How to Write a Building Safety Case for RTM Companies

TL;DR: Your RTM company must prepare a Building Safety Case and a Safety Case Report if your building is higher-risk (7+ storeys or 18m+). The safety case is your ongoing process of managing building safety risks. The report is the formal document that summarises it. This guide walks you through writing one from scratch, step by step -- tailored to the specific challenges RTM directors face.

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#What Is a Building Safety Case Report?

A Building Safety Case Report is a formal document required under section 85 of the Building Safety Act 2022. It summarises how you identify, assess, and manage fire and structural safety risks in your higher-risk building.

The Safety Case Report must demonstrate that building safety risks are being assessed and managed effectively. It is reviewed by the Building Safety Regulator as part of the Building Assessment Certificate application.

-- Building Safety Act 2022, s.85

The report is not a one-off exercise. It documents your building's ongoing safety case -- the totality of your risk assessments, safety measures, maintenance regimes, and evidence. Think of the safety case as the process you maintain continuously. The report is the snapshot document that proves you are doing it.

For a broader explanation of the distinction between a safety case and a Safety Case Report, see What Is a Building Safety Case?.

#Why RTM Companies Need One

Your RTM company has the same legal obligations under the Building Safety Act as any professional managing agent. If your building qualifies as higher-risk, you are the Accountable Person -- and that means preparing a Safety Case Report is your responsibility.

RTM companies carry the same Accountable Person duties as professional managing agents. The BSA makes no distinction based on whether your board is volunteer-run or commercially staffed.

This creates a specific challenge. Most RTM boards are run by volunteer leaseholders who took over management to improve service quality or reduce costs. You may not have a fire safety qualification, a compliance department, or experience writing regulatory documents. That is fine -- but you still need to get this done.

The good news: the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) does not expect perfection. They expect a proportionate, honest assessment of your building's risks and evidence that you are managing them actively. A straightforward report backed by genuine safety management will always outperform a polished document with nothing behind it.

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#What the Report Must Contain

The BSR has not mandated a specific template, but their Safety Case Toolkit sets out what your report should cover. Here is a practical structure that aligns with BSR expectations.

#1. Building Description and Context

Start with the facts about your building. This grounds everything that follows.

• Building name, address, and UPRN
• Height, number of storeys, and number of residential units
• Year of construction and any significant modifications
• Construction type (concrete frame, timber frame, steel, etc.)
• External wall system description and any cladding details
• Number and type of staircases, including whether you have a single staircase
• Occupancy profile -- approximate number of residents, any commercial units

An RTM company managing a 1970s concrete tower block with 60 flats will have a very different report from one managing a 2018 timber-framed block with 25 flats. The building description tells the BSR what standards and expectations to apply.

#2. Fire and Structural Safety Risks

This is the core of your safety case. For each risk, describe:

• What the risk is -- fire spread through compartmentation breaches, structural movement, external fire spread via cladding, etc.
• How you identified it -- your fire risk assessment, structural surveys, specialist inspections, resident reports
• How likely it is -- based on the evidence available
• What the consequences would be -- to residents, to the building structure, to evacuation routes

Be specific. "Fire risk in communal areas" is too vague. "Risk of fire spread from ground-floor bin store to staircase due to lack of fire separation between bin store and lobby, identified in FRA dated March 2026" gives the BSR something to assess.

#3. Safety Measures Currently in Place

List every safety measure in your building and describe how it works:

• Fire doors (flat entrance doors, communal doors, staircase doors)
• Compartmentation (fire-rated walls, floors, penetration seals)
• Smoke ventilation or extraction systems
• Fire detection and alarm systems
• Sprinkler systems (if fitted)
• Dry or wet risers
• Emergency lighting
• Fire signage and wayfinding

For each measure, document the maintenance regime, last inspection date, and any outstanding remedial work. A building with 120 fire doors where 115 pass inspection, 3 have remedial work scheduled, and 2 were replaced last month tells a clear story of active management.

#4. Action on Legacy Issues

Most higher-risk buildings have known problems. The BSR wants to see that you know about them and are dealing with them.

Common legacy issues for RTM companies:

• Compartmentation breaches from historical alterations (leaseholder modifications that broke fire-rated walls)
• Cladding or external wall issues identified post-Grenfell
• Fire doors that do not meet current standards
• Missing or incomplete documentation from previous managing agents

Document what you know, what you have done about it, and what remains. If the previous managing agent left you with no records of fire door specifications, say so. Explain the steps you have taken to establish the baseline -- specialist surveys, door inspection programmes, FRA action tracking.

