After Grenfell: What reasonable progress looks like in block management

The tragedy at Grenfell Tower in June 2017 exposed failings with devastating human consequences. For block management, it also marked a dividing line. The role has changed beyond recognition.

The Ramifications

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report, published on 4 September 2024, exposed decades of failure across government and industry. Now, 57 individuals and 20 organisations face the prospect of criminal charges. Charging decisions are expected before 14 June 2027. Prosecutions remain unconfirmed; trials would follow later.

Meanwhile, the legislative changes have already arrived.

The Fire Safety Act 2021’s principal provisions commenced in England on 16 May 2022, clarifying that fire risk assessments must cover the structure, external walls and relevant flat entrance doors.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 took effect on 23 January 2023, adding requirements for resident information, fire-door checks and, in high-rise blocks, equipment checks and information for firefighters.

The Building Safety Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022, with phased implementation. Its occupied higher-risk building regime adds safety cases, detailed records and resident engagement to the workload.

The practical outcome? More inspections to arrange. More reports to understand. More actions to pursue, residents to consult and expenditure to explain. The precise duties depend on the building and the parties responsible, but the additional work is real.

What Competence Looks Like

Some will say the burden is unfair. Property managers did not design these buildings. They did not build them. Yet they regularly find themselves explaining expensive remedial works to leaseholders who can barely afford the existing service charge.

Experienced practitioners will recognise the predicament. However justified the frustration, the building still needs attention.

Property managers have long been described as part building surveyor, part lawyer and part accountant. ‘Part health and safety manager’ now deserves a prominent place.

Some entered the profession without even introductory health and safety training. That will increasingly need to change. Managers need a sound grounding to appoint specialists, question advice and pursue action within their competence.

Demonstrating Reasonable Progress

And here lies the crux of the problem. A report identifies defects. The client disputes the cost. Funds are short. Government Gateways hold things up. Meanwhile, the property manager remains painfully aware that the risk has not gone away.

What happens next is crucial.

Each action needs a priority based on risk, a named person and an appropriate deadline. Progress must be logged and evidence uploaded to prove why things stopped. 

Where work stalls, the record must show the advice given, decisions made, safeguards considered and further action pursued. An unanswered email cannot become the permanent resting place of a safety concern.

Demonstrating reasonable progress is no blanket legal defence or permission to miss statutory deadlines. Urgent risks demand urgent action.

Nevertheless, this discipline is essential to running a solvent managing agency. Claims, lost instructions and the cost of untangling neglected work can threaten the business itself.

It matters equally for the manager’s wellbeing. There is little comfort in going home wondering which unresolved defect might become tomorrow’s emergency.

Employers must provide manageable workloads, training and support, with fees that fund the work properly. A clear plan makes progress visible and puts difficult decisions before those responsible.

Managing agents must learn, adapt and evolve. Expecting conscientious staff to carry the liability and worry without the means to act is simply not good enough.

Joe Mallon MRICS FTPI, Founder, The Block Coach Limited