High Rise Resident Engagement Strategy

At One Manchester, keeping people safe is our top priority. We're committed to building trust and working in partnership with our residents - both tenants and leaseholders - to ensure they are not only safe, but also feel safe in their homes.

The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower and the findings of the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry have led to a new building safety regime for high rise buildings in England. For the purposes of this strategy a high rise building is a building that contains two or more homes and is at least 18 meters in height (or has at least 7 storeys).

This new regime, established under the Building Safety Act 2022, strongly emphasises involving residents in the safety and management of their homes. The Act places a legal duty on housing providers like One Manchester to actively involve residents in the management of building safety. This includes creating a Resident Engagement Strategy for all high-rise buildings.

This strategy, along with the individual Resident Engagement Plans for each building, is designed to meet the requirements under the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Management of Safety Risks etc.) (England) Regulations 2023. It also supports compliance with:

• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• The Fire Safety Act 2021
• The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

It supports our wider commitment to transparency, accountability, and co-regulation, ensuring residents have meaningful opportunities to shape, influence, and hold us to account on building safety matters, which is further explained in our Customer Voice Strategy.

This strategy applies to all One Manchester’s high-rise buildings (listed at Appendix 1). It guides how we engage with all residents (tenants and leaseholders) living in these buildings, and specifically with the High Rise Customer Voice Panel.

Our Building Safety Managers will use this strategy to develop tailored Resident Engagement Plans for each building which will be shared to all residents by post and digitally (where we hold residents details). These local plans will reflect the needs and preferences of residents in each building.

In buildings where One Manchester is the Principal Accountable Person and other organisations (i.e. Accountable Persons) also have responsibilities for these buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022, we’ll work in partnership with those organisations to develop joint engagement plans that demonstrate our shared responsibilities and ensure consistent communication with residents.

We aim to create a culture where residents feel empowered and informed on building safety matters. Our building safety engagement approach is underpinned by these principles:

1. Transparency: This strategy commits to clear and open two-way communication with residents about safety through multiple channels.
2. Inclusivity: All residents of all tenures are involved and invited to participate with no restrictions on duration or eligibility.
3. Accessibility: All information is available in alternative formats and languages. Residents who may have additional needs are proactively identified and supported.
4. Responsiveness: The strategy sets out clear ways for residents to raise concerns, request information, and share feedback, with a commitment to timely responses.
5. Proportionality: Engagement activities are tailored to the specific needs of buildings and residents, and levels of consultation are modified based on the decisions being made.

These principles are embedded throughout this strategy and help us align with the expectations of the Building Safety Regulator for meaningful and effective resident engagement.

Alongside our formal engagement structures, we’re also required under legislation to explain what we will, and won’t, consult residents on.

We will consult on:

• Developing and reviewing resident engagement strategies and plans, including how we deliver them
• The purpose, delivery and any reasonable adjustments to planned building safety works, especially where they might affect residents or the building environment
• How we communicate about statutory building safety inspections and related works in communal areas or homes—for example:
  o  Risk assessments that need access to residents' homes
  o  Work on fire doors, compartmentation, alarms, sprinkler systems, structural, including emergency or business critical works which directly impact residents, etc.
• The responsibilities of tenants and leaseholders when it comes to building safety
• What safety information we’ll provide, how often, and how residents can access more details

We won't consult on:

• Legislative or best practice requirements where the services don’t directly impact residents, such as:
  o  Planned maintenance of fire and building safety equipment
  o  Emergency or business-critical works (like urgent fire safety actions)

One Manchester will collate and record responses to any consultations carried out, based on how the consultation has been undertaken. The consultation process will be carried out using various methods, as noted, including digital, postal or in person events.

For building safety decisions, at the start of any process, One Manchester will review the issue and determine the length of the consultation period given due consideration to the timescales already identified. If it is felt a shorter consultation period is required, we will explain the reasons for this. We will also consider which residents require informing of building safety decisions i.e. works may be confirmed to one apartment, one landing or the whole building and we will consult with the appropriate number of residents, as required.

Consulting on the delivery of works to high rise buildings:

We will specifically inform residents when works resulting from a building safety decision made by One Manchester i.e. works relating to the management and maintenance of fire and / or structural safety of the building including those resulting from a requirement to meet relevant legislation, will be (i) carried out and (ii) the purpose of those works.

Where delivery of such works will take a period of more than one day and will limit access to any part of a building or otherwise cause a nuisance to residents, One Manchester will consult residents on the following:

• The days and times when works are to take place, and
• How to mitigate disruption to residents from these works

As a result of consultation on the above, One Manchester will retain feedback and give due consideration to all consultation responses received and seek to make reasonable adjustments to delivery of the works to address feedback received, where it is practical to do so, and communicate this to residents using the approaches identified.