#5. Aspects Not Built to Current Standards

Your building was built to the standards of its time. The BSR does not expect you to retrofit every building to 2026 standards. They do expect you to understand where your building falls short and what that means for safety.

For example: a 1975 tower block without sprinklers would require them if built today. Your report should acknowledge this, explain the fire safety measures that compensate (compartmentation, smoke ventilation, fire detection), and describe any consideration you have given to retrofitting.

#6. Evaluation of Additional Measures

The BSR wants to see that you have thought about whether you could do more. This is about proportionate decision-making -- not unlimited spending.

Document any additional measures you have considered, whether you implemented them, and your reasoning. If you decided against retrofitting a sprinkler system because the cost was disproportionate to the risk reduction given your existing measures, explain that analysis. Honest, evidenced reasoning is what the BSR is looking for.

#7. Residents' Engagement

Your report should describe how residents are involved in building safety. This includes your residents' engagement strategy, how you communicate safety information, and how residents can report concerns.

For RTM companies, this is often a strength. Your directors are residents. You live in the building. Document your AGM processes, how safety updates are communicated (newsletters, notice boards, resident portal), and how you handle safety complaints.

#8. Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Procedures

Describe your process for mandatory occurrence reporting -- how you identify, record, and report structural and fire safety incidents to the BSR (Building Safety Act 2022, s.78). Include who is responsible for making reports and the timeline you follow.

#9. Golden Thread Records

Your report should reference your Golden Thread -- the digital record of building safety information that must be maintained throughout the building's lifecycle. Describe where your records are held, how they are kept up to date, and who has access.

#Step-by-Step Guide for RTM Directors

Here is how to approach writing the report, broken into manageable steps.

#Step 1: Appoint a Lead

Designate one director to lead the Safety Case Report process. On a volunteer board, "everyone is responsible" becomes "nobody is responsible." Your Building Safety Director -- or whoever takes the lead role -- should coordinate the work, even if others contribute sections.

What done looks like: A named director has accepted lead responsibility and communicated this to the board.

#Step 2: Gather Your Existing Documentation

Collect everything you already have:

• Current fire risk assessment (and any previous ones)
• Fire door inspection reports
• Structural surveys
• Maintenance contracts and service records
• Building plans and specifications
• Cladding assessment reports (EWS1 or equivalent)
• Insurance surveys
• Previous managing agent handover files
• PEEPs documentation
• Resident complaints about safety issues

If you are missing key documents -- particularly a current FRA or fire door survey -- commission them before writing the report. You cannot build a safety case on information you do not have.

What done looks like: A single folder (physical or digital) containing all available building safety documentation, with a list of any gaps.

#Step 3: Commission Specialist Input Where Needed

You do not need to be a fire engineer to write a Safety Case Report. But you do need expert input for the technical assessments. If your FRA is more than 12 months old, commission a new one. If you have never had a structural survey, get one. If your fire doors have not been inspected to a recognised standard, arrange it.

This is the step where many RTM companies stall because of cost. The alternative -- submitting a report without current assessments -- is worse. The BSR will identify the gap immediately.

What done looks like: Current FRA, fire door survey, and any specialist reports commissioned and received.

#Step 4: Write the Building Description

Start with the easiest section. Document the physical facts about your building using the structure in section 1 above. This is factual, not judgemental -- just describe what you have.

#Step 5: Map Risks to Measures

For each risk identified in your FRA and other assessments, document the corresponding safety measure. This creates the core of your report.

Use a simple table format:

A building with 40 FRA actions where 35 are complete with evidence, 3 are in progress with contractors assigned, and 2 are overdue with escalation records shows the BSR that you are managing risks actively -- even if not everything is resolved yet.

#Step 6: Document Legacy Issues Honestly

Do not hide problems. The BSR is not looking for a building with zero issues -- they are looking for a building where issues are known and managed. If your compartmentation was breached by unauthorised leaseholder alterations and you discovered it during a survey last year, document the discovery, the remediation programme, and the current status.

