Building Safety Fund: process guide for residents
The Building Safety Fund (BSF) provides funding to fix life safety fire risks associated with cladding in buildings over 18 metres high. This guide explains the process.
Applies to England
Overview of BSF process
This process guide outlines the main stages in the BSF process. It also provides indicative timeframes for each stage. These timeframes vary from building to building and depend on:
- the complexity of the remediation works
- the speed at which the person or organisation responsible for your building (the BSF applicant or their official managing agent) progresses their BSF application
- the timely provision of necessary information by the person or organisation responsible for your building
More complex projects are likely to take longer.
By providing indicative timeframes, we aim to maximise transparency; and help you to determine whether your building is progressing at a reasonable pace, allowing you to hold those responsible to account if not.
We also suggest that you contact the person or organisation responsible for the remediation of your building (named on the BSF Leaseholder and Resident Service) if they are not providing updates.
We expect those responsible to engage with you regularly on progress, delays and next steps. As a minimum, they are expected to do this at each stage of the process and on request. This is written into the department’s Code of Practice for the remediation of residential buildings.
We use service level agreements to support efficient service delivery. The processing speed of your building’s application and the speed at which your building is remediated may be affected by:
- the technical complexity of an application and the complexity and scale of the remediation works
- the speed at which an application is progressed and the quality of the supporting information received
- wider industry capacity
Most of these variables are beyond the department’s direct control. We are dedicated to handling applications as fast as possible.
| Application stage | Indicative timescale |
|---|---|
| 1. Making an application | Applications are encouraged as early as possible |
| 2. Eligibility checks | 3 months |
| 3. Pre-tender support | 2 months |
| 4. Full funding application | 12 months |
| 5. Checking building costs and agreeing funds | 3 months |
| 6. Work on site | 12 months |
| 7. Work completion | 6 months |
1. Making an application
To apply to the Building Safety Fund (BSF), the person or organisation responsible for your building (the applicant) first needs to complete an online application form provided by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
Alongside this application, the applicant may need to provide a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall construction (FRAEW) – see details below.
The applicant can appoint a managing agent to commission the FRAEW and progress the application. Where a managing agent is employed, we name their company on the BSF Leaseholder and Resident Service.
To keep this process guide simple, we refer only to applicants. However, in formal documents, applicants are known as ‘responsible entities’.
Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW)
For applications made since 2022, those responsible for buildings need to provide technical information through a FRAEW. This is a specialist report which sets out the fire risks related to external walls and cladding. You can refer to Annex D: Guidance for Applicants for fire risk appraisal of external walls for more detailed information.
The applicant commissions a qualified professional to carry out the FRAEW. They assess the work needed to make the building safe and provide recommendations.
DLUHC then uses the FRAEW to decide if the building is eligible for funding.
2. Eligibility checks
Initial check
DLUHC checks the application to ensure all necessary information has been submitted, including a FRAEW for applications made since 2022.
If document checks are satisfactory, the application proceeds to technical and legal checks.
Technical checks
DLUHC checks that the height of the building is over 18 metres. Technical specialists check the application/ FRAEW meets eligibility guidance (for FRAEWS, this is set out in the PAS 9980: 2022 technical guidance).
DLUHC rejects applications that do not meet BSF eligibility criteria. We write to the applicant to explain why and give details of alternative options if appropriate. The applicant can appeal if they disagree with our decision.
Legal checks
These checks ensure that funding goes to the correct individual or organisation. They are completed by a:
- DLUHC caseworker for social housing sector buildings
- DLUHC’s delivery partner caseworkers for private sector buildings
Our delivery partners are the:
- Greater London Authority (GLA) for buildings in the London region
- Homes England for all other buildings in England
The caseworker contacts the applicant to ask for information. When this has been submitted, they ask a legal adviser to check that:
- the building has at least 1 single unit of residential accommodation with a qualifying lease
- the applicant has legal responsibility for the building
Eligibility decision
DLUHC rejects applications that don’t meet the legal eligibility criteria. They write to the applicant to explain why and provide information on alternative options if appropriate.
If technical and legal checks are successful, the caseworker contacts the applicant to confirm the application is eligible for funding. The application then proceeds to one of the following next stages:
Indicative timescale
We expect eligibility checks to take around 3 months. They may be longer if applicants fail to send the right information and in a timely way.
Appeals
As mentioned above, the applicant can appeal if either:
- they believe there was a mistake in processing the original application
- there is new information that was not available at the time of the initial review
The BSF Appeals Team and the department’s technical advisers review appeals. The department works to expedite each appeal, recognising that appeals impact on the remediation timescales for your building.
Once the department has concluded its review, a letter will be sent to your applicant confirming the outcome. If successful, a revised eligibility statement is provided, enabling your applicant to progress remediation.
3. Pre-tender support
Pre-tender support is an advance payment from DLUHC to private sector applicants.
Pre-tender support only applies to a small number of social housing sector providers (those who meet financial viability criteria and are eligible for the full cost of remediation). In most cases, the BSF only pays for a proportion of the remediation costs that, otherwise, would be charged to leaseholders.
The advance payment is available for those who do not have the finances to start the project. The payment can help cover the cost of employing a team of qualified professionals to create a plan to fix your building.
DLUHC checks the request for pre-tender support to ensure it is reasonable before approving payment.
Pre-tender support funding agreement
If pre-tender support is approved, the caseworker sends the applicant a Short Form Funding Agreement (SFFA).
The SFFA is a legal document that needs to be checked, by a legal adviser acting for the applicant, before the applicant signs it.
