Fire safety in shared buildings

Keeping your buildings safe

If you are a customer living in a flat or apartment in a shared building, you may have noticed us carrying out some additional safety works recently. Here is some more information about what we’re doing and why.

Why we need to act

Following our merger in 2021, we carried out a review of building safety arrangements in all our properties and identified some gaps in our records. Between 2021 and 2023 we carried out additional surveys and checks to make sure that our property information was as up to date as possible.

During this same period additional legislation came into force. This included the new Building Safety Act and changes to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order which both came into effect in 2023.

As a result of the changes in legislation, and the additional checks we have carried out, we identified a programme of fire safety works which we are rolling out across a number of properties.

What we are doing

You may see more activity than usual taking place in your building, and we may need to access your property to carry out additional works. This could include:

Surveying and asset tagging fire doors

This will involve a small QR tag attached to the door. It allows surveyors to scan the code and obtain information about the door’s construction and fire resistance, as well as the date of its last inspection. If you see a QR tag on a door, please don’t remove it. It helps us keep you safe.

Fire door repairs and replacements

These are needed when a fire door is at the end of its useful life or where it does not function correctly. Works may include replacing smoke seals or glazing or checking closers to make sure that the door closes properly to prevent the spread of smoke.

Compartmentation surveys

Shared buildings are built into compartments to prevent the spread of fire. Where a fire breaks out, compartmentation helps to stop the fire from travelling into other parts of the building. We may carry out fire stopping works to ensure that any gaps (e.g. caused by pipework or cabling) do not allow fire to spread.

External wall surveys

We are building up a better picture of the external wall structures of our properties – this includes external structures (e.g. balconies and decorative panels), as well as insulation types and fire barriers. This is similar to the works described for compartmentation surveys – only for the outside of a property rather than the inside.

Fire equipment servicing and maintenance

You will notice that shared properties have a variety of different fire safety equipment, ranging from fire detectors and alarms to smoke ventilation systems and extinguishers. We carry out a rolling programme of checks and replacements.

When the work will be complete

Due to the amount of work that is required, this is taking us longer than our usual planned timescales and will run until the end of March 2026.

Regular works we carry out

These are some of the regular works we carry out. We, or our contractors, will contact you where we may require access to your property, or where works will be intrusive or disruptive. If we need to carry out more extensive works, we will also contact you to provide you with more information.

While these works are being carried out, we want to provide you with assurance that you remain safe in your property. These are the measures that we use to ensure this:

Fire risk assessments

Every shared property is assessed by an independent fire risk assessor as part of an ongoing programme. Depending on risk factors specific to your building (e.g. its height and use) this will be on a cycle of 1, 2 or 3 years. If the fire risk assessor requires additional safety measures to be taken following the risk assessment, we will ensure that these are put in place. You can obtain a copy of the fire risk assessment for your property by contacting us. We will also provide you with an up-to-date position regarding any outstanding actions listed.

Fire evacuation strategies

We review the evacuation strategy for your building and will ensure that it is appropriate. We will communicate the strategy to you as part of the tenancy sign up process and on site (using appropriate signage). You can find out the evacuation strategy and more fire safety information by entering the postcode for your building on the fire safety information page.

Additional mitigations

Sometimes we may need to take additional action which will be required by the fire risk assessor or the fire service to ensure your safety. This may include restrictions on site parking, a temporary change in evacuation strategy or additional checks, which we will complete.

How you can help

You can help us in keeping you safe by:

Telling us about you. If you have additional needs (e.g. you have a disability which may affect your ability to evacuate the building safely) please let us know by contacting us.
Keeping evacuation routes clear. Parking mobility scooters, buggies etc in shared areas can prevent people from leaving the building in an emergency.
Reporting any concerns or issues which affect fire safety so we can deal with them promptly by contacting us.

We would be grateful for your co-operation in providing access to our contractors.

Request information about your property

If you would like more information about your property or its fire safety arrangements, please contact us.