As a landlord we have to carry out new legal duties, put in place by the government, to keep customers who live in tall buildings safe. Below we’ve explained more about what the new legislation, which was put in place as part of the Building Safety Act 2022, means for customers who live in buildings over 7 storeys and over 18m in height.
As part of these new legal measures, we’ve registered each of our tall buildings and submitted a tailored Safety Case Report, with the Building Safety Regulator – which was set up by the government to oversee the safety of tall buildings.
What is a Building Safety Case Report?
The report identifies the safety risks for each of our tall buildings and explains how they are being managed. It also includes important information about the building such as its floor plans, details of relevant inspections and surveys, fire escape routes and the materials used in construction.
To create a Safety Case Report, we need to carry out surveys of the building, so we have a record of its structure. We also carry out regular fire safety assessments by an accredited fire safety professional.
These look at:
- How likely a fire is to start.
- What the consequences would be if a fire did start.
- What needs to be done in the building to minimise the risk of a fire starting or spreading. This includes our Fire Door Inspection programme, where we carry out quarterly fire door inspections in communal areas and annual checks on flat entrance doors for buildings over 11m.
Read more about fire risk assessments.
Who is responsible for paying for these new requirements?
Unlike remediation work, the costs associated with carrying out the requirements of the Building Safety Regulator, are paid for through service charges. If you are a homeowner living in a tall building, these will be clearly set out in your service charge estimates for 2024/25 under a new heading called ‘Building Safety’.
Further information
Visit our dedicated Money Matters page for more information on your rent and service charges and how we can support you with increases to the cost of living.