The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has released its latest findings on fire safety remediation in social housing buildings over 11 metres tall. The report highlights progress and ongoing challenges in addressing life-critical fire safety defects, particularly those related to external wall systems.

Survey Overview and Key Findings

The data, collected through the Fire Safety Remediation Survey for the third quarter of 2025/2026, covers information reported between 12 December 2025 and 22 January 2026, with a snapshot as of 31 December 2025. It encompasses 17,010 relevant social housing buildings of 11 metres or more in height.

Among these buildings, 1,924 were identified as having life-critical fire safety (LCFS) defects associated with their external wall systems. Encouragingly, over 99.5% of all relevant buildings have undergone a fire risk assessment, demonstrating widespread compliance with safety evaluation requirements.

Progress on Remediation

The survey reveals that 1,468 buildings, representing 76.3% of those with LCFS defects, are expected to be remediated within the next five years. Since June 2017, 2,723 buildings have been identified with LCFS defects, of which 970 (35.6%) have been remediated or have completed remediation and are awaiting a new building works assessment.

These figures indicate steady progress but also underscore the scale of work still required to ensure all high-rise social housing buildings meet fire safety standards.

Understanding Life-Critical Fire Safety Defects

Life-critical fire safety defects are defined as faults, shrinkages, or other failings in a building’s external wall construction that pose fire safety risks. These are identified through fire risk appraisals or assessments conducted to recognised industry standards. The majority of buildings (88.24%) reported have no outstanding or historic LCFS defects related to external wall systems since 14 June 2017.

Regulatory Oversight and Landlord Responsibilities

RSH emphasises its ongoing commitment to monitoring social landlords’ performance in remediating these defects. Will Perry, Director of Strategy at RSH, stated: “Landlords must act swiftly to address fire safety defects so tenants are, and feel, safe in their homes. We will continue to closely monitor progress, engage through our regulatory work, and follow up with any landlord whose plans or pace of remediation raise concerns.”

This reflects the regulator’s firm stance on ensuring that landlords prioritise fire safety remediation and maintain transparent, up-to-date records of their progress.

Data Considerations

RSH advises caution when interpreting changes in data over time, as fluctuations may result from variations in the number of reported buildings and their assessment statuses each quarter. Additionally, one local authority landlord, the London Borough of Brent, was unable to provide full information during this survey period due to an ongoing data review. Only their total number of relevant buildings was included, confirmed as accurate at the end of December 2025.

What this means for landlords

For landlords and managing agents of social housing, these findings highlight the critical importance of maintaining rigorous fire risk assessments and progressing remediation plans without delay. Given the regulator’s close monitoring and readiness to intervene where progress is insufficient, landlords must ensure they have clear, actionable strategies to address any identified defects.

Moreover, maintaining comprehensive and accurate data reporting is essential to demonstrate compliance and avoid regulatory scrutiny. The survey’s emphasis on external wall systems also serves as a reminder to prioritise inspections and remediation efforts in this area, which remains a significant source of fire safety risk.

Source: Based on reporting from the Regulator of Social Housing

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