Our Building Control team provide dangerous structures service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A dangerous structure is a building or structure at risk or on imminent danger of failure or collapse.
| Dangerous structures | Structures not considered dangerous |
|---|---|
| Boundary walls, fences and hoarding at risk of collapse or failure | Road and footpath surfaces (contact Kent Highways) |
| Poor building work e.g. underpinning | Damaged road signs (contact Kent Highways) |
| Sheeted scaffolding acting as a sail | Changes in ground level |
| A structure hit by a vehicle | Trees and vegetation |
| A structure damaged by wind and weather | Ground instability (unless it affects a structure) |
| Structure which has fire damage | Neighbour disputes, including Party Wall disputes |
| Poor maintenance or neglect of a structure | |
| Falling masonry or tiles |
The Building Act has further information on dangerous structures.
Report a dangerous structure
Call our Building Control team on 01732 227376 during office hours or 01732 227000 at other times.
Once we have your report, we will visit the site, usually within two hours, to make an assessment.
If the structure is considered dangerous, we will try to contact the owner and request that they remove the danger or carry out repairs.
If the owner does not make the structure safe within a realistic timeframe, we may carry out the works and recover reasonable costs from the owner. In some instances we may apply to the Magistrates’ Court for an order requiring work to be carried out.