If you live in one of our high-rise blocks, you will soon be contacted by your new building safety manager, who will then be your first port of call for any building safety issues you may have. Your local officer will remain your first port of call for all tenancy issues.
The new team of building safety managers are part of our commitment to keep our residents safe. Each of them will manage a set number of high-rise buildings within a specific area. They will ensure risks are identified and mitigated, conduct assurance checks and on-site inspections, and actively engage on safety issues with those who live in the building.
At the same time, we’ve published a building safety policy, setting out our approach to ensuring our buildings are safe and meet the regulatory requirements set out in the Building Safety Act 2022. The act was developed following Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building regulations and fire safety, commissioned after the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.
Our new policy outlines how we will:
- Follow new design and construction standards
- Meet our commitment to keep residents safe
- Engage with residents and share building safety information with them
- Ensure qualifying leaseholders are protected from building safety defect costs
- Hold those responsible for building safety defects to account
- Work with regulators and provide them the information they need
The policy is especially relevant for those of you who live in buildings that are classified as ‘higher risk’ – residential buildings at least 18 metres or seven storeys high and containing two or more residential units.
About our building safety managers
We introduced our building safety manager team following a successful pilot last year to understand how such roles would work best for residents. Although not a specific requirement of the Building Safety Act, the new roles are an important introduction to support other elements in the legislation.
Our first building safety manager was Amir Miah, who explained his role as part of our day-in-the-life series. Amir has since been joined by Vincent Alvis, Alexandra Lazarus, Lesley Precilla, Mosh Rahman and Andre Sandiford – everyone except Mosh is in the picture, which also includes Erzen Selmani, the building safety case developer who works with the new team.
Speaking about his experience on the pilot project, Amir said: “I wanted to be at the forefront of change to support our organisation in shaping how we deal with new legislation impacting the industry. My background includes working with residents from Grenfell Tower and I wanted to be in a position where I could help residents feel safe in their buildings.
“We have had some great engagement with residents so far, who can see the impact the role is having. We are more aware of issues that relate to our blocks and better prepared to address any building safety issues.”
Andre, who is used to working closely with residents as a property manager, added: “I met Amir while he was piloting the new role. I carried out several joint inspections and was inspired by the level of detail required to audit structural and fire safety within a block.
“I bring a genuine care for our residents, as well as the ideals and reputation of Notting Hill Genesis. I am calm, hard-working and enthusiastic about new concepts and ways of working.”
All of our building safety managers will be supported to earn a Level 6 diploma in building safety management through the Chartered Institute of Building, something that excites former housing operations manager Lesley.
She said: “I want to be at the leading edge of building safety and look forward to having a positive impact on our residents, to completing my diploma, and eventually to have a building assessment certificate hanging in the lobby of each of our buildings.
“I want to know all of our residents can go to sleep feeling safe in their homes, whether they are elderly, disabled, do not speak English or face any other issues. Knowing they are safe is of tantamount importance to being able to enjoy your home peacefully.”
Find out more
Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about either the new policy or the building safety managers.
