The BSR Assessment Process: How It Works and How to Prepare Your Building

TL;DR: The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is accelerating the pace at which it calls higher-risk buildings in for assessment. When your building is called in, you have 28 days to submit your Building Assessment Certificate application under section 79 of the Building Safety Act 2022. This article covers what actually happens during the assessment process, what the BSR evaluates, and the practical steps you can take now so that the call-in letter is a milestone -- not a crisis.

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#The BSR Is Accelerating Call-Ins

The BSR began calling buildings in for Building Assessment Certificate applications in April 2024, starting with the highest-risk buildings. The pace is increasing. As the BSR works through the registered building stock, more buildings are receiving call-in notices each quarter.

The Building Safety Regulator assesses whether the Principal Accountable Person has identified all building safety risks and taken reasonable steps to manage them before issuing a Building Assessment Certificate.

— Building Safety Act 2022, s.91

This is not a distant regulatory exercise. If your building is registered with the BSR as a higher-risk building under section 78 of the Building Safety Act, the question is when your building will be called in, not whether.

The BSR is prioritising buildings based on risk factors:

• Buildings over 30 metres with 11 or more residential units (first wave)
• Buildings between 18 and 30 metres with 378 or more residential units
• ACM-clad buildings (aluminium composite material)
• Buildings with large panel system (LPS) construction and gas supply
• All remaining registered higher-risk buildings over time

If your building falls into the early priority groups, you may already have received a notice -- or should expect one imminently. If your building is in a later group, you have time. Use it.

#What Happens When Your Building Is Called In

Understanding the process removes the uncertainty. Here is how the BSR assessment works, step by step.

#Step 1: You receive the call-in notice

The BSR sends a formal notice to the principal accountable person (PAP) for your building. This notice states that you must apply for a Building Assessment Certificate within 28 days.

The 28-day clock starts from the date of the notice, not the date you receive it. If there is any delay in the notice reaching you -- because the PAP's contact details on the BSR register are out of date, for example -- the deadline does not move.

Action: Ensure your contact details on the BSR register are current. If the PAP has changed, update the registration immediately.

#Step 2: You prepare and submit your application

Your application must demonstrate that you are complying with your duties under Part 4 of the Building Safety Act. This is not a questionnaire or a self-declaration. It is a substantive submission with supporting evidence.

The application requires:

For a detailed document checklist, see our Building Assessment Certificate preparation guide.

#Step 3: The BSR reviews your submission

This is where the BSR assessment differs from many regulatory processes. The BSR does not simply check whether you have submitted the required documents. It evaluates whether your safety management systems are genuinely functioning.

The BSR reviewers will look for:

• Currency: Is your Safety Case Report based on recent data, or was it prepared two years ago and never updated?
• Completeness: Are there gaps in your Golden Thread records? Missing fire risk assessment actions? Undocumented building work?
• Active management: Do your records show ongoing monitoring, review, and improvement? Or do they show a one-off compliance exercise?
• Evidence quality: Are fire risk assessment actions evidenced with photographs, contractor certificates, and completion records? Or just marked as "complete" with no supporting material?

The BSR has signalled that it will not accept applications that appear to be last-minute compilations. A Safety Case Report prepared on day 25 of the 28-day window, with no evidence of prior review, tells the BSR exactly what it needs to know about how that building is being managed.

#Step 4: The BSR makes a decision

The BSR either:

• Issues the Building Assessment Certificate -- confirming that you are complying with your duties. The certificate is valid for 5 years, subject to earlier reassessment if circumstances change.
• Requests additional information -- asking you to clarify or supplement your submission before a decision is made.
• Refuses the application -- with reasons, and potentially accompanied by enforcement action.

For details on what happens after the assessment outcome, including certificate renewal and refusal consequences, see our Building Assessment Certificate guide.

#What the BSR Is Really Looking For

The assessment is fundamentally about one question: is this building being managed safely?

Operating a higher-risk building without a valid Building Assessment Certificate after being called in for assessment is a criminal offence carrying an unlimited fine.

