The UK's social housing sector is facing a crisis as thousands of tall buildings are still awaiting remediation to address life-critical fire safety defects. The latest figures from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) reveal that 1,977 high-rise properties require urgent attention due to external wall system defects, despite nearly all relevant buildings having undergone a fire risk assessment.
Of the 17,081 social housing buildings surveyed, 2,801 have been identified with life-critical fire safety defects since June 2017. However, only 995 – just over a third – have been fully remediated or are awaiting final assessment, sparking concerns about the pace of progress.
The RSH anticipates that 1,503 of these buildings will be remediated within the next five years, but this means thousands of tenants will continue to live in buildings with identified fire safety risks for several more years. The regulator is committed to ongoing monitoring and has urged social landlords to prioritise building safety.
Will Perry, Director of Strategy at the RSH, stressed that providing safe homes is a fundamental duty for all social housing landlords, with fire safety in multi-occupied buildings remaining a top priority. He highlighted the critical role of boards and councillors in ensuring legal obligations are met and risks are managed rigorously.
The regulator acknowledged the efforts made by some landlords but warned that continued progress is vital to tackle fire risks and remove unsafe cladding. The survey data covers 99.5% of landlords on the RSH register, including large Private Registered Providers and Local Authority Registered Providers which account for 97% of all social housing units.