When the Regulator directs you to apply for a Building Assessment Certificate, you have 28 calendar days to submit — and the application is far larger than most people expect. Here is the full scope of what it asks for, in plain terms.
A Gateway 2 pack is assembled by a live design team, for a building being designed now, with the information being created fresh and everyone who holds an answer still in the room.
A BAC is the opposite. It is a retrospective reconstruction of the entire safety truth of a building that already exists — often decades old — where the evidence is scattered across managing agents, old contractors and lost archives, degraded, or was never captured at all. You are not writing down what you know. You are recovering what was forgotten — against a criminal clock.
That is precisely why STRAND matters most here. Rebuilding a complete, evidenced picture from fragments is the rarest thing it does.
A BAC application is not a form. It is five substantial bodies of evidence, each assessed in detail by the Regulator's specialists. This is a summary of the scope — enough to see the size of the task.
The core document — an evidenced demonstration of every building safety risk and the reasonable steps managing it. It alone spans nine dense areas:
Address, registration, build date, height, storeys, floorplans per storey type, unit numbers and types, resident profile (including those needing evacuation help), utilities and isolation points, gas routes — plus changes of use and any information you genuinely couldn't find.
PAP, owner, every AP, any Fire Safety Order responsible persons, managing agents, building safety director — and how they all share information.
Materials and where used, construction and load-bearing methods, stability and secondary systems (e.g. cladding support), façade, roofing, basement, foundations and ground conditions.
History of structural problems and how resolved, how the building is kept sound, structural surveys (scope, method, competence, findings, actions) — and how you stay current.
Every safety-relevant work since construction; LPS buildings — remediation since Ronan Point (1968), records and verification; and any work planned or in progress with interim risk management.
External walls, structural fire protection, balconies, incident and enforcement history — then compartmentation, fire doors (survey competence and evidence), smoke control, escape routes, stairs, detection and warning, suppression.
Each AP's assessment, the method used (e.g. HAZID / bow-tie), who did it and their competence, findings, and the action status of every recommendation.
Evacuation strategy, how it's communicated, residents' needs, firefighting facilities (shafts, lifts, risers, mains, hydrants, access, drawings), information shared with fire services, and how it's tested.
The systems in use, continuous-improvement statement, roles and competence, maintenance and inspection regimes, change management, performance monitoring and review.
A building-specific strategy for involving residents in safety decisions — not a template.
Which decisions residents will be asked about, what information they'll be given and when, and the duty to consult on disruptive works.
Methods (post, digital, meetings), accessibility and language needs, how opinions are reviewed and acted on, feedback loops, and GDPR-compliant storage.
How engagement is assessed and reviewed, recorded regularly.
Minimum 3-week consultation periods, distribution arrangements, and review at least every 2 years — and after any mandatory occurrence report or significant alteration.
Evidence that you operate a working system to capture, assess and report safety occurrences.
Routes for occurrences to be reported to the accountable person, and for those the accountable person identifies directly.
Timely assessment of whether something is reportable, your assessment policy, notifying the BSR as soon as possible — and a full report within 10 calendar days of becoming aware.
The serial numbers of any compliance notices currently in force — those issued by the BSR to you as PAP, and those issued to any other accountable person for the building.
Confirmation that you — and any other accountable persons — are providing building information to the relevant individuals and organisations, including the information APs must share with the fire and rescue authority.
Description and basic information, risk assessment, the safety management system, emergency arrangements, the engagement strategy and the MOR system.
Compartmentation, the specific fire prevention and protective measures, and the fire-safety evidence in full.
Large Panel System buildings, current structural condition, and the arrangements for ongoing structural integrity.
STRAND assembles this entire picture from whatever exists — the scattered records, the old drawings, a basic survey — reconstructs what's missing to an evidence standard, and tells you, in plain English, exactly what remains before the pack is complete.
Not a template. A building-specific, evidenced safety case — the kind the Regulator is looking for, and the kind that is almost impossible to build by hand inside the window.
This page is a general, simplified summary of what a Building Assessment Certificate application involves under the Building Safety Act 2022 and current Building Safety Regulator guidance, correct to the best of our knowledge as at July 2026. Requirements, thresholds and timescales are set by the Regulator and may change — always work from the current official BSR/GOV.UK guidance and take advice specific to your building. This is information, not legal advice, and creates no professional relationship.