— Building Safety Act 2022, s.98

The BSR is not looking for perfection. Every building has some overdue actions, some areas where records could be more complete, some processes that could be tighter. What the BSR is looking for is evidence of active, structured safety management -- a building where problems are identified, tracked, and addressed, even if some are still in progress.

#The difference between passing and failing

Consider two buildings, both with 35 fire risk assessment actions.

Building A has 30 actions complete with evidence (photographs, contractor certificates, sign-off records), 3 in progress with contractors assigned and expected completion dates, and 2 overdue with documented escalation -- the building manager has recorded why they are overdue, what interim measures are in place, and the revised timeline. The Safety Case Report was last reviewed 4 months ago and reflects the current position.

Building B has a spreadsheet listing 35 actions. Some are marked "done" with no evidence. Some have no assignee. The overdue actions have no escalation record. The Safety Case Report was prepared 18 months ago for the registration process and has not been reviewed since.

Both buildings have outstanding actions. But Building A demonstrates active management. Building B demonstrates a compliance gap.

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#A Practical Scenario

You are the PAP for a 20-storey residential building with 84 flats. You registered the building with the BSR in 2023. In March 2026, you receive a call-in notice.

If you have been managing proactively:

Your Safety Case Report was last reviewed in January 2026 after your annual fire risk assessment. You update it to incorporate a minor change -- new fire stopping work completed in February. Your Golden Thread records are held digitally with version history. You export the required information and verify completeness against the BSR's published checklist.

Your residents' engagement strategy has been active since registration. You compile: four building safety newsletters sent to residents, three complaints received and resolved (with response records), and minutes from the annual building safety meeting. Your occurrence reporting system has processed one report -- a fire door closer failure -- submitted to the BSR within the statutory timeframe.

Your fire risk assessment has 42 actions. 37 are complete with evidence. 4 are in progress with contractors assigned. 1 is overdue by 3 weeks -- the contractor was delayed, you have documented the reason, notified the fire risk assessor, and implemented an interim measure (additional fire safety signage and a temporary manual check).

You submit on day 18, leaving a buffer. The submission is not flawless, but it tells a clear story of active management.

If you have not been managing proactively:

You receive the call-in letter and realise your Safety Case Report has not been updated since registration. Your fire risk assessment actions are in a spreadsheet with no evidence attached. You have a residents' engagement strategy document, but no evidence of implementation. You have 28 days to pull together what should have been maintained continuously.

This is why preparation matters. The assessment tests ongoing management, not last-minute assembly.

#Preparing Your Building: A Practical Framework

Do not wait for the call-in letter. These are the areas to get right now.

The Building Assessment Certificate application must include a copy of the safety case report, details of the safety measures in place, and evidence that mandatory occurrence reporting processes are operational.

#1. Safety Case Report

Keep it current. Review it after every fire risk assessment, every significant building work, and at least annually. The BSR will check when it was last reviewed.

For guidance on preparing your Safety Case Report, see the Safety Case Report guide and our overview of what a building safety case involves.

#2. Golden Thread records

Your Key Building Information under section 88 must be accessible, accurate, and version-controlled. The BSR expects digital records with audit trails showing when information was created, modified, and by whom.

Ensure you have: structural and fire safety drawings, fire safety system specifications and maintenance records, fire risk assessment records with full action tracking, records of all building work since registration, and a clear version history.

See the Golden Thread guide for the complete information requirements.

#3. Residents' engagement strategy

Under section 91, you need an active strategy -- not just a document. The BSR will look for evidence of:

• Communications sent to residents about building safety
• Complaints received and how they were handled
• Consultation on safety-related decisions
• Response time records

#4. Mandatory occurrence reporting

Your mandatory occurrence reporting system needs to be documented and demonstrably active. If you have submitted occurrence reports, have the records ready. If you have not had any reportable occurrences, document your system: training records, escalation procedures, the process for identifying reportable events.

A building with zero reports over several years may prompt the BSR to question whether the system is genuinely capturing events.

