Dangerous structures and demolition

If you think the condition of a building or structure, such as a fence or wall, is unsafe or likely to cause injury, please report it to the building control team.

If you need to report an immediate danger outside of office hours, please contact our emergency team.

If the danger is a result of anti-social behaviour this can be reported to the council or police force using the links below:

Report Antisocial Behaviour to Thames Valley Police

Report Antisocial Behaviour to Reading Borough Council

Reporting a dangerous structure

You can report a dangerous structure by emailing building control.

Make sure to provide as much detail as possible in your email, including:

• the address or location (you can use what3words for the exact location)
• your name and contact number (confidential)
• the name and contact details of the owner of the structure (if known)
• type of structure e.g. how many storeys it has and what it’s used for
• description of the danger and whether movement is visible
• photographs of the danger (if possible)
• description of the nearby area e.g. close to a road, public space or school

Report a dangerous structure

What happens after you report a dangerous structure

Once we receive a report, a surveyor will visit the site to assess the structure and any risks.

Outside normal working hours, our response time is 2 to 3 hours. For emergencies, we aim to attend within 1 to 2 hours of our initial assessment. We prioritise emergency services and response times depend on the level of risk.

The Reading Borough Council Building Control team will contact you if we:

• need access to your property to assess the reported issue
• need more information, such as photographs
• believe the structure poses a risk to you or the public and need to give you advice on how to prevent harm

We cannot provide regular updates on reports or share information about communications between the people involved.

We treat all reports as confidential. We will not share your personal details with other people, or share their personal details with you.

How we respond to dangerous structures

The action we take will depend on how serious the danger is.

If there is an immediate danger

We will try to contact the property owner and ask them to remove the danger. This may involve removing loose bricks or tiles, or putting up fencing to prevent access to the dangerous area.

If the owner is not available, we may use our emergency powers to make the situation safe. We can recover the costs of any work carried out.

If there is no immediate danger

If the structure is unsafe but there is no immediate danger, we will work with the owner to address the concerns.

If necessary, we can start enforcement action under section 77 and section 78 of the Building Act 1984.

Section 77 and Section 78 of the Building Act 1984

Section 77

Under section 77 of the Building Act 1984, the council can apply to a Magistrates’ Court for an order requiring the owner or occupier to address a dangerous structure. The council can carry out the work itself if they do not comply.

If the owner or occupier does not comply with the notice as quickly as the circumstances allow, the council can complain to a Magistrates’ Court. The court may order them to comply. If they still do not comply, the council can carry out the work itself. The building control team leader, head of planning and building control, and legal services must agree the process and resources needed.

The Magistrates’ Court decides on applications for orders and proceedings to recover the council’s expenses.

If a survey indicates that a structure may be dangerous, the council will usually send the owner an informal notice asking them to remove the danger. Legal Services can usually obtain the owner’s name and address from the Land Registry. The notice should explain:

what the danger is

what work is needed to remove the danger

how long the owner has to complete the work

In some cases, the council may send a stronger letter warning that it could take action through the Magistrates’ Court. A section 77 notice may then be issued.

Section 78

Under section 78 of the Building Act 1984, if a building or structure is dangerous and immediate action is needed, the council can take the necessary steps to remove the danger.

If it is reasonably practicable, the council must notify the property owner before carrying out the work. The council may recover the costs of the work from the owner.

If the council fences off the building or arranges for it to be watched, it can only recover these costs until the danger is removed or an order under section 77 has been complied with. If a court decides that the council should have used section 77 instead of its emergency powers, the council cannot recover the costs under section 78.

The court can decide whether other people should pay some of the costs. It can also decide whether compensation should be paid for any damage caused by the council’s actions.

Who is responsible for making a dangerous structure safe?

The property owner is responsible for making a dangerous structure safe and arranging any necessary work.

If the council needs to carry out work to make the structure safe, the property owner may have to pay the costs. If these costs are not paid, the council may register a charge against the property to recover the money.

The council may also charge for searches needed to identify the property owner.

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Demolition work

If the building you want to demolish is less than 50 cubic metres you do not need to give us notice.

If it is larger than 50 cubic meters, you must give us six weeks’ notice by sending us a Section 80 Demolition notice.

Please fill in this demolition notice application form and email it to building control.

The government website has advice for carrying out building work when there are party walls, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings in its party wall guidance web page.