Preparing a safety case report
What a principal accountable person must do to prepare, submit and update a safety case report for a high-rise residential building
Applies to England
The purpose of a safety case report
The safety case report summarises the safety case for a high-rise residential building. It identifies building safety risks and explains how they are being managed.
Building safety risks are the risk of:
- the spread of fire in the building
- structural failure of the building
High-rise residential buildings
A high-rise residential building has at least:
- 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high
- 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.
When to prepare and submit the report
As the principal accountable person (PAP), you should prepare the safety case report as soon as possible when:
- the building is already occupied or becomes occupied
- you become the PAP
Building assessment certificate
You must submit a copy of your safety case report when BSR tells you to apply for a building assessment certificate.
Your report must contain
Registration number
Provide the building’s registration number. It begins with ‘HRB’ and is quoted when BSR contacts you.
Building description
Your report should include:
- the name of the building and its full postal address
- a photograph or map of the building’s location
If your building is part of a wider development, provide a brief description of it and:
- any shared facilities
- the nearby area including other buildings and transport routes
Risk assessments summary
Describe the building safety risks for the whole building and the incidents they could cause. Do this by using the risk assessments carried out by each accountable person (AP).
For each building safety risk, describe each incident it could cause, and:
- how likely it is the incident could happen
- how it might get worse if it does happen
- what the consequences could be
Managing risks summary
You should:
- describe what each AP is doing to manage building safety risks
- explain how each AP is taking all reasonable steps to manage building safety risks
Safety management system
Provide a summary of the building’s safety management systems. Do this by using relevant information from each AP.
Your summary should include a general overview of the safety management systems in place. It must also include how safety measures are being tested and maintained.
Your summary must describe the policies and procedures in place to manage building work and other changes, which includes how APs check:
- the designers and contractors appointed are competent to do the work
- the quality of the materials used are up to standard
- building safety risks are being managed while the work is being done
Planning for emergencies
Provide a summary of the building’s emergency plans. Do this by using relevant information from each AP.
Your summary should include a general overview of the emergency plans for the whole building. It must also include:
- a description of the equipment in place to assist emergency services such as, dry risers, wet risers and smoke control systems
- details of the information given to fire and rescue authorities to help them plan for emergencies
- how you expect residents to respond in an emergency, such as the evacuation strategy they should follow
Building work
If building work is in progress, or is planned to take place, your report should include:
- a description of the work
- when the work is expected to be completed
- the steps taken to manage building safety risks until the work is complete
Updating your safety case report
You should update your safety case report, for example, when:
- improvement work is carried out to manage building safety risks
- work on the building impacts building safety risks
Tell BSR when you update your safety case report
You must tell BSR as soon as possible if you update your safety case report to include:
- new or increased building safety risks that have been identified
- further measures taken to manage risks
BSR will ask you for:
- the date the update to the safety case report was made
- a brief description of the update
- the reason for making the update
BSR may ask you to provide the updated safety case report. There is a charge you will need to pay if BSR decides to review the updated safety case report. This is set out in the BSR charging scheme (on hse.gov.uk).
Updates to this page
Last updated 18 September 2024 + show all updates
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The information in the 'Your report must contain' section has been updated. General readability improvements have also been made to all sections.
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Information added about telling BSR if you've updated your safety case report.
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First published.