Operating a mandatory occurrence reporting system

Who must operate a mandatory occurrence reporting system

Principal designers and principal contractors

The principal designer and principal contractor must establish and operate a mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) system, during:

• construction of a new higher-risk building
• work on an existing higher-risk building, unless the work consists only of exempt work or emergency repairs
• work on an existing higher-risk building that causes it to stop being a higher-risk building
• work on an existing building that will make it a higher-risk building

A higher-risk building has at least:

• 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high
• 2 residential units or is a hospital or a care home

A higher-risk building with at least 2 residential units must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) as a high-rise residential building before people live there.

Principal accountable persons

The principal accountable person must establish and operate a single MOR system for the high-rise residential building they are responsible for.

Systems operated by the principal designer and principal contractor

The principal designer and principal contractor must:

• establish and operate an MOR system before construction or building work begins
• maintain and operate their system throughout the project

Principal designers and principal contractors can operate the same, or separate MOR systems.

Your MOR system must enable prompt reporting by:

• designers and contractors working on the project
• others who periodically visit the work site

You can find out more about the roles of principal designers and principal contractors in the overview of the new building control regime on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website.

Reportable incidents and risks

Your system must let people report building safety incidents and risks that have caused, or if not remedied are likely to cause:

• the death of a significant number of people
• serious injury to a significant number of people

Building safety incidents and risks involve at least one of the following:

• structural failure of the building
• the spread of fire or smoke in the building

For design work, a building safety risk is an aspect of the design related to structural integrity or fire risk, which if built could cause death or serious injury to a significant number of people.

You must report incidents or risks that meet these criteria to BSR as a safety occurrence. You must do this by submitting a mandatory occurrence:

• notice as soon as you can
• report within 10 days of the safety occurrence being identified

Operating the MOR system

To help identify building safety incidents and risks, frequent inspections of the:

• design work must be set up by the principal designer
• building work must be set up by the principal contractor

You must:

• promptly review the reports submitted on the system
• decide if any action is needed

What you must tell people

You must share information about how the system works with:

• designers, contractors and others working on the project, before they begin any work
• anyone who enters the work site, as soon as possible
• BSR, when requested

You should tell people:

• what they need to report
• how to make a report
• how and when the report will be dealt with
• when they should expect a response about a report they have made
• how you’ll collect and store information in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

It may be helpful to include examples of what people should report on your mandatory occurrence reporting system.

Systems operated by the principal accountable person

As the principal accountable person, you must establish and operate an MOR system for the building when it is occupied by residents. You must review the system regularly to ensure it remains effective.

Your system must enable prompt reporting by:

• all residents
• accountable persons
• others who use the building

Reportable incidents

Your system must let people report building safety incidents that have caused, or if not remedied are likely to cause:

• the death of a significant number of people
• serious injury to a significant number of people

Building safety incidents involve at least one of the following:

• structural failure of the building
• the spread of fire in the building

The relevant accountable person must report incidents that meet these criteria to BSR as a safety occurrence. They must do this by submitting a mandatory occurrence:

• notice as soon as they can
• report within 10 days of the safety occurrence being identified

Complaints system

Residents and others may be concerned about something that could cause a building safety incident in the future, and submit it on your complaints system.

If a concern submitted on your complaints system meets the criteria of what to report to BSR as a safety occurrence, the relevant accountable person must:

• identify it as soon as possible
• submit a mandatory occurrence notice and report to BSR within 10 days of the safety occurrence being identified

Operating the MOR system

For the parts of the building they are responsible for, the accountable persons must:

• promptly assess the reports submitted on the system
• decide what action is needed

What you must tell people

You must share information about how the system works with:

• all residents
• accountable persons
• other users of the building
• BSR, when requested and as part of applying for a Building Assessment Certificate

To share the information about how the system works, you should publish a policy which tells people:

• what they need to report
• how to make a report
• how and when the report will be dealt with
• how they can request an update about a report they have made
• how you’ll collect and store information in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

It may be helpful to include examples of what people should report on your MOR system.

You’ll need to describe how and when incidents that have been reported on the system will be submitted to BSR as a mandatory occurrence notice and report.

You should share the latest version of the MOR system policy with accountable persons, residents and other users of the building.

Involving residents

You should involve and consult with your residents when establishing your MOR system. Your resident engagement strategy can help you with this. 

Your policy should be clear about how residents and others can submit reports on the system. You should consider if reports can be raised via email, telephone, online and in person.

You must make information about your system easily available and accessible to residents. You can display the information clearly within the building, such as the lobby.

You should consider what to do if residents find it difficult to describe an incident. They could submit, for example, photo or video evidence that helps communicate what happened.

Your policy should set out what you can do if someone needs information in a different language or in an alternative format. For example, large text, easy read, braille, or audio.

Working with residents to find ways of accessing information that better suits them will help you comply with equality law. When necessary, residents can appoint a representative to report an incident for them.

You should consider consulting with residents on any changes to your MOR system.

Assessing reports made on the MOR system

You should describe how an incident reported on the system will be assessed by accountable persons. You should include this in your MOR system policy.

When assessing a report, aspects to consider include:

• the factors that make up the report
• if a mandatory occurrence notice and report must be submitted to BSR
• if the incident has already been investigated
• if the report contains additional information relating to a previously raised incident