What Is a Higher-Risk Building — and Does My Apartment Refurbishment Fall Under the Building Safety Regime?

Parkside REAM | Question-led strategic insight | England | Regulatory information checked 23 September 2026

Straight answer

For building design and construction in England, a higher-risk building generally meets a height threshold — at least 18 metres or at least seven storeys — and contains at least two residential units, or is or contains a hospital or care home, subject to the detailed statutory rules and exclusions. An apartment refurbishment in such a building is not automatically a Gateway 2 application: first confirm the building’s status, then identify whether the proposed works are building work requiring Building Safety Regulator approval or fall within an applicable exception. GOV.UK: existing-building criteria (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criteria-for-determining-whether-an-existing-building-is-a-higher-risk-building-during-building-work)

The apparent question

“My apartment is only one flat — why does the whole building matter?” The scope can be local, but the building control regime applies by reference to the qualifying building. A new extract duct, altered sprinkler head or change to compartmentation may connect the flat to systems protecting many other occupants.

The real strategic question

Which legal definition applies to this building and phase, what is the actual building-work scope, who controls common systems, and what evidence is needed before design and procurement are fixed? The answer determines the building control authority, the application route, dutyholder arrangements, change control, completion evidence and interaction with the principal accountable person or landlord.

Why this matters

Calling a building “high rise” from its appearance or estate-agent description is unreliable. Height is measured under specific rules, storeys have counting rules, and a complex block may contain an independent section that requires separate analysis. The design/construction definition differs from the in-occupation definition: the former includes qualifying hospitals and care homes, while the latter centres on buildings with at least two residential units. A listed apartment may add listed building consent and heritage evidence, but listing itself does not determine HRB status. [GOV.UK: design/construction criteria](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criteria-for-determining-whether-an-existing-building-is-a-higher-risk-building-during-building-work) and [occupation criteria](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criteria-for-being-a-higher-risk-building-during-the-occupation-phase-of-the-new-higher-risk-regime)

When does it apply?

For work to an existing building, establish the relevant structure or independent section, then test height or storey count and use. The threshold is **18 metres or seven storeys**, combined with the specified use condition; it is not 18 metres *and* seven storeys. Check exclusions and unusual configurations against the regulations and official diagrams. A seven-storey office building without a qualifying residential, hospital or care-home use is not necessarily a higher-risk building under this definition. A mixed-use mansion block with shops below and apartments above may be.

Test | Evidence to obtain

Building boundary: Plans and sections showing connected structures and any potentially independent section.

Height and storeys: Measured section and the statutory counting method; do not rely on marketing floor labels.

Use: Number of residential units and any hospital or care-home use.

Exclusions: Check the specific excluded building descriptions.

Work scope: Identify building work, exempt items, competent-person-scheme work and work touching common or fire systems.

Common project examples

A prime London apartment on the second floor can sit within an HRB even though the flat is low in the block. An office floor in a tall mixed-use building can be within the HRB building-control context where the whole qualifying building is in scope; the exact structural and use boundary matters. An eight-storey building with only offices does not become an HRB merely because it is tall. In a listed mansion block, the same alteration may require heritage and BSR consideration through separate routes.

What information should be established first?

- Building sections, verified heights, storey plans and residential-unit count.

- The building’s actual use, exclusions and any independent-section analysis.

- BSR registration and existing building information where a residential HRB is occupied.

- The full proposed scope, including structural, fire, MEP and penetrations work behind finishes.

- Existing fire strategy, landlord or principal accountable person information and previous building-control approvals.

- Who is the client for the works and who will undertake regulated design and building work.

The process

Confirm the building status from evidence, not a label. Map the scope into work that is outside Building Regulations, exempt, eligible competent-person-scheme work or building work requiring BSR building control approval. If approval is required, assess Category A or B for work to an existing HRB and plan the relevant submission. Coordinate landlord access, common systems, design responsibility and the eventual completion-certificate route. Keep the heritage, planning and leasehold questions as parallel tracks. [BSR: building control approval for HRBs](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-control-approval-for-higher-risk-buildings)

What often goes wrong?

1. Measuring height to the roof or using a sales brochure’s storey count without the statutory method.

2. Assuming every tall building is an HRB or every flat job needs a full application.

3. Assuming a refurbishment confined to one flat cannot affect a common fire system.

4. Treating registration under the occupation regime as the entire answer to building-control status.

5. Ignoring the building owner’s information and service interfaces until design is complete.

The Parkside strategic view

We would produce a short building-status record and scope-by-scope regulatory matrix before issuing a single Gateway programme. The record should state the evidence used, any unresolved measurement or structural boundary and the consequences for each work package. That provides a defensible route and avoids pricing a low-impact finish as a complex application — or overlooking a small penetration that changes the approval and evidence strategy.

Practical takeaways

- Apply the current design/construction definition to the particular building or independent section.

- Height and use thresholds must be read together; the 18-metre and seven-storey thresholds are alternatives.

- A single apartment can be affected by a building-wide regime.

- HRB status does not by itself make every decorative task a Gateway 2 application.

- Confirm the actual works and common-system interfaces before setting the programme.

Frequently asked questions

Is a seven-storey building automatically a higher-risk building?

No. For design and construction, the height or storey threshold must be combined with the specified use: at least two residential units, or a hospital or care home, subject to exclusions and detailed measurement rules. A seven-storey office-only building is not automatically in this HRB definition. A mixed-use building can be, depending on its configuration.

Does the floor of my apartment affect whether it is in an HRB?

The qualification is about the building or relevant independent section, not simply the floor of the apartment being refurbished. A flat on a low floor can be within a qualifying building. The location of the works still matters to the actual technical interfaces: service risers, doors, floor separations and common systems may differ across the building.

Is a building with shops below flats a higher-risk building?

It can be. Commercial space at ground level does not automatically exclude a building with sufficient height or storeys and at least two residential units. The statutory building boundary, any independent section and exact uses need checking. The same block can have separate planning, fire-safety and landlord implications for the commercial work.

Does being in an HRB mean every repainting job needs Gateway 2?

No. Building status and work classification are separate. Work outside the definition of building work, specified exempt work and eligible competent-person-scheme work may not need a BSR building control approval application when undertaken alone. A wider project containing regulated building work is assessed as a whole; avoid artificially splitting a coordinated refurbishment to evade approval.

What is the difference between an HRB during construction and occupation?

The legal definitions serve different parts of the regime. Design and construction can include qualifying hospitals and care homes as well as buildings with two or more residential units. In occupation, the main definition applies to buildings with at least two residential units meeting the height or storey threshold, subject to exclusions. Use the relevant official criteria for the decision you are making.

Sources and further information

GOV.UK: Criteria for existing buildings during building work

(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criteria-for-determining-whether-an-existing-building-is-a-higher-risk-building-during-building-work) — official design/construction guidance.

GOV.UK: Occupation-phase criteria

(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criteria-for-being-a-higher-risk-building-during-the-occupation-phase-of-the-new-higher-risk-regime) — official guidance.

The Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023

(https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/275/contents) — legislation.

BSR: Building control approval for higher-risk buildings

(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-control-approval-for-higher-risk-buildings) — procedural guidance, updated 22 September 2026.