Please note, the above conditions will not apply where works are required to commence on an emergency basis and it would be impracticable to consult residents, although we will consider opportunities to make residents aware, where possible.

Residents can contact One Manchester anytime to share feedback about your building or discuss fire and building safety through many channels:

• Phone: Call 0330 355 1000 and ask for your Building Safety Manager
• Email:
  o For general safety queries: buildingsafety@onemanchester.co.uk (responses within 5 working days)
  o For other queries: Fill in our Contact Us form
• In person: Speak to a Neighbourhood Officer, Building Safety Manager, Caretaker, or any One Manchester colleague during visits or resident events
• Resident meetings: Share feedback at your building’s 6-monthly safety meetings
• Joining our High Rise Customer Voice Panel. To do so, please email customervoice@onemanchester.co.uk, call 0330 355 1000, or fill in our Contact Us form

If there’s an immediate fire or structural safety concern, call 0330 355 1000 straight away.

All feedback is taken seriously and followed up in line with our safety procedures and customer service standards.

Complaints

Residents or a representative can raise a complaint at any time about how we manage building safety:

• Online: Fill in our Contact Us form
• Phone: Call 0330 355 1000
• Email: complaints@onemanchester.co.uk
• Post: Write to Complaints Team, Lovell House, Archway 6, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5RN
• In person: Speak to a Neighbourhood Officer or any One Manchester colleague

Complaints are handled in line with our Complaints Policy.

We use a range of methods to make sure all residents receive the information they need:

We'll communicate on a range of topics depending on what’s happening in a building and the building’s engagement plan. For examples of these topics and how we’ll communicate them, see Appendix 2.

Requesting other building safety information

Residents of high rise buildings can request specific information about their building at any time, using the contact details under ‘Sharing feedback and contacting us’. For a list of what information you can request, see Appendix 3.

We are committed to ensuring that residents who may need extra support, particularly in the event of an emergency, are identified and supported appropriately. If a resident has, or develops, a condition that may affect their ability to evacuate safely (such as mobility issues, medical conditions, sight or hearing loss, or other disabilities affecting evacuation), it’s important that we are made aware as soon as possible. This allows us to put the right support in place, including arranging a Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment (PCFRA) where needed.

We regularly remind residents to let us know about any support needs through:

• Annual building safety letters
• Tenancy sign-up appointments
• Tenancy Experience Visits
• Building noticeboards
• Our website

Residents can inform us of their support needs at any time by contacting us in the way they prefer.

All information shared will be handled in line with our Data Protection Policy and used solely to ensure residents receive the support they need to stay safe in their homes.

Key risks to this strategy:

• Regulatory Non-Compliance: Failing to meet evolving resident engagement requirements under building safety legislation could lead to legal, financial, and reputational consequences
• Resource constraints: Constraints on resources may affect the ability to deliver timely and meaningful engagement, especially during periods of increased regulatory activity or major building works
• Resident engagement: Low participation, language barriers, or digital exclusion could limit the reach and impact of engagement efforts. Poorly managed disruption (e.g., from inspections or retrofitting) may also lead to dissatisfaction or mistrust
• Communication: Inconsistent or unclear messaging could result in confusion, reduced trust, or missed opportunities for feedback, particularly if communication methods don’t meet residents' needs
• Dependence on Third Parties: Reliance on contractors or external partners to support engagement (e.g. during works or consultations) may introduce risks around quality, consistency, or responsiveness
• Governance: Without clear roles, responsibilities, and monitoring, there’s a risk that engagement activities may lack coordination, accountability, or follow-through

Review cycle

This strategy will be reviewed at least every two years. It will also be reviewed if:

• There is a reasonable request from residents, or a review becomes necessary following consultation with residents
• Something triggers a significant review of the individual engagement plans, like a Mandatory Occurrence Report is submitted, or significant change to a building

Management

This strategy is led by the Building Safety Team, working closely with the Customer Experience Team to align with the Customer Voice Strategy. Building-specific engagement plans are developed and managed by Building Safety Managers, ensuring local delivery reflects the needs of each building.

Measuring success

We will measure the success of this strategy and the appropriateness of methods for promoting participation using a range of indicators, including:

• Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs): satisfaction with building safety and engagement
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): to monitor delivery against strategic goals
• Resident participation: the number engaged through meetings, panels, and consultations
• Resident feedback: through surveys, meeting evaluations, and follow-ups after works
• Regular reporting to review progress, identify gaps, and inform continuous improvement

This strategy is supported by an internal action plan.