The agreement must be signed and returned before the advance payment can be made.
Indicative timescale
We expect pre-tender support to take around 2 months to approve. Delays can occur when the legal agreement is being drafted (this could be due to changes or if there are complex building ownership arrangements).
4. Full funding application
The applicant must provide a detailed plan and full costs for the project. They may need to appoint a specialist team to help them. The team may include professionals such as:
- a project manager
- specialist engineers
- architects
- quantity surveyors
The applicant then invites tenders for the building work. This helps them to calculate the full cost of work.
When the plan and full costs are ready, the applicant submits the full funding application to their caseworker for assessment.
Indicative timescale
We expect development of the full funding application to take up to 1 year but it can take longer. Timescales can vary because of the size of the building and its surroundings, as well as the scale and complexity of the remediation works.
The plan needs to contain enough detail and be fully costed before it can be submitted. The applicant or their managing agent should keep you fully informed during this period. Find out about information for residents on fire safety and the remediation of buildings.
5. Checking building costs and agreeing funds
The caseworker checks the funding application to ensure all necessary information has been submitted. If document checks are satisfactory, the application proceeds to funding assessment.
Funding assessment
The caseworker and a cost consultant assess if planned work and costs are reasonable. They also cross-reference the plan against the letter confirming which wall systems are eligible and the Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) where one has been submitted. This ensures that works are in line with those confirmed eligible by DLUHC.
We have published information for residents on “How government is protecting leaseholders from building safety remediation costs”.
DLUHC’s Funding Approval Board
The caseworker makes recommendations for funding to DLUHC’s Funding Approval Board who decide if funding can be approved. The Board meets every 2 weeks.
Grant Funding Agreement (GFA)
If funding is approved, a BSF caseworker sends an agreement to the applicant. This is known as the Grant Funding Agreement (GFA). It sets out the full terms and conditions for funding.
The GFA is a legal document that needs to be checked by legal advisors. Both DLUHC and the applicant need to be satisfied with the agreement before it’s signed by both parties.
The agreement must be signed and returned before any funds can be released. Although it is an agreement between the above parties, residents can ask applicants what it covers.
The BSF will only pay for works identified as eligible for remediation under the BSF criteria. Any non-eligible remediation works that the applicant wishes to undertake alongside the BSF’s funded works must be funded by the applicant themselves. The source of the applicant’s funding to meet the costs of these ‘BSF ineligible’ works will need to be confirmed.
Where the applicant is doing additional works, as well as those funded by the BSF, leaseholders should check the leaseholder protection guidance. The exact details of any part-funded work will be set out in the funding agreement.
Indicative timescale
For straightforward applications, we expect the funding assessment to take around 3 months. It can take longer if more information is needed from the applicant, such as to support full works cost estimates. The application can only continue when this information is provided.
Delays can occur at the stage of signing the GFA. The applicant needs to be satisfied with the agreement before signing it. This can take several months because of the scale of the works, the technical nature of the agreements and the amount of funding involved.
On occasion, the applicant will refuse to sign the agreement, causing a delay. We highlight where this happens through our building updates, published on the BSF Leaseholder and Resident Service.
Where this is the case, delivery partners will make DLUHC aware of this. DLUHC follow-up action will depend on the applicant’s issue and can include:
- senior civil servant correspondence
- meetings with the applicant
- involves local authorities and fire and rescue services who can take statutory enforcement action
6. Work on site
When funding is approved, details can be agreed with the main building contractor. The applicant agrees and must provide the caseworker with:
- a proposed start date
- an estimated completion date
- full details of the work to address issues with external walls
The applicant must give residents as much notice as possible of when works will start on site. The minimum notice is 2 weeks.
During the works period, the applicant must send regular updates to their caseworker. The caseworker uses this information to help keep the project on track.
Those working on your building must follow our Code of Practice for the remediation of residential buildings. At this stage, they should be taking steps to reduce disruption, including accounting for residents’ needs and keeping you informed of progress.
Indicative timescale
Building work can vary considerably depending upon the complexity of the building and the extent of the work required. The applicant for your building should provide you with an estimated timescale for the works required.
Sometimes the amount of funding approved does not cover the total cost of work to fix the building. This might be due to the uncovering of extra work, once the works have started, and associated delays. The applicant can apply for more funding in these circumstances, providing supporting information accordingly. This is known as a cost variation and the applicant should keep you informed of any they make.
When a cost variation request is made, DLUHC assesses the request. They check that any changes in cost and scope are reasonable and meet BSF eligibility criteria.
Work on your building may be delayed if a cost variation is made. As variation requests are so diverse, it is impossible to provide an indicative timeframe.
7. Work completion
When work on your building is complete, it requires formal sign off. At completion, this involves the following steps:
- the building control body must confirm that the works completed meet building regulations
- the BSF requires a competent, independent professional to inspect and confirm that works are consistent with design
- the applicant’s contract administrator provides DLUHC with a practical completion certificate
- where one is in place, the applicant must update the FRAEW at completion and also provide this to DLUHC
- the applicant may also ask members of their professional team to check that they are content that the works have been completed
Updated FRAEW
The applicant needs to arrange an updated FRAEW. This should show that the building now meets all required BSF standards.
Practical completion certificate
The building contractor also needs to issue a practical completion certificate, signed by them and the applicant. This confirms that work has been completed to the required standard. Any sub-standard work must be fixed before work can be signed off.
Final payment
DLUHC makes the final payment to the applicant when work is complete.
Indicative timescale
We expect signing off any building work to take around 6 months. The applicant should continue to provide you with regular updates until the project is officially closed.