Safety Case Guidance
Understanding the Safety Case, the statutory Safety Case Report, and the information that supports them
A Safety Case is the body of information and evidence through which building safety risks are identified, assessed, managed and kept under review.
It is closely related to, but different from, the statutory Safety Case Report.
The Safety Case is the wider body of information and evidence. The Safety Case Report is the formal report prepared by the Principal Accountable Person for an occupied higher-risk building, drawing on that wider Safety Case and Golden Thread information.
This guidance explains the distinction, where the statutory requirements apply and why maintaining reliable Safety Case information matters in practice.
Why Safety Case information matters
A Safety Case depends on more than holding documents.
Those responsible for an occupied higher-risk building need reliable information that allows them to understand the building, assess its building safety risks and demonstrate how those risks are being managed.
If supporting information is fragmented, outdated or difficult to trace, that becomes much harder.
Well-structured Safety Case information helps connect the building, its risks, the measures used to manage them and the evidence supporting those decisions.
Where does the statutory requirement apply?
Legal requirement and wider responsibility
For occupied higher-risk buildings, Accountable Persons have statutory duties to assess and manage building safety risks. The Principal Accountable Person must also prepare a Safety Case Report and revise it when necessary or appropriate.
For the occupied higher-risk building regime, an HRB is generally a building that:
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is at least 18 metres high or at least seven storeys, and
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contains at least two residential units.
Certain building types are excluded from the regime.
What information supports a Safety Case?
There is no single prescribed Safety Case template.
The supporting information needs to collectively explain the building, the relevant building safety risks, how those risks are being managed and what evidence supports those arrangements.
In practice, this draws on information relating to areas such as:
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the building and its characteristics
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fire and structural safety risks
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measures used to manage those risks
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inspections, assessments and supporting evidence
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responsibilities and management arrangements
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monitoring, review and change
Our Safety Case Guide explains these areas in more detail and shows how the information fits together.
Common Safety Case information problems
The difficulty is often not that information does not exist. It is that it exists in too many places.
Common issues include:
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records dispersed across consultants, contractors and systems
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uncertainty over which information is current
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inconsistent naming and document structures
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evidence that cannot easily be linked to a particular risk or decision
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information being lost when personnel or suppliers change
When this happens, preparing, maintaining and relying on Safety Case information becomes unnecessarily difficult.
Download the Safety Case guide
Our Safety Case Guide explains what good looks like in practice.
It provides clear, plain-English guidance on:
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the difference between the Safety Case and Safety Case Report
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where the statutory requirements apply
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the core information that supports a Safety Case
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how building safety risks, management measures and evidence should connect
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responsibilities for maintaining Safety Case information
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how information should be structured and kept current
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common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Written for building owners, PAPs, APs and other responsible organisations that need clarity without unnecessary complexity.
Our approach
NBR guides are published to support clarity, consistency, and confidence across the property sector.
They reflect publicly available legislation and statutory guidance and are intended to support understanding and good practice. They are not legal advice and should always be read alongside the latest guidance published by the Building Safety Regulator and GOV.UK.
Where information is treated with care, structure, and accountability, safety management becomes predictable, defensible, and sustainable.
More building safety guidance
Explore our full Knowledge Hub for guidance on the Golden Thread, Mandatory Occurrence Reporting, statutory dutyholder responsibilities, and Building Safety Regulator engagement.