#5. Fire risk assessment action tracking

Every action from your fire risk assessment should be:

• Assigned to a specific person or contractor
• Tracked with a current status (complete, in progress, overdue)
• Evidenced with photographs, certificates, or completion records
• Escalated if overdue, with documented reasons and interim measures

This is arguably the most scrutinised area of the assessment. The BSR expects to see a building where fire risk assessment findings are being actively managed, not just recorded.

#6. Competence records

Document the qualifications, training, and professional development of everyone involved in managing building safety -- including yourself, any Building Safety Manager, fire safety advisors, and key contractors.

#Frequently Asked Questions

#What is the BSR assessment process?

The BSR assessment process is the procedure by which the Building Safety Regulator evaluates whether the principal accountable person for a higher-risk building is complying with their duties under Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022. The BSR calls buildings in for assessment in priority order, and the principal accountable person has 28 days from the call-in notice to submit an application for a Building Assessment Certificate under section 79 of the Act.

#What does the BSR look at during an assessment?

The BSR evaluates your Safety Case Report, Golden Thread records (Key Building Information under section 88), residents' engagement strategy, mandatory occurrence reporting system, fire risk assessment action tracking, competence evidence for building safety personnel, and financial provision for safety-related works. The assessment is substantive -- the BSR reviews whether these systems are functioning, not just whether documents exist.

#How long does the BSR assessment process take?

You have 28 days from receiving a call-in notice to submit your Building Assessment Certificate application. The BSR's review period after submission is not fixed by statute, but the regulator has indicated it aims to process applications within a reasonable timeframe. The total time from call-in to certificate issuance depends on the quality of your submission and whether the BSR requests additional information.

#What happens if your building fails the BSR assessment?

If the BSR is not satisfied with your application, it can refuse the Building Assessment Certificate. The BSR may issue a compliance notice under section 97 requiring specific improvements, a contravention notice under section 99 for active breaches, or require you to reapply after addressing identified issues. Continued non-compliance can lead to enforcement action including prohibition notices and prosecution.

#How can I prepare for a BSR assessment?

Preparation means maintaining your compliance systems year-round, not scrambling when the call-in letter arrives. Keep your Safety Case Report current, maintain your Golden Thread records with version history, operate your residents' engagement strategy actively, ensure your mandatory occurrence reporting system is functioning, track every fire risk assessment action with evidence, and document competence for all safety-related personnel. The 28-day application window is a documentation exercise if your systems are already working.

#Further Reading

• Building Assessment Certificates: How to Prepare When the BSR Calls Your Building In -- the document checklist and what happens after assessment
• What Is a Building Safety Case? -- understanding the safety case that underpins your assessment
• Safety Case Report Guide -- step-by-step preparation guidance
• Mandatory Occurrence Reporting: What Building Managers Must Report -- your MOR system is part of the assessment
• Accountable Person Duties Under the Building Safety Act -- the duties the assessment tests you against
• The Building Safety Act 2022: A Complete Guide -- comprehensive overview including assessment provisions
• The Complete Golden Thread Guide -- meeting your information management duties
• Building Safety Act Penalties and Non-Compliance -- what happens when enforcement escalates
• The Building Safety Levy: What Managers Need to Know -- how remediation funding connects to your building
• Higher-Risk Buildings: Definition and Criteria -- which buildings are subject to BSR assessment
• Fire Risk Assessment Tracking -- FRA documentation the BSR evaluates
• Building Assessment Certificate Guide -- the certificate the assessment leads to
• Brocade vs BlockPro -- how Brocade helps you prepare for BSR assessment compared to alternatives
• Service Charge Compliance Software -- link FRA, safety case, and MOR action costs directly to leaseholder demands with full audit trail

#Official sources

• Building Safety Act 2022 -- section 79 -- Building Assessment Certificates
• Building Safety Act 2022 -- section 78 -- registration of higher-risk buildings
• Building Safety Act 2022 -- section 88 -- Key Building Information (Golden Thread)
• Building Safety Act 2022 -- section 91 -- residents' engagement strategy
• GOV.UK: Apply for a Building Assessment Certificate -- official BSR guidance
• GOV.UK: Preparing a BAC application -- BSR preparation guidance

This article is for informational purposes. For building-specific advice, consult a qualified fire safety professional.

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