High-Rise Building Safety - Resident Engagement Strategy
Do you live in a High Rise Block owned and managed by East End Homes? We would like your views.
As part of the Building Safety Act which came into law in April 2023, East End Homes as an owner of high rise buildings must prepare, apply and circulate to all affected residents a High Rise Residents Engagement Strategy.
The Building Safety Act was bought into law as a direct response to the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her 2018 review of fire safety and building regulations following the devastating Grenfell fire. The aim of the Strategy is to ensure that residents of high rise buildings are involved in decisions about safety and their building.
East End Homes has drafted a High Rise Residents Engagement Strategy (see below) and would like to have your views on the document via Email – firesafety@eastendhomes.net Telephone – 020 7517 0439.
Introduction
The Building Safety Act 2022 has been introduced after a government inquiry following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. The Act sets in place a new regulatory system for buildings of seven storeys or more or over 18 metres high. An independent Building Safety Regulator now supervises safety standards for high-rise buildings. The two major high-rise building risks defined in this Act are structural failure and spread of fire.
East End Homes is responsible for 16 occupied high-rise buildings and residents living in these will have a greater say in how they are kept safe. Residents will be able to contact a named member of staff about safety concerns. The Building Safety Act means that this nominated person is legally required to listen and respond to these concerns. If a resident is dissatisfied with the response it can then be raised with the independent Building Safety Regulator.
This strategy aims to ensure that residents living in East End Homes sixteen directly managed high-rise buildings –
- feel safe where they live.
- know who they can contact about building safety.
- understand both East End Homes and their responsibilities in relation to building safety.
- have a variety of methods to contact East End Homes about building safety.
- know how to complain about building safety if they believe their concerns are not being addressed.
- are aware of how they can become involved and influence building safety and other services delivered to their building.
- are aware of what to do if there is an incident in the building.
- feel confident to hold East End Homes to account about building safety at their building.
East End homes will ensure the continuing effectiveness of this strategy by reviewing it –
- every two years;
- following any incident that requires reporting to the Building Safety Regulator;
- after any major alteration to a high-rise residential building.
Information to be Provided to Residents
Information provided to residents will enable them to understand how they can become involved and influence how building safety is managed and how to locate or request information about the safety measures in place at their building from the nominated person.
East End Homes will publish building safety information on its website which will also be used to signpost residents to other information available such as from the Housing Ombudsman.
East End Homes will send every high-rise building tenant and leaseholder a copy of this strategy that will also be available on our website. The strategy will also be sent to all new tenants and leaseholders when they move into the building. The information will be provided in an easy-to-understand format. We will make reasonable adjustments for any residents who have additional needs, which can include large print or translation.
Information we will provide:
- Contact details for staff responsible for managing safety to your building.
- Measures in place to either prevent or reduce building safety risks.
- How residents can reduce risks in their home – for example not storing flammable materials, charging e-scooters.
- How and where to report building and fire safety concerns.
- How residents can let us know that they are unable to safely leave the building in an emergency.
- What residents should do if there is a fire in the building.
- Fire Risk Assessment for their building.
- Resident responsibilities.
- Where residents have a secondary means of escape, a diagram evacuation plan will be sent with the personalised letter.
- A fire safety information leaflet / poster will be distributed to all households and a version displayed on the building noticeboard.
- Residents will be consulted or informed about any planned works to their home or building that has a building safety impact.
Residents can request additional information from the named person and this will be made available whenever possible. Any additional information will be provided in line with East End Homes Data Protection Policy. East End Homes is unable to provide information where there is no permission to share the information or its release compromises safety at the building, other residents’ safety or privacy. East End Homes will within 20 working days either provide requested information, say when it can be provided or why it cannot be provided.
Building Safety Concerns
When a resident raises a building safety concern with us we will -
- acknowledge the concern within one working day and let the resident know which team is dealing with it.
- keep the resident regularly updated.
- respond to the concern in 10 working days or agree a date with the resident when the information can be provided.
If we receive an urgent concern where there is a risk to either the resident, their neighbours or the building we will act as soon as possible.
Complaints
Details of our complaints policy are available at -
How to make a complaint | EastendHomes
Completed forms can be returned to -
FREEPOST, EASTENDHOMES or by email to us at complaints@eastendhomes.net
Resident Responsibilities:
- Must not act in a way that creates a significant risk to building safety.
- Must not interfere with or damage a ‘relevant safety item’; This is defined as anything forming common parts that is intended to improve building safety.
- Must comply with the named person’s reasonable request for information required to enable fulfilment of their role.
- Will be made aware of the proportionate action that will be taken if their obligations for building safety are not met.
Consultation on Building Safety
The intention will be to consult with residents when decisions are relevant to them.
A Building Safety Panel will be set up comprising residents from high-rise buildings to assist with developing information provided and decisions taken.
This panel will:
- review building safety information and resident feedback quarterly;
- review safety related performance information against targets and standards.
A mandatory training session will be developed for residents who want to join the Building Safety Panel. There will also be training provided for panel members as required following a ‘gap analysis’.
Panel members will be supported by East End Homes Community Engagement Manager.
Panel members will have access to IT equipment to enable meeting attendance and information access. Where residents are not E-literate information will be provided in an accessible format.
Residents can also become involved with building safety through such methods as:
- joining building inspections;
- completing resident feedback / satisfaction surveys;
- attending meetings with staff involved in building safety;
- getting involved with Tenants and Resident Associations and Estate Management Boards;
- contacting local housing centres.
East End Homes will increase the opportunity for resident involvement by –
- using easy to understand language in all information to residents;
- identifying resident’s language or hearing and sight impaired communication preferences and needs through regular resident profiling;
- make information and documents available in convenient formats, through the application of our Interpretation, Translation and Communication Needs Policy;
- offer mutually agreed home visits for residents who have mobility or other requirements.
Developing Resident Engagement Plans for each of our buildings
We will work with residents living in each of our high-rise buildings to develop a specific plan for the building they live in.
These plans will include –
- How we will communicate with residents living in the building.
- Fire and building safety issues that we want residents views on
- How to raise building safety concerns.
- How to become involved and influence building safety management at the building.
- Information we will provide.
- How information will be provided.
- Any planned works at the building.
- Any safety initiatives at the building.
- Safety measures in place inside homes and the building communal areas.
- What residents should do if a there is a fire
- What residents should do if they feel they would not be able to safely leave the building in an emergency.
- Information required to keep the building safe.
Resident Consultation Effectiveness
The primary methods of measuring the effectiveness of high-rise resident consultation and involvement will be:
- resident satisfaction surveys, including a specific annual high-rise residents building safety survey;
- utilisation of support and resources made available;
- resident understanding of the methods available to them to both participate in and influence decisions made.
Resident Services Committee will set annual building safety Key Performance Indicators and monitor performance quarterly.
The annual resident involvement impact assessment will include information specific to high-rise building resident involvement.