I'm Alexandr — 20 years pricing and building homes across London as a quantity surveyor and contractor. Whether you design them or build them, the rules and the numbers never sit still. Each month I read the regulations, planning changes and cost data so you don't have to, and publish the five things that actually change what you draw, price and build. No filler. No pitch.
01 · Building Safety
The Building Safety Levy starts on 1 October. Here's who actually pays.
From 1 October 2026 a new Building Safety Levy applies to residential building-control applications in England — and London carries the highest rates in the country. It's charged per square metre of internal floorspace, at a rate set for each council in Schedule 3 of the regulations. Kensington & Chelsea tops the national table at £100.35/m²; the other central boroughs sit well above the roughly £34/m² England average. On a mid-sized scheme that can add up to around £10,000 per home.
The relief most people miss: developments of fewer than 10 dwellings are exempt — so a single house, a pair of flats or a typical extension carries no levy at all. Social housing, care homes and schools are out too. But you can't split a larger scheme into sub-10 chunks; the regulations' anti-avoidance rules block that.
Liability sits with whoever makes the building-control application, and only applications submitted on or after 1 October are caught — so on a borderline scheme the submission date genuinely matters.
Sources: Building Safety Levy rates (gov.uk) · Construction News: rates by council
02 · Planning
The draft new London Plan lands this summer.
City Hall's timetable now has the draft London Plan out for public consultation in summer 2026, examination in 2026–27 and adoption in 2027. Expect a leaner document — closer to half the length of the 2021 Plan — deliberately aimed at making smaller sites more viable.
Behind it sits a sharply higher number: the government's standard method now points to a housing need for London of almost 88,000 homes a year. This is the framework your next five years of applications will be judged against — and the consultation is the cheapest moment to influence it.
Sources: The next London Plan (london.gov.uk)
03 · Planning
More decisions move to planning officers.
New government guidance (1 June 2026) confirms a National Scheme of Delegation. From 31 October 2026, set categories of application must be decided by officers rather than committee, and planning committees are capped at 13 members — the detail beneath the Planning & Infrastructure Act 2025.
Fewer minor and householder schemes will go before a committee, which should mean quicker, more predictable decisions. The trade-off: once an officer refuses under delegated powers, there's far less room to argue it back.
04 · Biodiversity Net Gain
Small-site BNG relief is imminent.
The government still intends the ≤0.2-hectare BNG exemption to take effect before 31 July 2026, subject to the regulations completing their passage through Parliament. On Defra's own assessment it would lift the mandatory 10% biodiversity uplift from more than half of the smallest planning applications.
The same package removes the existing small self-build and custom-build exemption, exempts temporary permissions granted for up to five years, and relaxes the gain hierarchy for minor development so off-site gains sit level with on-site enhancement.
Sources: Government response: BNG for minor development (gov.uk)
05 · Cost Watch
The numbers moved — again.
BCIS's latest five-year forecast (30 June 2026) trims building-cost growth to 13.1% and holds tender-price growth at 15.5% over the five years to Q2 2031 — a slight softening on the ~14% / ~15% we reported in Issue 01. Tender prices rose 3.2% over the year to Q2 2026.
Low workload is muting input-cost pressure for now, with Brent crude above $100 the live risk to the forecast, and new-work output is expected to contract 2.7% this year before recovering. In other words: quiet on the surface, pressure building underneath.
Sources: BCIS Construction Industry Forecast
Before 31 Jul 2026 — Small-site BNG exemption (≤0.2ha) due to take effect (subject to Parliament)
Summer 2026 — Draft new London Plan published for public consultation
1 Oct 2026 — Building Safety Levy applies to building-control applications submitted on or after this date
31 Oct 2026 — National Scheme of Delegation in force; councils must comply
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THE BUILD BRIEF — curated by My Trusted Builder, London design & build. Figures are indicative and sourced above; confirm current rates for your specific project.