As of July 2024, there were 4,049 registered building inspectors across England and Wales, according to the Building Safety Regulator. That represents the entire national pool of professionals registered to carry out building control work, rather than the number available in any one region.

For a sector facing increasing regulatory requirements and changing project demands, access to specialist building control expertise is becoming an increasingly important consideration for developers, consultancies and local authorities.

And the pressure isn’t limited to one part of the country.

The demand is changing

For much of the last decade, London was a major centre for high-rise and Higher-Risk Building activity. It had a large concentration of projects, clients and building control professionals, creating a relatively concentrated market for specialist expertise.

That picture has started to change.

In 2024, new home registrations fell by 48% in London, while registrations increased across several regional markets, including the North West and Merseyside, the West Midlands and Scotland, according to NHBC’s regional housebuilding data.

The market has continued to move since then. UK-wide new home registrations increased by 11% in 2025, reaching 115,350 homes.

The picture is therefore more nuanced than simply saying demand has moved away from London. Construction activity continues to evolve across different regions and sectors, while the pool of suitably registered building control professionals remains limited.

The demand is moving. The specialist capacity is still limited.

A shortage within the shortage

Not every registered building inspector can work across every type of project.

The Building Safety Regulator currently recognises four registration classes for individual building inspectors, covering different levels of responsibility and competence. The Building Inspector Competence Framework sets out the standards and competencies required for each class.

For projects involving more complex buildings and work, the relevant registration class and scope of competence become particularly important.

That makes the available talent pool much narrower than the headline number of registered inspectors suggests.

A project may need a professional with a specific registration, competency and level of experience. Finding someone who meets all three requirements, and is available when the project needs them, can be considerably more difficult than simply finding a building control professional.

Why contractors are becoming increasingly important

The challenge for employers isn’t always a lack of building control professionals in absolute terms. It is often a lack of available professionals with the right registration, competency and experience at the right time.

That distinction matters.

A project may need additional building control expertise for a defined period, a particular stage of development or a specific competency. Maintaining every specialist capability within a permanent team isn’t always practical.

This is where contractors can provide valuable flexibility.

Rather than committing to additional permanent headcount, organisations can bring in specialist building control contractors when additional capacity or expertise is required.

This can be particularly valuable when:

• A project requires specialist registration or competency
• An existing team is at capacity
• Additional resource is needed for a defined project period
• The required expertise isn’t available locally
• Multiple projects are progressing at the same time
• A project needs to move quickly and additional capacity is required

The contractor market isn’t simply a solution for filling vacancies.

It provides access to specialist capacity when permanent resources aren’t enough.

Gateway 2 is adding to the pressure

The introduction of the Building Safety Regulator’s building control approval process has created another important consideration for projects involving Higher-Risk Buildings.

Recent BSR data shows the scale of the workload. As of 28 June 2026, there were 1,505 live building control applications in the BSR’s system, with 368 Gateway 2 decisions made during the preceding 12 weeks. Latest Building Control Approval Application Data.

The data also shows that 57% of Gateway 2 decisions during that period related to London cases, demonstrating that the capital remains a significant part of the Higher-Risk Building pipeline.

For organisations working against project deadlines, having access to the right building control expertise at the right stage can therefore be critical.

Waiting until additional resource is urgently required can leave very little room to find it.

Engaging specialist contractors earlier gives project teams greater flexibility to plan around upcoming requirements, rather than reacting once a capacity gap has already started affecting delivery.

Geography is becoming less important

The national nature of the talent pool also changes how organisations need to approach contractor searches.

If the right registered inspector isn’t available in the local market, restricting the search geographically can significantly reduce the number of suitable professionals available.

A wider contractor network gives organisations access to professionals who may be willing to travel, work on a hybrid basis or take on projects outside their usual location.

For contractors, this works both ways.

As demand becomes more geographically distributed, opportunities aren’t necessarily concentrated around the traditional centres of building control activity. Specialist professionals can increasingly consider projects based on their competency, experience and preferred working arrangements rather than simply their location.

What this means for employers

For developers, consultancies and local authorities, the building control challenge is increasingly about access to capacity.

Organisations that understand their future resource requirements and have access to the specialist contractor market before they reach a critical point are better placed to respond when demand increases.

That means understanding:

• Which competencies a project will require
• When additional resource will be needed
• Where the relevant contractors are based
• What working arrangements they will consider
• How quickly they can become available

The earlier those questions are considered, the more options there are likely to be.

What this means for contractors

For registered building control professionals, the changing market presents opportunities across a wider range of projects and locations.

Specialist registration, competency, project experience and availability all influence where a contractor can add value.

Understanding where demand is increasing can help contractors make more informed decisions about which projects to pursue and where their expertise is most valuable.

How we’ve been helping

This is where a specialist contractor network makes a difference.

We understand that finding a building control contractor isn’t simply about matching a job title to a unvetted CV. The right professional needs the appropriate registration, competency, project experience and availability for the work involved.

We’ve been helping clients understand what a project actually requires, identify where that specialist expertise sits within the market and connect organisations with contractors who can add value when they are needed.

• For employers, that means access to a wider pool of specialist building control contractors.
• For contractors, it means access to projects where their particular expertise is in demand.

As the UK construction pipeline continues to evolve, access to specialist building control capacity will remain an important part of keeping projects moving:

“I’ve been speaking with building control managers this month, looking more critically at their hiring plans and processes – an important thing that’s been noticed from both sides is ensuring I’m well aware of their project pipeline so I can bring the right candidates to them at the right time, considering just how tight the talent market is at the moment. Future mapping has been vital!”

Lauren Porteous, Building Control Executive Consultant – Manchester, UK

The question isn’t simply whether the talent exists.

It’s whether you can access the right expertise when you need it.

We’re here to help

• • If you’re a manager needing assistance with your current or future hiring needs, contact us to be put in touch with a market expert.
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