Keeping council homes and high-rises safe

Fire safety for council homes

Who manages the council’s housing services?

Tower Hamlets Homes (THH) is the not-for-profit company that does this.

It’s an arm's length management organisation (ALMO). That means it works on behalf of the council.

Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) on council blocks

These are carried out by law and are a vital part of good fire safety management.

They find out:

  • potential fire hazards
  • how any hazards should be managed
  • if extra measures need to be taken to eliminate or reduce risk.

FRAs are carried out every year on high-rise tower blocks (above five-storeys).

Low-rise blocks are reviewed every 3 years.

Smoke alarms

If you are a council leaseholder

Fit smoke alarms on each floor and test them once a week. The Fire Brigade provides free home fire safety checks and can fit smoke detectors if needed. 

You can book an appointment online or phone them on 0800 028 44 28.

If you are a council tenant

There should already be a smoke alarm in your flat. If not, please contact the THH Housing Service Centre on 020 7364 5015.

We want to reassure our residents about the fire safety of their council homes

THH carry out fire risk assessments for all residential blocks it manages. Assessments for each block are published to show the steps we are taking to make homes safe.

Tenants and leaseholders of THH managed properties can get more fire safety advice from Tower Hamlets Homes.

Email: contact@thh.org.uk

Tel: 020 7364 5015

Fire safety for high-rise residential buildings

Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced in Parliament on 28 April 2022.  It outlines landlords’ responsibilities in high-rise buildings that are:

  • at least 18m or 7 storeys high
  • with 2 or more residential units

Its aim is to minimise and manage any building and fire risks in high-rises.  This is to ensure our residents safe in their homes.

What are we doing?

We are completing external wall surveys and new fire risk assessments (where needed) on all high-rise residential buildings.

If you want to find out if a building is in scope or when completed assessments are due, please contact Tower Hamlets Homes.

We are creating a safety case for each building in scope of the Building Safety Act. This will have all the details we use to manage the risk of fire spread and your building’s structural safety.

What’s next?

There will be an engagement strategy to get residents involved in decision making for safety issues. It will ensure everyone can have a say about their home’s safety.

There will also be an updated complaints system to deal with residents’ safety concerns. If if they feel their concerns are not being met, residents will also be able to escalate complaints to the Building Safety Regulator.

Resident responsibilities

The Act has set out obligations for residents as well as owners.

These include:

  • A person must not act in a way that creates a significant risk of fire or structural failure.
  • A person must not damage or remove any safety item and must not interfere with any safety system.
  • If a resident or owner falls short of their obligations, they can be issued Contravention Notices and may have to pay to fix any damage

Advice for lease holders

Leaseholders can stay informed of any changes the Billing Safety Act will bring:

Contact information

If you have concerns about your building’s safety, please contact: