Mandatory occurrence reporting

As part of the new requirements under the new Building Safety Act, Lewisham Council are required to have a means of capturing and reporting certain fire and structural safety issues, called ‘safety occurrences,’ to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

Mandatory occurrence reporting system

This requires that we, as the ‘Principal Accountable Person’ need to operate a ‘Mandatory occurrence reporting system’. Residents and other users of our high rise buildings may be in a position to spot a problem before we do. As well as being able to report an issue directly to the Building Safety Manager, you also have the right to access and use our reporting system to report these type of safety occurrences.

The purpose behind this reporting is to ensure that the Building Safety Regulator can capture risks that could have a potential impact on fire and structural safety and helps them to assess what such risks may also mean for other buildings. This helps to improve safety standards, and promote safety-conscious culture change, and better practice in buildings across the UK.

We have a full Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) procedure in place which covers all the detail of what our staff do, and we have now supplemented this with this information designed to better help residents understand the process.

What is and isn’t a mandatory occurrence?

This term must only be used for very specific types of risk and should not be used to report general repairs. These should still be reported on 02083146000 then option 1 and option 1 again.

We must submit a mandatory occurrence notice for safety occurrences in your building, for fire safety or structural failure that resulted in, or is likely to result in, the death of a significant number of people. A safety occurrence is an incident involving, or a risk that could cause:

• structural failure of the building
• the spread of fire or smoke in the building

A safety occurrence is something which if not remedied, could cause serious harm to people.

Examples of mandatory occurrences 

These include:

• the spread of fire (or something that could lead to the spread of fire)
• total or partial collapse of the building
• defective building work
• unexpected failure or the degradation of construction materials
• the discovery of structural defects
• failure of a critical fire safety measure, such as an automatic opening vent, smoke extraction, fire doors or smoke detectors

If in any doubt whether something is a mandatory occurrence or should be reported another way, please speak to your Building Safety Manager.

How to report a safety occurrence 

To report a Mandatory Occurrence Notice complete the mandatory notice form.  

When completing your Mandatory Notice form you may also find it easier to upload a photo or video, for example if you find it difficult to describe an occurrence.

Or you can raise it directly to your Building Safety Manager by either email or phone. Your Building Safety manager can assist you if requested. 

Find out who your Building Safety Manager is. You can also call 020 8314 6000 Or email building safety.

We will be notified that you have submitted a Mandatory Occurrence Form.

Once we have received your Notice we will then assess the submitted details to see if the occurrence you have reported meets the safety occurrence criteria.

When assessing a Notice, things we will consider include:

• the factors that make up the notice 
• if a Mandatory Occurrence Notice and report must be submitted to BSR
• if the incident has already been investigated
• if the report contains additional information relating to a previously raised incident
• if the information reported constitutes a complaint 

If we agree that a notice or report is required we will then submit your notice to the Building Safety Regulator. If so, we will then provide you with the Mandatory Notice reference number we are given, to confirm that the notice has been submitted. You can then quote this reference to us during any correspondence.

If we feel a notice is not required to be submitted we will also contact you and you let you know the reason why. This could be because it has not met the risk criteria, and/or that it needs to be dealt with via a different route.

If you disagree with our decision you can follow our complaints policy which contains specific information relating to Building Safety complaints or you contact the BSR by completing the form on their website.

You can also telephone them on 0300 790 6787 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except on Wednesdays when they are open from 10am to 5pm).

What happens if we submit a notice 

Once we have submitted a Notice to the BSR we will then have 10 days to submit a report. 

Once the Notice has been submitted, we will begin to carry out an investigation. 

We will aim to establish what happened (or had the potential to happen), and why. We may also need to put steps in place to reduce or remedy the issue.

We may need to contact you to request further details, to help us to establish how the occurrence was discovered, and whether anyone was injured.

Is the information confidential?

Yes. Information will be processed confidentially and in line with data protection principles. Other residents will be told that there has been a report but will not be told the source. Your Building Safety Manager will need to know who submitted the information to request more information if needed, and to be able to report back to you.

Requesting an update on your report 

Your Building Safety Manager will be the point of contact for your reported safety occurrence. You can request an update at any time by making contact and quoting the Mandatory Occurrence Notice reference number.

When an investigation is concluded we will notify you, and the rest of the residents of the affected block, in writing.

Reviews

We will carry out annual reviews of our reporting system to make sure that it stays effective. If we need to make changes, we will consult with you, in line with our Resident Engagement strategy.

If you need any of the information contained in this procedure in a different language or an alternative format. For example, large text or braille, email building safety.

Appendix

• LBL Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Procedure