Health and safety professionals working with or on behalf of residential property management companies, leaseholders, or building owners must understand their rights and responsibilities. A common grey area for many concerns the safety issues found in communal areas of leasehold buildings.
Most information online is rife with misconceptions about who bears responsibility, what health and safety checks are required, and how service charges factor into compliance. The main takeaway is that proactive health and safety management in buildings, where occupants may have individual ownership of properties (such as flats or apartments), requires an understanding of regulatory frameworks and comprehensive knowledge.
With that in mind, let’s break down the common misconceptions and misunderstandings surrounding communal building safety.
Debunking Common Myths of Building Owner Rights and Responsibilities
One of the most persistent misconceptions about building safety (where there are communal areas present) is that responsibility is shared equally amongst all residents or leaseholders.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, responsibility typically lies with the designated ‘responsible person’. This is often the landlord, freeholder, managing agent, or Residents’ Management Company director.
The designated person isn’t the same across the board. However, it is usually the person who has the authority and financial capacity to implement necessary safety measures, should they be needed.
Another common misunderstanding relates to service charges, with many leaseholders assuming that paying service charges automatically ensures all safety requirements are met. According to commercial building surveyors Bradley Mason LLP, service charges also cover “building insurance, security, landscaping, cleaning of communal areas, and repairs to shared facilities.”
However, it’s still the appointed responsible person’s duty to uphold a quality of service in line with lease agreements, and landlords, for example, should be held to account if safety becomes a concern. They must justify and provide evidence that measures have been taken to ensure appropriate health and safety checks have been conducted that reflect the service charges for residents.
Understanding Building Safety Regulations
The Building Safety Act 2022 has fundamentally transformed how we approach building safety, particularly for higher-risk buildings.
Under this important piece of UK legislation, ‘accountable persons’ have specific duties for buildings over 18 metres high or seven storeys, managing fire and structural safety risks. This complements existing regulations that apply to all communal buildings, including the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Gas Safety Regulations 1998, and RIDDOR requirements, among others.
For health and safety professionals, it’s essential to understand that fire safety responsibilities go beyond routine, annual fire risk assessments. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, implemented following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, mandate quarterly fire door checks in high-rise buildings and require annual flat entrance door inspections.
Core Building Safety Assessments
| Safety Check | Frequency | Requirements | Relevant Legislation |
| Fire Risk Assessments | Purpose-built blocks <20 years, ≤3 storeys: Every 2 years (full assessment every 4 years)
Older buildings or >3 storeys: Annual reassessments (full assessment every 3 years) Extremely high risk: Annual full assessments |
Structure, external walls, flat entrance doors, fire doors, and evacuation routes | Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 |
| Communal Area Risk Assessments | Annual | All shared spaces (e.g., grounds, meter cupboards, stairwells, and entrance areas) | Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 |
| Electrical Safety Testing | Every 5 years minimum | Qualified engineer testing of all communal installations
CE marking for all contractor/visitor equipment |
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 |
| Legionella Risk Assessment | Annual | Expert assessment of all water systems in common areas
Written action plans where risks have been identified |
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 |
| Working at Height Assessments | As required for work activities | Proper planning, competent personnel, risk assessment, suitable equipment, maintenance protocols | Work at Height Regulations 2005 |
| Gas Safety Checks | Annual | Gas Safe registered engineer servicing of communal gas appliances | Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 |
Building Standards
Modern building safety validation requires a far more comprehensive outlook. The Building Safety Regulator now oversees higher-risk buildings, requiring registration and ongoing compliance demonstration. Safety validation involves multiple competent professionals from different safety disciplines conducting regular assessments, and using their insights to determine the best course of action.
Any appointed ‘responsible person(s)’ must maintain detailed records of all mandatory assessments, remedial works, maintenance activities, and incident reports to maintain a transparent audit trail. This documentation proves compliance and provides vital evidence should there be insurance claims or legal proceedings filed.
Local authorities, along with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) enforce communal building safety standards through inspection regimes. The risk of non-compliance can be severe, with these authorities able to impose improvement notices, prosecutions, and financial penalties on the ‘responsible person(s)’ who don’t take decisive action. For buildings deemed higher-risk, the Building Safety Regulator adds another enforcement layer with powers to issue compliance notices and even sanctions.
Recommendations for ‘Responsible Persons’
Given the complexity of communal building safety management, many ‘responsible persons’ engage expert property management companies or third-party health and safety consultants to ensure they are legally covered and compliant. This professional support is well worth the investment, proving particularly valuable as regulations continue to evolve, and where assessments and documentation are becoming more stringent.
Building health and safety issues require responsible persons to manage legal duties, budgets, and resources effectively. For health and safety professionals, understanding these intricacies enables more effective advice and support for responsible persons navigating their obligations.
The best way to navigate these complexities is to view them as more than simple ‘tick-box’ exercises and adopt a mentality where they are seen as systematic towards compliance and preserving resident safety, something which is a basic human right.
