Joe Goss, Enterprise Sales Executive at Fixflo, discusses the most important assessments and common mistakes block managers make when handling them.

A wide range of assessments will need to be made throughout a block’s history to comply with the law and other requirements. Many of these will need reviewing at regular intervals or whenever the building has been changed significantly. 

Here are some of the most important assessments and common mistakes block managers make when handling them:

Incorrect Declared Values in Reinstatement Cost Assessments (RCAs)

A correct reinstatement cost assessment is vital. An estimate which is too high can mean leaseholders having to pay unnecessarily steep insurance premiums. An estimate which is too low can result in insurance companies underpaying in the case of damage or destruction, leaving the landlord out of pocket.

Reinstatement cost is not the same as the building’s actual value. It is an estimate of how much it would cost to rebuild the building today, including labour costs and using similar materials. This estimate is usually based on Building Cost Information Service tables (BCIS) and, for some companies, in-house data. Depending on the age and materials of the building, the cost may be higher or lower than at the time it was built.

RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) recommends that RCAs are carried out every three years by a qualified, chartered surveyor. 

A surveyor will look at the interior and exterior of a building and its assets, plus outside areas such as car parking and landscaping. The assessment can even include roads and underground pipes- your insurance policy will define what is considered part of your building. You should advise the surveyor of what assets your building has. 

Don’t forget mechanical features such as lifts and special areas such as underground parking or gymnasiums.

If your building is mixed-use, with a combination of commercial and residential spaces, be sure that the assessment only includes what belongs to your building; otherwise, you could be paying for what is not yours. To ensure the reinstatement cost is accurate, a reassessment should be carried out whenever there is a major change to the building, such as an extension.

Infrequent Fire Risk Assessments

A fire risk assessment is carried out to determine the fire risk of a building’s shared areas and provide recommendations to improve its safety. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires that all blocks of flats have a fire risk assessment carried out by the Responsible Person (RP). Depending on the case, this would be the landlord, managing agent, Residents’ Management Company (RMC) or Right to Manage (RTM) company.

Although the law does not specify how often assessments should be carried out, the Local Government Association (LGA) advises that flats of up to three storeys have their assessments reviewed every two years and redone every four years. Higher-risk buildings should have theirs reviewed every year and be reassessed every three years. Highest-risk buildings may need to be reassessed every year. An assessment should also be reviewed whenever there are changes made to the building, such as extensions or work to improve fire safety.

Inadequate fire risk assessment places the building’s occupants at risk and could result in a financial penalty or even prosecution for the Responsible Person. In smaller buildings, it may be suitable for a managing agent to carry out an inspection themselves by using an assessment guide. In larger buildings, however, it is better to use a competent fire risk assessor. Guidance for finding one can be found at the National Fire Chiefs Council.

During a fire risk assessment, the assessor will look at how likely a fire is to start in a building, what the consequences would be and what could be done to prevent the fire from spreading.

The following will likely be included in a fire risk assessment and should be considered and monitored to ensure fire safety:

• Electrical safety
• Combustible items
• Signage such as exits and no smoking signs
• Emergency escape plans and routes
• Fire alarms
• Sprinklers, dry risers and wet risers
• Emergency lighting
• Smoke ventilation systems

The fire risk assessment will produce a report. This report must be legally documented if the building has more than five occupants. The report will list fire hazards and prevention methods and give each a rating to determine if they are a risk or not. For each identified risk, recommendations will be given to lower this. You should read and follow these recommendations in order to decrease your building’s fire risk. In extreme cases, enforcement notices can be issued by local fire and rescue authorities to improve fire safety.

Inadequate Health and Safety Risk Assessments

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require that all blocks of flats have their common areas assessed for health and safety risks. You may not think the common areas of your block count as a workplace, but as contractors, cleaners and gardeners may enter them, they must be safe in the eyes of the law.

The common areas of blocks include not just internal spaces like halls and stairwells but also external features such as roofs, gardens and cupboards. The law does not state how often an assessment should be carried out, but the recommendation is annually, plus whenever a major change to the building occurs such as remedial works.

The assessment should be carried out by an appropriate individual with an understanding of health and safety. Use a local contractor if possible and ensure they are independent of any remedial work carried out on the building. You should ensure that your assessor knows what the communal parts of the building are and how to access them.

As with fire safety, the health and safety risk assessment will produce a report which identifies health and safety risks and provide recommendations for mitigating them. You should read this advice and apply it to ensure your building stays safe and compliant with the law. In the event of a contractor or visitor having an accident in the workplace, the health and safety risk assessment should demonstrate that the landlord or RTM/RMC directors have done everything in their power to identify and reduce risks. Failure to do so may result in having to pay compensation to the injured party.

How to Stay Organised

Recurring assessments for reinstatement costs, health and safety and more are major compliance events in a building’s history and require extensive planning and forewarnings to anyone who may be affected. Residents should be advised whenever inspections take place and how invasive they may be. Fixflo’s block management solution lets users schedule compliance assessments and related remedial tasks ahead of time and makes it easy for users to communicate with stakeholders including leaseholders, residents and contractors.