BSR opens Part K review as government consults on EV charging rules

The Building Safety Regulator has opened a 10-week call for evidence on Part K of the Building Regulations, as ministers consult on changes to electric vehicle charging requirements under Part S of the same regulations.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) drew the four publications together in a building regulation update on 22 October. It said the Part K call for evidence closes on 28 December 2026, and that both EV charging consultations close on 16 December 2026.

The Part K review

Part K covers protection from falling, collision and impact in and around buildings, according to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The regulator said it has been more than 20 years since a substantial review of Part K and its statutory guidance, Approved Document K, took place.

The CLC said the call for evidence does not propose any policy changes. Its purpose, the council said, is to help the BSR build a stronger evidence base and identify priorities for future work, and the current requirements and guidance remain in place while the review is carried out.

The BSR said that once the evidence-gathering phase is complete it will analyse the responses alongside other research and evidence. Any future proposals to change the regulations or statutory guidance will go to further consultation, the regulator said. It is encouraging respondents to use its online survey.

Stair research

The CLC also flagged BSR research which it described as examining whether guidance on private stairs in dwellings may need to be strengthened.

Separately, a report produced for the BSR by Rise and Going Consultancy and published on GOV.UK on 14 October 2026 deals with general access and utility stairs.

That report considers how proposed changes to stair dimensions could affect safety and fall risk. Its executive summary says the findings support the option of improving Approved Document K guidance for general access stairs, and that increasing the minimum going from 250mm to 300mm would have a dramatic effect on the risk of a large overstep in descent.

The research says the change has the potential to reduce the risk of all falls on stairs by up to 80%, and would align the guidance with British Standard 5395-1:2010 for normal use stairs.

Research on domestic stairs, also by Rise and Going Consultancy, was published on 28 October 2025. The government said that work was commissioned to gather objective, evidence-based information on domestic stair design, and that its findings and recommendations do not represent government policy or guidance. It supports the BSR's statutory duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 to keep Approved Documents under review.

Part S and covered car parks

The Part S consultation was published on 21 October 2026 by the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), according to GOV.UK, and closes at 11:59pm on 16 December 2026.

Part S sets out the requirements for installing EV charging infrastructure in England and applies to all new buildings and those undergoing major renovations, the CLC said. Its charge point requirements do not apply to enclosed or open-sided car parks.

The government said Part S was introduced in 2021 and has supported the roll-out of charge points across the country. Under the current rules, where parking spaces are in covered car parks, cable routes rather than charge points must be installed. The government said it is now considering mandating charge point installation in new covered car parks.

The consultation also proposes reviewing the £3,600 cap on installation in light of inflation since 2021. The £3,600 figure is an average connection cost threshold per charge point, beyond which the requirement stops applying. Wider changes to Part S are proposed, subject to consultation responses.

On vehicle-to-everything (V2X) charging, the government said its view is that it is too early to mandate the technology.

Tenants and leaseholders

The second consultation, also from DfT and MHCLG, seeks views on an "ability to charge" to streamline landowner permissions for tenants and leaseholders wanting to install a charge point. The CLC said it closes on 16 December 2026.

The consultation proposes that tenants and leaseholders should have clear routes to request permission to install a charge point. It sets out two approaches. Under guidance alone, landlords and freeholders would be under no obligation to agree to installations. A legislative route would place requirements on freeholders and landlords to provide timely decisions.

Under the legislative option, the leaseholder or tenant would be responsible for arranging and paying for the up-front cost of the charge point. One proposed ground for refusal is where a request breaches an existing lease term or another statutory obligation. The proposal would cover residential leaseholders and tenants, including those on mixed tenure estates.

Both EV charging consultations close on 16 December 2026, with the Part K call for evidence following on 28 December 2026, according to the CLC.