High-rise building safety: your rights as a tenant

The Building Safety Act 2022 brought in big new protections for people who live in tall buildings. It came after the Grenfell Tower fire. If you live in a high-rise block, you have rights. These cover safety, information, and who is to blame if things go wrong. This article explains the main protections. It also tells you what to do if you are worried.

What buildings are covered?

The Building Safety Act 2022 sets up different rules for different buildings:

Higher-risk buildings (HRBs): these are buildings 18 metres or more tall (about 7 floors or more). They must have at least two homes in them. They have the strictest rules under the Act. They are watched over by the Building Safety Regulator.

Buildings 11–18 metres: some rules apply to these buildings too. This is mainly about fire safety and the cost of fixing problems.

Other buildings: the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 still apply to all blocks with more than one home. These cover outside wall systems, shared parts, and how fire safety is managed.

Who is the "accountable person"?

For higher-risk buildings, the Act sets up the role of the accountable person. This is the person or body in charge of keeping the building safe. It is usually the building owner (freeholder), the management company, or the registered provider. Accountable persons must:

• Register higher-risk buildings with the Building Safety Regulator
• Check and manage building safety risks
• Keep a safety case for the building
• Talk to residents about safety
• Appoint a "principal accountable person" where there is more than one accountable person

What rights do residents have?

Information rights: if you live in a higher-risk building, you have the right to:

• Ask for safety information about the building
• Ask for information about the safety case
• Get information about plans to fix problems (if the building has cladding or other safety issues)

Residents' panel: accountable persons must set up a way to talk to residents. They must let residents raise safety worries.

The Building Safety Regulator: this new body watches over higher-risk buildings. You can contact it if you think the accountable person is not doing their job. The regulator can take action to make them.

Cladding and remediation

Your building may have dangerous cladding. This includes ACM cladding, the kind that was on Grenfell Tower. It may have other fire safety faults. If so, the problems must be fixed. Here are the main protections:

• Leaseholders in buildings over 11 metres are protected from being charged for some of the cost of fixing things. The Building Safety Act 2022 strictly limits when leaseholders can be made to pay for past building safety faults.
• Qualifying leaseholders have the most protection. These are people who lived in the building as their main home when the Act started. They also include people who owned no more than two other homes in the UK.
• Landlords and building owners who are to blame for the faulty building work cannot, in many cases, pass the cost of fixing it to qualifying leaseholders.

What if the building is unsafe?

If you think your building has a serious fire safety fault:

1. Report it to the accountable person in writing. By law, they must reply and must manage the risk.
2. Report it to the local fire and rescue service. They can check the building and take action under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
3. Contact the Building Safety Regulator for higher-risk buildings. They can look into it and take action against accountable persons who fail.
4. Get legal advice if you are a leaseholder or tenant. This is for if you are being charged to fix faults, or living in an unsafe building that has not been fixed.

What about EWS1 forms and mortgage issues?

Some leaseholders have found it hard to sell or remortgage flats in buildings that need fire safety work. This is because mortgage lenders want an EWS1 (External Wall System) form. This form confirms the building has been checked. If this affects you, the work and checks are going ahead for many buildings. The government has schemes to help. Get advice from a solicitor who knows about leasehold matters.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

We help tenants with housing disrepair claims. Your flat in a high-rise block may have disrepair, such as damp, broken heating, or problems with the structure. If so, call us. Your right to claim for disrepair is the same in a high-rise block as in a low-rise home.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Building Safety Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)