Building and fire safety for council tenants and leaseholders

Tenants and leaseholders living in high-rise buildings

The Building Safety Act (2022) introduced new requirements for building owners to show they can identify and manage safety risks in ‘high-risk buildings’.

A high-risk building is defined as 18m or more in height OR 7 storeys or more and contains at least 2 flats. Under the Building Safety Act (2022) there are a range of new responsibilities for landlords, including:

  • registering and certification of each high-risk building including producing a single Building Safety Case report which combines all safety information specific to that building and plans to mitigate risks
  • creating and implementing a Resident Engagement Strategy for each registered high-risk building
  • establish and operate a system for the investigation of building safety complaints received from tenants, leaseholders, and household members in high-risk buildings

Ealing Council are responsible for 29 blocks that fall into the category of ‘high-risk building’ and have been registered with the Building Safety Regulator.

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting

Mandatory occurrence reporting requires named duty holders responsible for the safety of high-risk buildings to capture and report certain fire and structural safety issues, called 'safety occurrences', to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Safety occurrences are incidents or risks that could cause:

  • the death of a significant number of people
  • serious injury that needs immediate treatment in hospital for a significant number of people
  • a permanent or irreversible disabling condition to a significant number of people

Examples of a safety occurrence are:

  • defective building work that compromises the safety of the building
  • failure of fire safety systems or equipment
  • damage to the building's structure or cladding
  • fire or smoke spread within or outside the building
  • discovery of structural defects or degradation of construction materials
  • total or partial collapse of the building

You can report a safety occurrence to us by:

Telephone: 0800 181 744
Email: buildingsafety@ealing.gov.uk

Read our mandatory occurrence reporting policy.