Operating a mandatory occurrence reporting system

Reports are made to the building control authority (this is usually the local authority where the building is located).

Principal designers and principal contractors

The principal designer and principal contractor must establish and operate a mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) system, during:

• construction of a new higher-risk building
• work on an existing higher-risk building, unless the work consists only of exempt work or emergency repairs
• work to an existing building that either makes it a higher-risk building, or stops it being a higher-risk building

A higher-risk building is a building that has at least:

• 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high 
• 1 residential unit or is a hospital, a care home or a children’s home

Some types of buildings are excluded from being a higher-risk building, such as hotels, secure residential institutions and military barracks or other Ministry of Defence accommodation. 

You can read guidance on when buildings are considered to be higher-risk buildings during construction of new buildings and when carrying out building work on existing buildings.

The principal designer and principal contractor must:

• establish and operate an MOR system before construction or building work begins
• maintain and operate their system throughout the project

Principal designers and principal contractors can operate the same, or separate MOR systems.

Your MOR system must as far as is reasonably practical, enable prompt reporting by:

• designers and contractors working on the project
• others who periodically visit the work site

Find out more about the roles of principal designers and principal contractors in the guide design and building work: meeting building requirements.

Your system must let people report safety occurrences that have caused, or if not remedied would be likely to present, a risk of:

• the death of a significant number of people
• serious injury that needs immediate treatment in hospital or causes a permanent or irreversible disabling condition to a significant number of people

This is known as the “risk condition”.

Safety occurrence are:

• in relation to a design, an aspect of design relating to the structural integrity or fire safety of a higher-risk building that would, if built, meet the risk condition
• otherwise, an incident or situation relating to the structural integrity or fire safety of a higher-risk building that meets the risk condition.
• You must report safety occurrences that you have assessed and believe meet these criteria to the building control authority as a safety occurrence. You must do this by submitting a mandatory occurrence:
• notice, as soon as possible, without undue delay
• written report, within 10 working days of the safety occurrence being identified

The building control authority will be able to tell you how to submit a notice or report to them.

To help identify safety occurrences, frequent inspections of the:

• design work must be set up by the principal designer
• building work must be set up by the principal contractor

You must:

• promptly review the reports submitted on the system
• decide if any action is needed

You must share information about how the system works with:

• designers, contractors and others working on the project, before they begin any work
• anyone who enters the work site, as soon as possible
• building control authority, when requested

You should tell people:

• what they need to report
• how to make a report
• how and when the report will be dealt with
• when they should expect a response about a report they have made
• how you’ll collect and store information in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

It may be helpful to include examples of what people should report on your MOR system.