Resident engagement requirements for higher-risk buildings

Why resident engagement matters

The Building Safety Act 2022 places residents at the heart of building safety management. As an Accountable Person for a higher-risk building, you have legal duties to engage with residents on safety matters, provide them with prescribed information, and respond to their concerns.

These requirements recognise that residents are key stakeholders in building safety. They live in the building, they can identify potential hazards, and they need accurate information to stay safe. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry highlighted that residents' concerns were often ignored before the tragedy - the Building Safety Act ensures this cannot happen again.

Failing to meet your resident engagement duties is a breach of the Building Safety Act. The Building Safety Regulator can take enforcement action, and residents can escalate complaints directly to the Regulator if you fail to respond appropriately.

Who these requirements apply to

Resident engagement duties apply to Accountable Persons for higher-risk buildings during the occupation phase. A higher-risk building is one that is:

• 18 metres or more in height, OR 7 or more storeys
• Contains 2 or more residential units

If there are multiple Accountable Persons for a building (for example, different parties responsible for different parts), the Principal Accountable Person has overall coordination responsibility, but all Accountable Persons must cooperate on resident engagement.

Your resident engagement strategy

You must develop and maintain a written residents' engagement strategy that explains how you will involve residents in building safety matters. This is not optional - it is a legal requirement under the Building Safety Act.

Your strategy must be proportionate to the size and complexity of your building and the profile of your residents. A large mixed-tenure building with hundreds of residents will need a more sophisticated approach than a small block.

What your strategy must cover

Your residents' engagement strategy should include:

• How you will communicate - the methods and channels you will use (letters, emails, notice boards, resident meetings, digital platforms)
• How often you will engage - regular updates, not just when problems arise
• How you will consult on safety decisions - giving residents meaningful opportunity to comment before you make significant safety decisions
• How you will handle requests for information - the process for residents to request building safety information
• Accessibility - how you will ensure all residents can engage, including those with disabilities, those who do not speak English as a first language, and those without digital access
• How you will promote the strategy - ensuring residents know the strategy exists and how to use it

You must keep your strategy under review and update it when circumstances change - for example, if the resident profile changes significantly or if your communication methods prove ineffective.

Information you must provide to residents

The Building Safety Act requires you to provide certain prescribed information to residents. You cannot wait to be asked - you must proactively provide this information.

Mandatory information

You must give residents the following information:

• Contact details - name and contact details of each Accountable Person and the Principal Accountable Person
• Evacuation strategy - clear explanation of the building's fire evacuation strategy (whether 'stay put', 'simultaneous evacuation', or 'phased evacuation')
• Fire safety information - what residents should do in the event of a fire, including means of escape routes
• Fire door guidance - the importance of keeping fire doors closed and not obstructing corridors or stairwells
• How to report concerns - clear process for residents to report safety concerns and complaints
• Residents' rights - information about residents' rights to request building safety information and to complain to the Building Safety Regulator

When to provide information

You must provide this information:

• To new residents when they move in
• To existing residents when the information changes significantly
• On an ongoing basis through accessible channels (such as notice boards, websites, or resident portals)

Responding to information requests

Residents have a legal right to request building safety information from you. You must respond to these requests as soon as reasonably practicable.

What residents can request

Residents can request access to:

• The building's fire risk assessment (or a summary)
• Your residents' engagement strategy
• Information about how safety risks are being managed
• Maintenance records for fire safety equipment
• Details of any safety concerns raised and actions taken

You can refuse requests that are unreasonable, vexatious, or would compromise security. However, you must document your reasons for any refusal.

Response timeframes

The statutory standard is to respond as soon as reasonably practicable - the law does not prescribe a fixed period. As good practice:

• Aim to respond within 28 days for straightforward requests
• Provide a reasonable explanation if you need more time
• If you refuse a request, explain why and tell the resident how to complain

Consulting residents on safety decisions

You must consult with residents when making significant decisions about building safety. This is not a tick-box exercise - you must genuinely consider residents' views before making your decision.

When to consult

You should consult residents when:

• Changing the building's evacuation strategy
• Making significant changes to fire safety systems
• Undertaking major building works that affect safety
• Changing how you manage building safety risks
• Updating your residents' engagement strategy

How to consult effectively

Effective consultation means:

• Giving residents adequate notice of proposed changes
• Providing clear information about what you are proposing and why
• Allowing reasonable time for residents to respond
• Genuinely considering the responses you receive
• Feeding back how residents' views influenced your decision

You do not have to do whatever residents ask - but you must be able to demonstrate that you took their views into account.

Handling complaints and concerns

You must have a clear complaints system for residents to raise safety concerns. This is a legal requirement - not having a complaints process is itself a breach of the Building Safety Act.

Your complaints procedure must

• Be easy to access and clearly publicised to all residents
• Allow complaints to be made in multiple ways (not just online)
• Include clear timeframes for acknowledgement and response
• Explain how to escalate if the resident is not satisfied
• Tell residents they can complain to the Building Safety Regulator if you fail to resolve their concern

Response timeframes

The law does not prescribe complaint-handling timescales, but as good practice you should:

• Acknowledge complaints within 5 working days
• Provide a substantive response within 20 working days
• For complex complaints, explain why you need more time and give a realistic deadline

Taking concerns seriously

Every safety concern raised by a resident must be assessed and recorded. Even if you conclude that no action is required, you must document your reasoning. The Building Safety Regulator can ask to see your complaints log and how you responded to concerns.

The BSR Residents' Panel

The Building Safety Regulator has established a Residents' Panel to ensure residents' voices are heard in the development and operation of the building safety regime.

The Panel advises the Regulator on:

• How the regime is working from a residents' perspective
• Guidance and communications aimed at residents
• Whether Accountable Persons are meeting their engagement duties

As an Accountable Person, you should be aware that residents have a direct channel to the Regulator through this Panel. If residents in your building are experiencing systemic problems with engagement, this may be raised at a national level.

Record-keeping requirements

You must keep records of your resident engagement activities. These records form part of the building's golden thread of information and must be available to the Building Safety Regulator on request.

What to record

• Your engagement strategy - the current version and any previous versions
• Communications sent - what information you provided to residents and when
• Consultations conducted - the issues consulted on, responses received, and how they influenced your decisions
• Information requests - requests received, how you responded, and any refusals with reasons
• Complaints log - all safety-related complaints, your investigation, and outcomes
• Meeting records - notes from resident meetings or forums where safety was discussed

Retention period

Keep resident engagement records for the entire period you are the Accountable Person for the building. If the Accountable Person changes, these records must be handed over as part of the golden thread information transfer.

Enforcement and penalties

Failing to meet your resident engagement duties can result in enforcement action by the Building Safety Regulator. This may include:

• Compliance notices - requiring you to take specific actions to remedy a breach
• Special measures orders - the Regulator applying to the First-tier Tribunal, which can make an order appointing a manager to take over your building safety duties
• Prosecution - for serious or persistent breaches

The Regulator takes resident engagement seriously. Buildings where residents are not properly engaged are more likely to have unidentified safety risks.