Developers must act now to protect their projects from unexpected costs and programme delays by factoring the Building Safety Levy into schemes well before the October 1 implementation date, multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard has urged.

Developers expecting to have schemes ready for submission before October 1 may have less time than they think to progress to a technical design stage and a building control application, meaning some schemes may not be processed or lodged before the levy deadline. Additional costs may need to be factored in to accommodate for such delays.

For higher risk buildings already at the Gateway 2 approval process under the building safety regime, a refusal could cause a resubmission, which is associated with time and complexity issues compounding the risk to project delivery.

Vaso Vaina, Building Safety Act associate at Pick Everard, said understanding the mechanisms of the levy and engaging early with competent principal design for building regulations for Gateway 2 submissions, prior to the deadline, can help to avoid delays in approvals that lead to unanticipated charges that could impact planned margins.

She said: “Considering the effects of the Building Safety Levy on projects now will result in better quality applications, for a better likelihood of a successful pre- deadline submission.

“Projects that will not be ready for submission before October 1 must factor the Building Safety Levy into viability appraisals, and the allocation of levy risk should be given careful consideration.

“It is vital that developers seek clarity and support to navigate the levy if they are only just starting to consider its implications. The upcoming implementation of the levy may introduce some uncertainty into projects when considering time and resources. Early compliance planning resulting in robust building control applications are the most effective ways to address these risks.”

The Building Safety Levy introduces an additional up-front statutory charge on new residential developments intended to fund the cost of building safety remediation. It will apply to building control applications and initial notices submitted on or after October 1 and must be paid before a completion certificate can be issued. Applications submitted before October 1 remain outside of its scope.

Local councils will act as the collecting authorities for the levy, regardless of the building control route. From October 1, applicants must provide levy information with their submission such as the number of residential units and planning permission reference to trigger the levy calculation. A Levy Liability Notice is then issued within five to eight weeks. These may be revised and recalculated if the scheme changes.

Vaso, a member of the specialist Building and Construction Safety team at Pick Everard, added: “The levy can have an impact on everything from cash flow to project viability.

“Failing to plan for this additional tax or the potential effects of administrative delays, could prove particularly damaging. In what is an economically challenging landscape for construction at the moment, early engagement is the key to mitigating delivery risk and additional cost exposure, helping to stormproof project delivery as much as possible.”