Mandatory Occurrence Reporting UK

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting in the UK requires dutyholders to record, assess and report certain safety related incidents and risks under the Building Safety Act regime.

It exists to ensure that serious building safety issues are not concealed, overlooked or informally resolved without oversight. Mandatory Occurrence Reporting supports learning, transparency and regulatory confidence across Higher Risk Buildings.

Reporting is not about blame. It is about accountability and prevention.

Effective Mandatory Occurrence Reporting ensures that safety occurrences are captured consistently, assessed proportionately and acted upon in a way that protects residents and supports regulatory scrutiny.

The National Building Register (NBR) integrates Mandatory Occurrence Reporting into a wider system of building safety governance, ensuring visibility, traceable decision making and continuity of oversight over time.

What the Regulation Expects

Under the Building Safety Act, dutyholders must establish and operate a Mandatory Occurrence Reporting system that enables:

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• Consistent recording of safety occurrences

• Assessment of risk and materiality

• Timely escalation where required

• Clear documentation of actions taken

• Evidence of follow up and learning

Certain prescribed occurrences must be reported to the Building Safety Regulator within defined timeframes. Other safety related events may not meet reporting thresholds but must still be recorded and monitored internally.
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting therefore requires more than a simple log of incidents. It requires oversight, judgement and traceability.

Dutyholders must be able to demonstrate that:

 

• Occurrences are identified and evaluated appropriately

• Decisions not to report are justified

• Actions are tracked to completion

• Patterns or recurring risks are recognised

The regulator expects visible governance, not passive record keeping.
 

What Is a Mandatory Occurrence in Practice?

A Mandatory Occurrence may include events that indicate serious building safety risk, including matters relating to fire or structural safety.

Examples may include:​

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• Structural defects affecting stability

• Fire safety system failures

• Compartmentation breaches

• Failure of safety critical equipment

• Alterations or works that compromise fire or structural safety

 
The key issue is not the volume of events recorded. It is whether the system ensures that safety risks are identified early and managed responsibly.

Where occurrences are poorly recorded, fragmented or inconsistently assessed, accountability weakens.
Mandatory Occurrence Reporting is therefore concerned with governance discipline as much as compliance.

 

Common Challenges in Mandatory Occurrence Reporting

In practice, organisations often struggle with:

• Inconsistent recording standards
• Unclear responsibility for review
• Fragmented storage across emails or spreadsheets
• Lack of visibility at portfolio level
• Weak version control or audit trail

Over time, occurrences may be logged but not reviewed. Actions may be agreed but not tracked. Decisions may be taken but not documented clearly.

Who should they be reviewed by?

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• The Building Safety Lead or Compliance Manager, responsible for the day-to-day management of building safety risks

• The Accountable Person or Principal Accountable Person, who holds ultimate responsibility for building safety under the Building Safety Act

• Competent technical specialists where relevant, such as fire engineers, structural engineers, or other qualified professionals

• Senior governance or safety committees, where organisations operate portfolio-level oversight of safety risks

This undermines defensibility.

An effective Mandatory Occurrence Reporting system must demonstrate continuity of oversight.

 

How NBR Approaches This Responsibility

NBR treats Mandatory Occurrence Reporting as part of ongoing building safety governance rather than an isolated compliance task.

Our approach prioritises:

• Clear categorisation of occurrences
• Defined responsibility for review
• Transparent recording of decisions
• Evidence of action and resolution
• Audit ready traceability

Occurrences are captured within context, linked to relevant building information and associated with accountable roles.

The emphasis is on visibility and continuity, not reactive logging.

 

How This Is Supported in the NBR Platform

The NBR platform provides a controlled digital environment where safety related events can be:

 

• Logged consistently

• Alerted for Review by responsible parties

• Assessed against reporting thresholds

• Escalated where required​

• Tracked through to completion

Each occurrence maintains an audit trail of actions, decisions and outcomes. This enables Principal Accountable Persons and Accountable Persons to demonstrate oversight and regulatory awareness.

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting operates alongside:​

 

• Safety case management

• Golden Thread information management

• Ongoing inspection and maintenance records

When integrated within a coherent governance framework, reporting supports informed decision making rather than reactive compliance.

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Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Within Wider Building Safety Governance

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting does not operate in isolation.
It reinforces:

 

• Safety case integrity

• Risk monitoring processes

• Resident confidence

• Organisational accountability

 

When managed properly, it strengthens regulatory trust.

When treated as a simple incident log, it weakens it.

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting forms part of the NBR platform, supporting disciplined building safety governance across the lifecycle of Higher Risk Buildings in the UK.

Request a demo to see how occurrence reporting is managed in NBR.

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Related guidance

Explore reporting and accountability guidance in the Knowledge Hub.