Where a building is in such a condition that it may put people in danger, we have legal powers to investigate and require that it be made safe.
All reports and investigations are carried out on a strictly confidential basis. We will not disclose any details that can identify you. We do not investigate anonymous complaints.
What is a dangerous structure
Typical examples of dangerous structures include:
- walls over 1000mm in height in the immediate vicinity of pedestrians/the public (e.g. not between neighbouring gardens) that are leaning over or are unstable
- roof tiles being blown off in high winds
- chimneys damaged by storms (not including television aerial or satellite dishes).
What is not a dangerous structure
- Fence panels and posts
- Lamp posts or street furniture - see Oxfordshire County Council - street lighting
- Bus shelters - see Oxfordshire County Council - bus shelters
- Playground equipment / parks equipment - see our Parks pages
- Buildings that are simply dilapidated or run down would not necessarily be considered dangerous.
Building sites
These are places of work, but can sometimes cause concern for local residents. However potential dangerous structures (such as scaffolding and site hoarding) on building sites are unlikely to be covered by the Building Act legislation. Please do contact us if you are concerned, however jurisdiction is usually with the Health and Safety Executive and Oxfordshire County Council.
What action we will take
Any action we take is subject to sufficient reported details being provided to Building Control, such as address and name of the person reporting it.
We will also require images of the imminent danger to be emailed to buildingcontrol@oxford.gov.uk.
We will contact the owner of the building to remove the danger and make the building safe at their cost.
If the danger is immediate and/or life threatening and the owner cannot be contacted, we will arrange for the minimum action necessary to remove the danger and will claim the costs back from the owner.
All actions taken will be confirmed in writing and if available, the owner will be advised of the likely costs involved.
