Liability
Who pays the Building Safety Levy, and when
Updated
The levy falls on the developer of a new residential scheme of 10 or more homes, through the building control process.
Talk to a specialist The council, the floorspace and whether the site is brownfield. The rates come from the Regulations.
Email me this result
We will send you these figures and a link back to them. One email, nothing else unless you tick the box.
How this calculator works
- The rates. Schedule 3 of the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 sets a rate per square metre for each of 298 local authority areas, a previously developed land rate and a standard rate, from £6.35 and £12.70 in County Durham to £50.17 and £100.35 in Kensington and Chelsea. The calculator carries every row. (The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025, Schedule 3: rates by local authority)
- The calculation. The levy is the area rate times the chargeable floorspace. The government's own worked example: 20 houses of 100m² on previously developed land in Dover at £15.19 per m², £30,380. (GOV.UK: Building Safety Levy technical consultation, government response)
- Who pays and when. The levy applies from 1 October 2026 to building control applications and initial notices for new residential development in England, unless exempt. Developments of fewer than 10 new dwellings, or fewer than 30 PBSA bedspaces, are exempt. (Guildford Borough Council: Building Safety Levy information for developers)
- The brownfield rate. The discounted rate is 50% of the standard rate and applies where at least 75% of the land within the planning red-line boundary is previously developed land. (Telford & Wrekin Council: Building Safety Levy)
- Not tested. The calculator does not test the other exemptions (affordable housing, certain care and specialist housing, and others the Regulations list), how floorspace is measured on a mixed-use scheme, or any refund. The collecting authority's levy notice is the figure you pay.
Who
From 1 October 2026 the levy applies to building control applications and initial notices for new residential development in England, unless exempt. Developments of fewer than 10 new dwellings are exempt; for purpose-built student accommodation the threshold is 30 bedspaces.
Source: Guildford Borough Council: Building Safety Levy information for developers
Who collects it
Local authorities with building control responsibility act as collecting authorities, including where the work is overseen by a Registered Building Control Approver or the Building Safety Regulator.
Source: Guildford Borough Council: Building Safety Levy information for developers
Disputes
A developer who disagrees with a levy charge or refund decision can request a review within 28 days.
Source: East Hampshire District Council: Building Safety Levy guidance