Landlords invited to inform government’s building safety review

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) opened a call for evidence, inviting landlords, building owners and managers to share practical experience of stairs, handrails, guarding, windows and glazing.

The exercise concerns Part K of the Building Regulations and its accompanying guidance, Approved Document K, covering protection from falling, collision and impact.

For landlords, it offers an opportunity to explain where guidance is difficult to interpret and provide evidence of problems encountered when managing homes.

Ministers have said the responses will help establish whether further changes are justified.

Existing requirements remain in place

The regulator is gathering evidence, rather than proposing new policy.

Current requirements and guidance remain in place, and any future proposals to change the regulations or statutory guidance would undergo further consultation.

That distinction matters when considering what the announcement means for an existing property.

It does not announce a new duty to replace stairs or carry out alterations across all homes let to tenants. Equally, the review provides no exemption from existing responsibilities.

An identified hazard needs appropriate attention on its own merits. A loose handrail or damaged guarding should not be left unresolved while a landlord waits to see what a future review might recommend.

What landlords could contribute

Owners and managing agents considering a response could start with records they already hold. A useful evidence pack might include:

• Anonymised incident records: What was reported, when it happened, the feature involved and any action taken. Distinguish witnessed events from accounts supplied by others.
• Inspection findings: Dated observations, recurring concerns and records of subsequent repairs or investigations.
• Photographs: Clearly labelled images showing the issue and its surroundings, with personal information removed.
• Examples of unclear guidance: The relevant passage, the question it raised and why clarification would have helped.

These are practical suggestions for organising a response, rather than a prescribed submission checklist.

Specific examples are likely to explain a problem more clearly than a general statement that guidance is confusing.

Where two advisers have interpreted a passage differently, for instance, a landlord could set out the question and the differing interpretations without claiming either is correct.

Photographs and inspection notes should also be kept separate from conclusions about compliance.

Any technical statement about a design, the cause of an incident or whether a feature meets requirements should receive appropriate technical review before submission.

An opportunity to explain everyday problems

The BSR wants evidence about where the existing framework works well, alongside areas needing clarification or further consideration. It is seeking experiences from people who manage buildings as well as those who design, construct and use them.

For Property118 readers, that creates scope to describe the practical questions arising in houses, converted properties and shared areas, without assuming that a difficulty at one address establishes a wider design problem.

Property118 has also explored the broader subject in The Building Safety Act and the smaller landlord.

The call for evidence opened on 19 October and closes on 28 December.