RSH survey shows 11% of reported blocks have ‘life-critical’ fire safety defects in external walls

The social housing regulator has revealed that 11% of the buildings reported to it had major external wall defects related to fire safety.

A total of 17,146 relevant buildings were reported in the Regulator of Social Housing’s (RSH) latest survey of the fire safety of social housing sector buildings taller than 11 metres.

Of these, 1,926 were identified as having a life-critical fire safety defect relating to the external wall system.

The data was reported in the RSH’s Q1 2025/2026 survey, which ran from 23 June 2025 to 21 July 2025, with data being reported as of 30 June 2025.   

According to the report, more than 99.9% of relevant reported buildings have had a fire risk assessment carried out.

The survey found that 1,365 (71%) of the buildings identified to have major defects are expected to be remediated within the next five years.

Since the Grenfell Tower disaster in June 2017, a total of 2,672 buildings have been identified as having life critical fire safety defects. But 906 of these have been remediated or are completed and awaiting to be reassessed.

Will Perry, director of strategy at RSH, said: “All social landlords must ensure that tenants are safe in their homes. 

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

“They need to identify risks, remediate relevant buildings at pace, and protect tenants while the work is carried out. To do this, landlords need to have robust, up-to-date information about fire safety. 

“We continue to use a range of regulatory tools to drive landlords to address fire safety issues and protect tenants.”