The UK’s Proposed Overhaul of Construction Product Rules

The pace of reform in building safety has continued in the UK, with recent proposals dealing with construction product reform. Enhanced powers provided to the regulator are an indication of the direction of the reform proposals, which are targeted at ensuring product compliance.

The UK landscape has been shaped by a response to the 14 June 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire – leading to legislative changes and a public inquiry (“Grenfell Tower Inquiry”).

A key recommendation of that inquiry has been progressed by the UK Government through the Construction Products White Paper – a policy document, issued by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, that provides details of the Government’s proposals for regulating construction products in the UK. The policy document, open for comments from February to May 2026, is a key section of the UK Government’s response to the Grenfell disaster.

The existing construction product regime received criticism within the findings of the inquiry, specifically for failing to prevent unsafe cladding material from entering the construction market within the UK. As with other jurisdictions, steps have been taken to remove unsafe construction materials from the market although a wholescale revised regulatory regime has not yet been implemented in the UK.

Background

The UK system for regulation has been governed by statute and building regulations, as well as through certification processes supported by bodies that undertake testing and analysis of construction products.  That system’s lack of coherence was found by the Grenfell Inquiry to have contributed to the disaster.

The UK’s construction product regime (post-Grenfell) relies upon several major pieces of legislation and secondary legislation derived (in part) from pre-Brexit EU legislation:

• The Construction Product Regulations 2011;
• The Construction Product Regulations 2013;
• Building Regulations 2010;
• The General Product Safety Regulations 2005;
• The Building Act 1984;
• Building Safety Act 2022 (the most recent ‘stand-alone’ piece of legislation making allowance for the regulation of construction product post-Grenfell).

The basis of the scheme for regulation relies upon the 2011 Regulations that provide for a series of actions and designated product standards.

The bodies established through the regulations and legislation are the British Standard Institute, Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), the UK Accreditation Service and the national construction product regulator. In accordance with the Building Act 1984, the Building Regulations 2010 (as updated) make provision for the regulation of materials that are incorporated within buildings, including via the regulation of construction methodologies through approved processes.

The regime is complex and, as the Grenfell Inquiry Report made plain, liable to produce unnecessary blind spots in enforcement and application.

The Proposals

The proposals, informed by the Inquiry Report and responses to a consultation paper issued in January 2026, have the objective of providing a clearer, more consistent approach to product regulation. That approach also considers the latest EU product regulations. The regime dictates that all products will be subject to regulation either through designated standards or through a general safety regime. A third category of standard is proposed for products that are considered safety critical and which will be subject to further regulation.

The proposals rely heavily upon the role of the construction product regulator with key points including:

• The ambition to:
  • See products that are systems, including incorporated features, fall within the regime.
  • Allow the regulator to collect and process information from sources to ensure that risks are monitored.
  • Ensure third party certification schemes are vetted.
  • Apply additional quality requirements beyond those found in certified schemes.
  • Provide the regulator with powers to determine products that are safety critical.
  • Provide the regulator with powers to investigate performance claims in product information.
  • Establish an oversight board to monitor UKAS’s performance.
  • Provide guidance to explain issues associated with the general safety requirement.

The central developments in the scheme are aimed at the certification of standards and processes. That means that the regulator plays a more central role in oversight of materials, including those not subject to designated standards, as well as ensuring the effective operation of the testing bodies (CABs) and UKAS’s operation. The legislation will be introduced in stages and a transition period allowed for in the period prior to the legislation being put into force.

Summary – Consultation

The are areas of improvement and note for interested parties – construction industry bodies and manufacturers as well as insurers- which will be clarified once final Government proposals are introduced.

Of particular note for industry are: scrutiny now applied to UKAS and CABs including the proposed power and ability of the regulator to impose higher applicable standards, the proposal that all elements of products fall within the applicability of the regulations and the introduction of a new general standard for products that do not fall within designated standards.

How this affects attitudes towards risk adopted by manufacturers and relevant organisations will be clear once the legislation is produced in final form.