The resident engagement strategy

In short: Every occupied higher-risk building must have a resident engagement strategy (RES) - a document setting out how residents and owners of the flats are both involved in and informed about decisions that affect the building's safety. It is a duty on the principal accountable person under the Building Safety Act 2022, and it comes with specific rules on what it must contain, how you consult, and how often you review it.

What the strategy is for

The RES sets out how residents and owners of residential units are involved in, and kept informed about, building safety decisions - the decisions an accountable person makes about managing the building and its building safety risks, and anything connected to an accountable person's duties. For the purposes of the strategy, a "resident" is anyone aged 16 or over who lives in or owns a residential unit in the building.

Who is responsible

The principal accountable person (PAP) must prepare the strategy, act in accordance with it, review and revise it (and keep a record of the reviews), provide the latest version to each accountable person, consult residents and accountable persons where necessary and take their opinions into account, and tell residents about building safety work resulting from a building safety decision. Each accountable person (AP) must give the latest version to the residents in their part of the building and work with the other APs to create and update it.

When to prepare it

The PAP should prepare the strategy as soon as possible once the building is (or becomes) occupied, or once they become the PAP. A copy must be submitted to the Building Safety Regulator when it directs the PAP to apply for a building assessment certificate.

What the strategy must include

Your RES must be specific to the building and take account of the needs and preferences of its residents. If you manage several buildings, strategies may look similar, but each must be tailored to that building's residents. It must set out:

• the building safety decisions residents will be asked about, and the information you'll provide - including examples or typical information, how you'll provide it, and when any work will start;
• what you will and won't consult on - describe the decisions you'll seek opinions on (often just the aspects that affect residents), and explain any decisions you won't ask about and why. Where works will last more than one day and block part of the building or disrupt residents' lives ("disruptive works"), the PAP must ask residents about the timing and how to minimise disruption. You do not need to consult on emergency repairs - immediate repairs to protect health, safety or welfare;
• how you'll collect and use residents' opinions - the methods (letters or postal surveys, a website, email, social media or apps, meetings or visits), the process for collecting, reviewing and acting on opinions, how you'll give feedback and explain any changes made as a result, how long residents have to respond, and how you'll store information in line with GDPR;
• how you'll measure and review participation - done regularly and recorded (for example counting responses, or using surveys, focus groups, meetings and visits). If participation or satisfaction is low, you may need to change the strategy.

Communication needs, equality and inclusivity

The strategy must show you have considered residents' different communication needs. You should ask whether anyone needs information in a different language or an alternative format - such as large text, Easy Read, braille or audio - so the strategy is accessible to all and meets equality law.

Distributing the strategy

The PAP gives a copy to every AP, and each AP distributes it to the residents in their part of the building, in a way that suits residents' needs (some prefer paper, others email). APs must take all reasonable steps to know who lives in their part of the building and understand their needs, including accessibility and language needs. A new version must be issued to residents each time the strategy is updated, so add a date and version number.

Consulting on the strategy

The PAP must consult on the strategy when it is first issued and after any change to it, consulting all residents and all APs. You are not legally required to consult resident organisations - but doing so can help reach more people, and you must not rely on them as the only route to residents. Each consultation period must last at least 3 weeks, and the strategy must set out how long consultations run and how they'll be carried out (digital, postal, in person), taking reasonable steps to make all affected residents aware. For a new building filling up gradually, you can consult in stages if the strategy says so. After consulting, the PAP must consider the opinions received and update the strategy if necessary - though there is no duty to reconsult where changes are made as a result.

Reviewing the strategy

The PAP must review the strategy:

• at least every 2 years;
• after submitting a mandatory occurrence report to the BSR;
• after the completion of significant material alterations to the building - changes to the building's height, width, number of storeys or units, staircases or escape routes, external walls (with some exceptions), or internal layout.

Every review must be recorded - whether or not it leads to a change - and that record forms part of your golden thread. The PAP must consider residents' opinions but is not required to change the strategy where it does not think doing so is appropriate. A resident who is unhappy can complain to the PAP and then escalate to the BSR.

Complaints are handled separately

The RES does not deal with building safety complaints. Alongside the strategy, the PAP must operate a separate complaints system residents can use to raise building safety concerns, with escalation to the BSR where needed.

How CTS and BuildSafe help

CTS helps you write a resident engagement strategy that meets every requirement and actually works for your building - the right consultation methods, timescales and accessible formats - and sets up a compliant, separate complaints process. Engagement, consultations and reviews are logged in your golden thread on the CTS BuildSafe platform, so the evidence is there when the Regulator asks. See also our guides to the accountable person and the safety case report.

General information, not legal advice. Reviewed by the CTS building safety team.