In short: Every occupied higher-risk building in England must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator. Operating an unregistered occupied HRB is a criminal offence. Registration is the responsibility of the Principal Accountable Person.
Does your building need to register?
A building is in scope where it is at least 18 metres tall or has at least 7 storeys, contains at least 2 residential units, and is in England. Mixed-use buildings count if they meet the height threshold and have at least two residential units; commercial-only buildings are outside the higher-risk regime. If you're unsure, see what is a higher-risk building.
Who registers?
The principal accountable person (PAP) - the person or organisation with a legal interest in the building's structure and common parts, typically the freeholder, head leaseholder or management company. Where there is more than one accountable person, they must agree who holds the PAP role before registration can proceed.
What you need
Key Building Information (KBI) about the building - its structure, external walls, fire-safety systems and evacuation arrangements - plus the accountable person details. You'll also want the building's address and postcode, height in metres and number of storeys, number of residential units, year of construction or last significant refurbishment, and details of any fire-safety works. KBI must be kept up to date when material changes occur. See our guide to Key Building Information.
How registration works
Registration is done through the BSR's portal on GOV.UK. In outline: create an account (use an organisation email if registering on its behalf); start a new registration and enter the building details - being accurate on height and storeys, as these decide whether the building is in scope; confirm the accountable persons and, where there are several, how responsibilities are divided; then review and submit. You can save progress and return - it doesn't have to be done in one sitting. Once accepted, the BSR issues a building registration certificate.
What happens after registration
Registration is the start, not the finish. Once registered, the PAP must keep the details current (notifying the BSR of changes to the accountable persons, significant works, or a change of use) and take on the ongoing duties: preparing and maintaining the safety case report, keeping the golden thread, running a structured inspection programme, and putting a resident engagement strategy in place. The BSR can inspect, request the safety case at any time, and enforce against APs who fall short - see BSR enforcement.
If you've missed the deadline
The registration deadline for existing occupied higher-risk buildings was 1 October 2023. If your building isn't registered, it is already in breach and operating it is a criminal offence - so the priority is to register as quickly as possible. The steps you're taking to comply may be relevant to how the Regulator responds, but they don't remove the obligation. Our Building Safety Act timeline sets the key dates out in full.
How CTS and BuildSafe help
CTS prepares your Key Building Information and supports the registration process. On the CTS BuildSafe platform, KBI is structured to the BSR's submission categories with a readiness indicator, so you can see exactly what is complete before you submit - and the ongoing duties that follow registration are managed in the same place. Many accountable persons complete the form without the safety case, golden thread or inspection programme the BSR will then expect; we make sure what sits behind the registration is real.
General information, not legal advice. Reviewed by the CTS building safety team.
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Video transcript
Every occupied higher-risk building in England has to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator. Here is what that takes. The rule is simple. If your higher-risk building is occupied, it must be registered. Operating an unregistered, occupied building is a criminal offence, and registering is the job of the principal accountable person. To register, you need your Key Building Information. That covers the structure, the external walls, the fire-safety systems and the evacuation arrangements, along with the accountable person's details. And it must be kept up to date when things change. CTS prepares your Key Building Information and supports the registration. In the CTS BuildSafe platform it is structured to the Regulator's categories, with a readiness indicator, so you can see exactly what is complete before you submit. If you're not sure whether your building is registered, or what is outstanding, we can help you get it right. The full guide is on our website.
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