By
Halls Life
Posted 5 months ago
Tue 01 Jul, 2025 12:07 PM
At UAL, we pride ourselves on taking practical steps to make sure that you are at the heart of everything we do. The Building Safety Act and Resident Engagement Strategy are part of ensuring you are kept up to date with important information and decisions that affect your halls.
What is the Building Safety Act?
The Building Safety Act 2022 is a major piece of legislation that strengthens how higher-risk residential buildings (HRBs) are managed and kept safe. It applies to tall residential buildings that are over 18 metres in height or have seven or more storeys.
For these buildings, the Act requires a Resident Engagement Strategy. This sets out how we will keep you informed and involved in the key decisions that affect your buildings. We will listen to your feedback and improve how we work with you over time.
Below we will explain UAL’s Resident Engagement Strategy for our higher-risk student residences and those operated by our accommodation partners.
- Inform - give you timely, building-specific information about safety, planned works and any issues that might affect you.
- Engage - make sure you have clear ways to participate in conversations about building safety.
- Consult - give you the knowledge, tools and routes to raise concerns, make suggestions and help keep everyone safe.
The Resident Engagement Strategy applies to the following buildings that fall under the higher-risk building (HRB) provisions of the Building Safety Act:
UAL Student residences (HRBs):
- Gardens House
Partner-operated student residences (HRBs):
- Emily Bowes Court
- Glassyard Building
- Highline Building
- The Costume Store
- YourTRIBE Southwark
- We will invite you to take part in building-safety-related discussions and feedback in a way that fits around your studies and life in halls.
- Once a term, we will host town-hall style events to discuss significant safety-related works or changes.
- We will normally consult you before decisions are taken on any major refurbishment or intrusive maintenance works, significant changes to fire safety systems, or any change that will materially affect how you use or move around the building.
- In genuine emergencies, such as urgent works required to keep the building safe, we may need to act first and inform you immediately afterwards.
If you are worried about building safety, for example, damaged fire doors, blocked escape routes, unsafe behaviour or something that “doesn’t look right”, you can:
- Speak to your hall reception or Hall Team
- Email the UAL Accommodation team
- Use any published complaints or reporting forms for your hall or via the accommodation portal
The Building Safety Act requires that Resident Engagement Strategies are kept under review and updated when needed.
- We review this strategy at least once every two years, and additionally following resident consultation, material alterations, changes in legislation or updates to sector best practice.
- We take into account feedback from residents, hall staff, partners and regulators.
- We publish an updated version on this page and signpost changes through our normal communication channels.
The UAL Resident Engagement Strategy document was last updated on 29/04/2024 and will next be reviewed on 29/04/2026.
