Complain about a building safety risk in a high-rise building
How residents can complain about a building safety risk, or the performance of an accountable person or principal accountable person.
Applies to England
Accountable persons and the principal accountable persons are responsible for:
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the repair and maintenance of the common parts of a high-rise residential building
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managing building safety risks which involve the spread of fire or structural failure
A high-rise residential building has at least:
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7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high
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2 residential units
The building must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) before people live there. These buildings are known as higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022.
How residents keep their building safe
You are a resident if you are over 16 years of age, and you live in or own a residential unit.
As a resident you can:
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complain about building safety risks, or the performance of an accountable person or principal accountable person
What you can raise concerns about
Your concerns may be about the performance of an accountable person or principal accountable person. For example:
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their communications to residents
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responses to raised concerns
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how they manage building safety risks
You can also raise concerns about building safety risks, which are structural safety issues and spread of fire issues. For example:
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flammable cladding on the outside of a building
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fire doors or smoke extraction which are not working or missing that may increase the risk of fire spread
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failure of the building’s structure, such as parts of the building collapsing,
cracks, or parts of the building falling off
These are known as relevant complaints.
Make a complaint
You can raise issues to the principal accountable person for your building. They must display their name and contact details clearly in the building.
You should follow the principal accountable person’s complaint process for the building.
Accountable persons must tell residents how to make a complaint. They should tell you:
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what a relevant complaint is
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when to expect a response and what those responses will cover
They must give you easy to follow information about all the stages of the complaints process. You can ask for a copy of the complaints process for your building from your accountable person.
The complaints process should be available in different formats, for example large text, easy read, braille, or audio. If you need the complaints process in a different language or in alternative format, you should ask an accountable person if they can provide it.
If necessary, you can appoint a representative to raise your concerns for you.
You can refer a complaint to BSR if you:
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cannot make a complaint
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feel unable to raise your concerns
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are not satisfied with your response from the principal accountable person
After making a complaint
When the principal accountable person receives your complaint, they must:
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confirm that they received it
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tell you if they accept or reject the issues raised as a relevant complaint
If they accept it, the principal accountable person must investigate the complaint. They’ll need to:
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provide you with a date when they expect to respond to you
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tell you the actions they have taken
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update you with a timeline for any remaining issues
If they reject a complaint, they should give you the reasons why.
Challenge a response
If you’re not satisfied with the final response or your complaint gets rejected, you can challenge it. The principal accountable person should provide you with details on how this can be done in the final response to you.
Refer a complaint to the Building Safety Regulator
When you:
- are not satisfied with the final response
- have unresolved issues
- have not got a response
You can contact BSR.
Documents you need to provide
If you refer your complaint to the Building Safety Regulator, it’s helpful if you can provide:
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a copy of the final response from the principal accountable person or accountable person
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photos or video recordings of the issue
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emails, letters, and any documents about the issue
You should provide any information you have about actions that the principal accountable person or accountable person are going to take or have already taken.
After you refer a complaint to BSR
When you raise an issue to BSR, they will decide if it’s a relevant complaint. If the issues are not for BSR to investigate, they will suggest you contact another regulator or organisation. Where possible, they will give you contact details.
BSR may speak to the principal accountable person and accountable persons to offer advice on how to resolve the issue. When necessary, BSR will investigate and assess if any other action must be taken.
Disclosure
BSR will not disclose any personal details without your consent. If BSR needs to disclose personal information to carry out an investigation, we will contact you first to let you know.
Updates to this page
Last updated 7 October 2024 + show all updates
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Information added about how residents can keep their building safe with a link provided to detailed guidance
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First published.