Fire and rescue services attended 695 fires in purpose-built high-rise flats in England in the year ending March 2026, up 4.0% on the previous year. Separately, England’s cladding-remediation portfolio contained 4,724 buildings at 31 August 2026. This guide brings together the latest fire-incident series and building-safety programme figures available on 15 October 2026.
The figures answer different questions: attended fires, deaths, identified cladding defects and remediation progress. They cover England and use different building-height definitions; they should not be presented as a single UK-wide dataset. Dates and definitions accompany the figures below.
Key facts and figures
- 695 fires in purpose-built flats of 10 or more storeys in England, year ending March 2026 — up 4.0% on the year.
- 11% fewer such fires than a decade earlier: 784 in the year ending March 2016.
- 10 fire-related deaths in these flats in the five years ending March 2026, across 10 fatal fires.
- 4,724 buildings 11 metres and over in England’s unsafe-cladding remediation portfolio at 31 August 2026.
- 39% had completed remediation: 1,849 buildings. In total, 54% had started or completed works.
- 5,900–7,400 residential buildings containing dwellings, 11 metres and over in England, estimated to have or have had unsafe cladding (March 2026 estimate).
- £15.1 billion central estimated external-wall remediation cost, with a £11.8–£22.7 billion range (March 2025 cost basis).
- 722 monitored buildings had remediation works underway at 31 August 2026; 2,153 were recorded as not started.
Reviewed on 15 October 2026. Fire figures cover the year ending March 2026; remediation progress is at 31 August 2026. The building estimate and cost estimate have separate reference dates and are not updated every month.
How many high-rise fires are there in the UK?
695 fires in purpose-built flats or maisonettes of 10 storeys or more were attended in England in the year ending March 2026. This compares with 668 in the previous year, an increase of 4.0%.
The FIRE0205 series divides dwelling fires by building type and height. Its high-rise category counts fires attended by fire and rescue services, not every alarm activation. It is an England series, so it should not be labelled a UK total or directly combined with countries using different classifications.
This page is deliberately scoped to tall buildings and the cladding-safety response. For the UK’s general dwelling and workplace fire counts, see our sister site’s Fire Statistics UK guide.
Are high-rise fires falling?
The long-term comparison is downward, but the latest annual comparison is upward: 695 fires in the year ending March 2026 is 11% below the 784 recorded ten years earlier and 5.4% below the 735 recorded five years earlier.
Annual totals fluctuate. The change from 668 to 695 does not establish why fires occurred, and the incident counts alone cannot measure the effect of cladding remediation, alarms or other safety improvements.
| Measure | Latest figure | Data period | Comparison / scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fires in purpose-built flats of 10+ storeys (England) | 695 | Year ending March 2026 | Up 4.0% from 668; down 11% from 784 ten years earlier |
| Fatal fires in the same high-rise category (England) | 2 fires; 2 deaths | Year ending March 2026 | 1 fatal fire and 1 death in the preceding year |
| Fire-related deaths in the same category (England) | 10 | Five years ending March 2026 | 91 in the preceding five-year period, which includes Grenfell |
| Buildings 11m+ in the unsafe-cladding portfolio (England) | 4,724 | 31 August 2026 | Programme monitoring; includes buildings already remediated |
| Monitored buildings with remediation completed | 1,849 (39%) | 31 August 2026 | 2,571 (54%) started or completed |
| Estimated residential buildings 11m+ with unsafe cladding | 5,900–7,400 | Estimate as at March 2026 | Have or have had unsafe cladding; buildings containing dwellings |
| Estimated external-wall remediation cost (England) | £15.1bn (£11.8bn–£22.7bn) | Cost estimate as at March 2025 | Past and future capital costs; not updated for the March 2026 building estimate |
| Buildings with past or current local-authority enforcement action | 929 | 31 August 2026 | Housing Act 2004 action concerning suspected unsafe cladding |
Whether a flat fire stays a flat fire depends on compartmentation — the walls, floors and fire doors that hold smoke and flames back. Our companion page on fire door statistics covers how often those doors fail inspection.
