In a recent residential property tribunal, the roof terrace at Smoke House and Curing House in Hackney Wick, East London was deemed by the tribunal to be a seventh storey bringing it in scope of the definition of a higher-risk building under the Building Safety Act.
The case was brought by a group of leaseholders against the landlord (Monier Road Limited) to ensure remediation work was completed.
The tribunal agreed that Smoke House and Curing House should be classed as higher-risk “for the purposes of Part 4 of the Building Safety Act”:
“In our view, it should be registered with the Building Safety Regulator and have a Principal Accountable person appointed. This is not for the Tribunal to specify under the terms of a Remediation Order, but it is considered essential that this building (both Smoke House and Curing House) are managed under the Higher-risk Building regime. The remedial works should be carried out with an application to the Building Safety Regulator as Local Authorities and Building Control Approvers (previously known as Approved Inspectors) are not permitted to work on Higher-risk buildings.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Building Safety Regulator are currently considering the views expressed by the Tribunal in the recent First Tier Tribunal decision (PDF, 328KB) that roof gardens should be classified as a storey when determining whether a building meets the height and storey criteria under the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023.
It is important to note the Tribunal itself acknowledged it was not within its jurisdiction to formally determine whether the building being considered was a higher-risk building. Until stated otherwise, the sector and regulatory bodies should continue to refer to existing government guidance.