Change control and notifiable changes: manage building control approval
How to make a change control application for higher-risk building work or building work to an existing higher-risk building.
Applies to England
After the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approves your building control approval application, you can:
- make a change control application for major changes to the proposed work
- tell BSR about notifiable changes
You will need both:
- the building control approval application reference
- access to the email address used for the original building control approval application
To change the email address associated with the application, contact your case officer.
Higher-risk buildings
A higher-risk building is a building that has at least:
- 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high
- 2 residential units or is a hospital or a care home
A higher-risk building with at least 2 residential units must be registered with the BSR before people live there.
Read the full guidance on buildings that BSR is the building control authority for.
Stopping and continuing building works
When you make a change control application for major changes, you must stop building works related to that change. You must not start the work proposed in the major change application until BSR assess and approve it.
Work related to a notifiable change cannot start until after you inform BSR.
You must stop the work if BSR tell you that you should have applied for a major change instead.
Multiple changes
You must include multiple changes in the same application if the changes are related to each other.
In a staged application, you must complete a separate application or notification for each stage the changes affect.
You must complete separate change control submissions for changes that are not related to each other. If you include unrelated changes in a single application or notification and BSR refuse one of the changes, then all changes will be refused.
What you need to tell BSR
For each change, include a brief description of the change and why you consider it to be a major or notifiable change.
You need to tell BSR:
- why you are making the change, for example, change of design approach or availability of materials
- all the advice you sought, even if it disagrees with your proposal
- who gave the advice, their occupation and contact details
- which documents the change affects
Upload copies of the updated documents which are affected by any change as part of your building control application.
Upload a compliance explanation. This must explain how the building will comply with all relevant building regulations after the change is made.
For staged building control applications, submit separate applications or notifications for each stage. You must update all affected documents for each of the stages.
BSR will send an email confirmation to you and your principal designer and principal contractor when it receives a change notification or major change application.
Charges
When you submit your notification or application, you will need to pay a charge. Charges for the notification or change control process are set out in the BSR charging scheme on the Health and Safety Executive website.
Make a change control application for a higher-risk building
Use the manage a building control application for a higher-risk building service to make a change control application or tell BSR about a notifiable change.