For developments comprising: 9 or fewer new dwellings, or 29 or fewer PBSA bedspaces a Notice of No Charge will be issued.

For developments comprising: 10 or more new dwellings, or 30 or more PBSA bedspaces a Levy Liability Notice maybe issued, subject to any applicable exemptions or reliefs.

Once the Building Safety Levy has been paid in full, a Levy Payment Certificate will be issued.

Exemptions

Under Regulation 13 of the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025, anon-profit registered provider of social housing is an exempt person for the purposes of the Levy.

Certain types of development are exempt from the Levy, including:

• Affordable Housing
• Care homes
• Schools
• Hospitals
• Hotels and Hostels
• Self-build homes
• Temporary accomodation for homeless people

Levy Rates

Levy rates are set nationally by the Government. For developments within Tendring District, the following rates apply:

• £24.80 per m² of chargeable residential floor space
• £12.40 per m² of chargeable residential floorspace on previously developed (brownfield) land. This reduced brownfield rate represents a 50% discount.

What are you required to do?

If your building control application includes one or more new dwellings or one or more bedspaces within Purpose-Built Student Accommodation, you must provide initial Building Safety Levy information before the application can be validated.

When work commences on the first plot within the development, a Commencement Notice and additional Building Safety Levy charging information must be submitted. The responsibility rests with the client to provide sufficient evidence to support the levy calculation applicable to the development.

Upon completion, the named client must provide a Levy Liability Statement confirming either that:

• A Notice of No Charge has been issued and remains valid; or
• A Levy Liability Notice has been issued, the Building Safety Levy has been paid in full, and a Levy Payment Certificate has been issued.

Spot Checks

The Building Safety Levy Regulations require that at least 10% of applications are selected for a spot check.

If your application is selected, you will be notified when the spot check commences and again once the assessment has been completed.

The collecting authority has 5 weeks from the date it receives all the required levy information and supporting evidence to issue either a Notice of No Charge or a Levy Liability Notice. Where an application is selected for a spot check, this period is extended to 8 weeks.

Further information

For all details on the Building Safety Levy, including legislation, guidance, and implementation updates, please refer to the relevant UK Government publications.

Government Building Safety Levy Guidance

The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025

Contact us

01255 686 111 Option 4

BSL@tendringdc.gov.uk

Building Control

Town Hall

Station Road

Clacton-On-Sea

CO15 1SE