15% of social housing with fire defects may not begin remediation for a decade, says regulator

The remediation of 285 social housing buildings with life-critical fire safety defects might not begin for more than a decade, the Regulator of Social Housing says in its latest quarterly survey published today. 

Almost all (99.9%) of the 17,391 relevant buildings reported have had fire-risk assessments, with life-critical fire safety (LCFS) defects relating to the external wall system identified in 1,897 (10.9%) cases.

This number is down from 1,920 in the previous quarter.

However, the report revealed that a significant number of buildings where defects have been identified will not be remediated until after 1 April 2035 or have a start date that was unclear at the time of survey.

A total of 285 buildings (15%) fall into this category, compared with 399 (22.1%) where work has already started, 345 (18.2%) on which work is due to commence by 30 September this year, and 842 (46.2%) where work is not due to begin in the next six months but will do so within five years.

With regards to the completion of work, 1,506 (77.2%) buildings are due to be completed in the next 10 years, with 344 (18.1%) expected to take more than a decade.

Will Perry, director of strategy at the RSH, said: “Boards and councillors have a responsibility to keep their tenants safe and remediate their buildings. We expect all landlords to take this responsibility with the utmost seriousness.

”They must continue to work at pace to address any fire safety risks in buildings, progressing permanent solutions and putting in place any necessary interim measures.  

“This quarterly survey is just one of the ways we monitor fire safety. We also look at how landlords ensure health and safety through our proactive inspections and other regulatory engagement, and we take action if there is an unacceptable risk to tenants.”