The backlog of outstanding fire safety actions in the City of London's social housing stock has grown to 1,634, a significant increase attributed to new assessments. The City Corporation is investing £1 million in specialist consultancy to accelerate compliance and strengthen fire safety management across its housing portfolio.
During a meeting of the City of London's Housing Management and Almshouses Sub (Community and Children's Services) Committee on Monday, 14 September 2026, members received a quarterly fire safety status report detailing the growing number of actions required. As of 31 July 2026, the number of outstanding actions had risen from 1,187 in early June. This increase is primarily due to the completion of further fire risk assessment inspections during the reporting period, which generated 447 additional actions.
The backlog includes 61 high-priority actions, 844 medium-priority actions, and 638 low-priority actions. These tasks range from fitting overhead door closers to flats and ensuring plans are in fire information boxes, to wayfinding signage, monthly checks on firefighting equipment and lifts, and fire stopping of service penetrations. There are also actions related to upgrading fire alarm systems, replacing flat entrance doors, and rectifying issues with communal fire doors.
A new £1 million, 12-month consultancy contract is being implemented to address these outstanding actions and support compliance with fire safety regulations. The contract, with an option for extension to three years subject to reviews, is expected to accelerate the completion of high and medium-priority actions and strengthen compliance across the housing portfolio. Progress will be reported through future quarterly updates.
The specialist consultancy is expected to deliver several improvements, including providing single-page building plans for secure information boxes and uploading them to the London Fire Brigade portal, creating suitable emergency information plans, conducting a fire signage audit, and providing structural information on external wall design. It will also involve training and mentoring of Estates Supervisors for monthly checks on firefighting equipment and periodic higher-risk building inspections, as well as undertaking retrospective fire strategies.
Failure to comply with fire safety regulations could expose the Corporation to significant financial penalties, enforcement action, additional remediation costs, potential civil claims, and reputational damage. Crucially, it also carries the potential for serious harm to residents, staff, or visitors if fire safety controls fail or are not adequately managed.
The information presented does not provide a comparison to previous years, making it difficult to determine if this increase is an anomaly or part of a broader trend. The report was presented at the Housing Management and Almshouses Sub (Community and Children's Services) Committee meeting, details of which can be found in the Public reports pack and Supplementary Agenda.