#Step 7: Write the Evaluation Sections

For sections 5 and 6 (non-current-standard aspects and additional measures), describe your reasoning honestly. The BSR respects proportionate decision-making. "We considered retrofitting sprinklers. The estimated cost was 320,000 pounds. Given our existing compartmentation, smoke ventilation, and detection systems, and the building's concrete frame construction, we concluded the additional risk reduction was not proportionate to the cost. We will review this position if significant changes occur to the building or its risk profile." That is a defensible position.

#Step 8: Describe Your Ongoing Management

Cover your residents' engagement approach, your mandatory occurrence reporting procedures, and your Golden Thread record-keeping. For RTM companies, the resident engagement section is often the strongest part -- document what you are already doing well.

#Step 9: Review and Sign Off

Have the full board review the report. Every director should understand what it says and be able to discuss it with the BSR if asked. The lead director should sign the report and date it.

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#Common Mistakes RTM Companies Make

#1. Treating It as a One-Off Document

The Safety Case Report is not something you write once and file away. It documents a living safety case. If your report says "fire doors inspected annually" but the last inspection was 18 months ago, the report contradicts reality. The BSR will notice.

#2. Copying a Template Without Adapting It

Generic templates are a starting point, not a finished product. A report that describes "the building" in generic terms without mentioning your specific construction type, your specific risks, or your specific measures tells the BSR you have not actually assessed your building.

#3. Hiding Problems

Omitting known issues is worse than documenting them. If the BSR discovers a risk that is not in your report, it suggests either you do not know about it (incompetence) or you concealed it (dishonesty). Neither helps your case.

#4. No Evidence Trail

Stating that fire doors are inspected annually means nothing without the inspection reports. Every claim in your Safety Case Report should be backed by documentation you can produce. A folder of unsorted photos is not an audit trail. Each piece of evidence needs to be linked to a specific measure, with a date and the name of who carried out the work.

#5. Not Involving Residents

The BSA requires resident engagement on building safety matters (s.83). If your report makes no mention of how residents are informed and involved, it has a gap the BSR will flag.

#Keeping Your Safety Case Report Updated

Your safety case is a living process, and the report should reflect current conditions. Update it when:

• A new FRA is completed -- incorporate new findings and update risk ratings
• Remedial work is finished -- move items from "in progress" to "complete" with evidence
• A safety incident occurs -- document the incident, your response, and any changes to your risk assessment
• The building changes -- new cladding, lift replacement, structural modifications
• Maintenance regimes change -- new contractors, changed inspection frequencies
• Resident feedback reveals new information -- complaints about fire doors, reports of unauthorised alterations

Set a minimum annual review date, but treat major events as immediate triggers. Record each update in a changelog at the front of the report so the BSR can see it is actively maintained.

#Questions

#Who is responsible for the Building Safety Case in an RTM company?

The RTM company itself is the Accountable Person and bears legal responsibility for maintaining the building safety case and preparing the Safety Case Report. Individual directors cannot delegate this accountability, even if they appoint a managing agent to carry out day-to-day tasks. All directors share operational responsibility for ensuring the company meets its obligations (Building Safety Act 2022, s.72).

#Is there a deadline for RTM companies to complete a Safety Case Report?

There is no single deadline. The Building Safety Act 2022 requires the report to be prepared "as soon as reasonably practicable." The practical trigger is when the BSR calls your building in for Building Assessment Certificate assessment, giving you 28 days to submit your application, which includes the Safety Case Report. Do not wait for the call -- start preparing now.

#Can an RTM company hire a consultant to write the Safety Case Report?

Yes. You can commission fire safety consultants or building safety professionals to help prepare the report. However, the RTM company retains legal responsibility as the Accountable Person. You must understand and be able to explain the contents of the report. If the BSR asks a question about your safety case, "our consultant wrote it" is not an acceptable answer.

#What happens if an RTM company does not have a building safety case?

Without a safety case, you cannot produce the Safety Case Report required under section 85. Your Building Assessment Certificate application will be refused. More seriously, non-compliance that gives rise to a risk of death or serious injury is a criminal offence under section 101 of the BSA 2022, punishable by imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.

#How often should an RTM company update its Safety Case Report?

Treat the report as a living document. Update it after any significant change to the building, new risk information, safety incidents, changes to maintenance regimes, or at least annually. The BSR expects your safety case to reflect current conditions, not a historical snapshot. Record each update in a changelog.

This guide is for informational purposes. For building-specific advice, consult a qualified fire safety professional.

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