RSH Fire Safety Remediation Report Highlights UK Compliance Challenges
The Regulator of Social Housing has published its latest fire safety remediation report, revealing 1,920 social housing buildings carry life-critical external wall system defects, with only 24.6% of all identified buildings remediated since tracking began in 2017.
INFIRISK Team·3 min read·
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has published its latest fire safety remediation report, based on data collected to 31 December 2024. The findings offer a detailed picture of where the UK's social housing sector stands in its effort to address life-critical fire safety defects, and present important lessons for building owners, facilities managers, and responsible persons across the industry.
Scale of the Remediation Challenge
The RSH gathered data from 17,299 relevant buildings, defined as those 11 metres and above in height, across England. Of these, 1,920 buildings, representing 11.1% of the total, were identified as having at least one life-critical fire safety (LCFS) defect relating to their external wall system (EWS). A total of 434 registered providers, making up 29% of all respondents, reported managing at least one relevant building with such defects. The report confirmed that 99.9% of all relevant buildings have had a fire risk assessment completed, a positive baseline that nonetheless underscores the significant remediation work still outstanding.
Remediation Progress: Slow but Steady
Since tracking began in June 2017, the RSH has identified 2,545 buildings across the social housing sector with LCFS defects. Of those, 625 buildings, or 24.6%, have been fully remediated, with a further 123 completing works and awaiting a new building works assessment at the time of the survey. Looking ahead, the report found that 73.6% of currently affected buildings are expected to complete remediation within the next five years. However, 406 buildings, representing 21.1% of those with defects, had completion timelines extending beyond ten years or had no clear timeline at all, a figure the RSH described as requiring continued attention from the regulator and from landlords alike.
Challenges Affecting Remediation Timelines
Landlords responding to the survey cited several factors as contributing to delayed completion, including navigating complex legal arrangements with freeholders and developers, difficulties in sourcing qualified contractors, and supply chain constraints affecting the availability of specialist materials and components. The RSH has been unequivocal that these operational pressures do not diminish the legal obligation on landlords to protect their residents. As Will Perry, RSH Director of Strategy, stated in the report: "Tenants' health and safety is non-negotiable and we have a number of tools at our disposal" to ensure landlords fulfil their fire safety obligations.
For responsible persons managing buildings across the social housing sector and beyond, this report reinforces key obligations under the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. Buildings with EWS defects require active management, including interim fire safety measures such as waking watches, improved detection systems, and updated evacuation procedures, while permanent remediation is progressed. The RSH data also signals that the regulator is actively monitoring compliance and retains enforcement tools where progress falls short of expected standards.
Practical Takeaways for UK Fire Safety Professionals
If you manage a building 11 metres or above, confirm whether an EWS assessment has been completed and that your fire risk assessment accurately reflects the current condition of the external wall system.
Where LCFS defects have been identified, ensure interim fire safety measures are documented, proportionate, and regularly reviewed while permanent remediation is progressed.
Engage your freeholder, developer, or the Building Safety Fund to explore available remediation funding, as costs may be recoverable rather than falling to residents or managing agents.
Review your remediation timeline and ensure it is realistic, clearly documented, and communicated to residents. The RSH flags buildings without a clear completion date as a continuing concern.
Ensure all fire safety documentation, evacuation plans, and waking watch arrangements comply with the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and are subject to regular review.
