Building Safety and Quality
This theme looks at how we meet our legal responsibilities to keep customers safe and make sure our homes and buildings are secure, well maintained and fit for the future.
Keeping customers safe remains one of our highest priorities
During 2025/26, we continued to invest in building and fire safety. We also strengthened how we manage risk and respond to changing requirements. This included preparing Building Safety Cases for our high-rise buildings, introducing a Mandatory Occurrence Reporting system under the Building Safety Act, and progressing our Building Safety Remediation Programme. We regularly review our approach to make sure it remains effective and meets current requirements, supported by strong working relationships with relevant Fire and Rescue Services.
Customer engagement and emergency planning
Customer engagement is central to our approach. Customers living in apartment buildings receive clear information about evacuation procedures and regular safety updates. We have also worked closely with customers in high-rise buildings over 18 metres to develop tailored Building Safety Engagement Plans. These plans help customers understand key safety information and give them opportunities to influence decisions about their homes. Customer input ensures the individual engagement strategies reflect the needs of customers living in the high-rise buildings.
We introduced Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for customers who may need extra support in an emergency. This helps us understand individual needs and put the right arrangements in place where needed.
Building safety and remediation
A major focus has been our Building Safety Remediation Programme. This is a significant programme covering high and mid-rise buildings across our portfolio. During the year, we completed investigations across affected buildings and secured funding approval for every eligible building submitted through the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme.
We also made strong progress in preparing buildings for remedial work. This included technical investigations, design work, regulatory approvals and customer engagement. Several priority schemes are now in the final stages before construction starts, which is an important step in improving the safety and performance of these buildings.
We know this work may cause disruption for customers while it takes place. We will keep people updated, explain what is happening and provide support where needed. Over time, the programme will mean safer homes, better building performance and greater reassurance for customers.
Compliance and safety checks
Alongside remediation work, we continue to carry out fire, gas, electrical, lift, asbestos and water safety checks. We have also focused on reducing outstanding fire safety actions identified through fire risk assessments. This helps reduce risk across our buildings and strengthens compliance.
Our approach is supported by long-term investment in our homes, funding from the Government’s Cladding Safety Scheme and, where appropriate, contributions from developers. We continue to improve how we manage building safety information and monitor risks, so we can meet our responsibilities as requirements change.
Together, this work shows our commitment to keeping customers safe, managing risk responsibly and maintaining good-quality homes that are safe, secure and fit for the future.
Building safety at a glance
Our work on building safety is reflected in the following key headlines:
Customers living in buildings over 11 metres owned by Great Places
- 1,942 customers
- 1,329 homes
- 22 buildings
Safety and quality performance
Damp, mould and living conditions
We have continued to improve the quality of our existing homes, with a strong focus on tackling damp, mould and condensation issues. Alongside inspections, repairs and practical advice for customers, we introduced new reporting and triage arrangements in October 2025 to deliver in line with Awaab’s Law. This includes clear information on response times, updated Living Conditions guidance and support from trained colleagues in the Customer Hub, so risks are assessed consistently and cases are acted on quickly.
As well as prevention, we respond to individual cases with solutions based on each home. This includes improving ventilation, fixing leaks and improving insulation. During the year, we strengthened how we manage complex repairs by giving customer-facing teams more training, improving call handling and appointment processes, and helping repairs and assets teams to be more aligned.
As part of a wider restructure of Asset Management, we also increased specialist resources to support the management of complex repairs and damp and mould cases. This has strengthened support available to frontline repairs teams and helped ensure customers receive the right response as quickly as possible. Our decant arrangements have also been improved linked to feedback from the lived experience of our customers. We know how disruptive it can be for customers who must move out of their homes whilst we undertake significant repairs.
Listening to and then using our customers’ feedback has ensured we are focused on communication, updates and planning work with our contractors to minimise disruption to the lives of the people living in our homes.
These changes have improved consistency of response and strengthened our readiness for new legislative requirements, including Awaab’s Law.
We continue to review and improve our approach by updating policies, using customer feedback and adopting best practice. During 2025/26, we improved our systems, record keeping and job tracking. We also improved how we manage cases where we have not been able to access a home. This helps reduce missed appointments and means we can act quickly where needed.
These changes help us spot risks earlier, respond more consistently and give customers clearer information about what will happen and when. They also support our wider commitment to maintaining safe, good-quality homes while continuing to adapt to customers’ needs and our legal responsibilities.
Damp, mould and condensation cases requiring action
In 2025/26, 2,342 cases of damp, mould and condensation required action ranging from preventative inspections and minor repairs to major remedial works. These cases related to 11.9% of the relevant portfolio of 19,679 homes.