How many people die in high-rise fires?
There were 10 fire-related deaths across 10 fatal fires in purpose-built flats of 10 or more storeys in England in the five years ending March 2026. Fire and rescue services attended 3,584 fires in this category over that period. The latest year contained two fatal fires and two deaths.
The preceding five years, ending March 2021, contained 3,885 fires, 19 fatal fires and 91 fire-related deaths in the same series. That period includes Grenfell. Such an exceptional event has a large effect on comparisons between five-year totals.
Compartmentation is intended to restrict the spread of fire and smoke, but a national fatality total cannot show whether an individual building’s protection is adequate. Residents should follow the evacuation instructions for their building and emergency directions from the fire and rescue service; a building’s strategy must reflect its assessed risks.
How many buildings still have unsafe cladding?
At 31 August 2026, 4,724 buildings of 11 metres or more were in England’s monitored unsafe-cladding portfolio. This includes buildings where remediation is complete, so it is not a count of buildings still awaiting all their work.
The separate March 2026 estimate is 5,900–7,400 residential buildings containing dwellings that have or have had unsafe cladding. The estimate adjusted to the programme’s scope is 5,800–7,300: the scope includes certain non-dwelling buildings and excludes some privately completed remediation outside the programmes. These totals should not be subtracted without accounting for those differences.
The monthly release reports the portfolio by height, programme and stage. Changes in recorded totals can reflect assessments, data cleansing and reclassification as well as newly identified buildings. In particular, social-housing data changed methodology from December 2025, limiting direct comparisons with earlier totals.
How much cladding remediation is complete?
By 31 August 2026, 1,849 buildings (39%) had completed remediation and 722 (15%) had works underway. Together these make 2,571 buildings (54%) started or completed. The remaining 2,153 (46%) were recorded as not started; that category includes 86 social buildings whose remediation status was not yet known.
The completed category includes work awaiting building-control sign-off where applicable. Separately, local-authority enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004 had been, or was being, taken against 929 buildings with suspected unsafe cladding. That is a cumulative enforcement measure, not 929 new notices or 929 confirmed unsafe buildings.
Buildings awaiting remediation may need interim safety measures selected through their fire-risk assessment, including alarms, waking watches or a temporary simultaneous-evacuation strategy. An interim measure does not remove the need to address the underlying building defects.
What will cladding remediation cost?
The current published central estimate is £15.1 billion, with a range of £11.8 billion to £22.7 billion, for external-wall system remediation of residential buildings containing dwellings that are 11 metres or higher in England. The estimate is on a March 2025 basis and includes past and future capital costs.
The central allocation is £8.9 billion to government-funded remediation and £6.1 billion to non-government funding; figures are rounded. These are modelled costs, rather than a statement of money already spent or a guarantee of funding for an individual building.
The estimate has not yet been updated to reflect the revised March 2026 building-population estimates. It supersedes the older £16.6 billion central estimate quoted in the National Audit Office’s November 2024 report; the different vintages should not be treated as directly comparable measures of spending.
What does the Building Safety Regulator’s register cover?
The occupied higher-risk residential-building regime in England generally covers buildings with at least two residential units that are at least 18 metres high or have at least seven storeys, subject to the statutory definitions and exclusions. The principal accountable person must register an eligible building before it is occupied; the public register lets users check individual buildings.
These thresholds differ from the fire-statistics category of 10 or more storeys and the remediation portfolio’s threshold of 11 metres. A count from one system cannot be used as the denominator for another without checking which buildings each includes.
Residential PEEPs duties took effect in England on 6 April 2026. They cover multi-residential buildings at least 18 metres high or seven storeys, and those more than 11 metres high with simultaneous evacuation. The duties include identifying relevant residents who would have difficulty evacuating without assistance and offering a person-centred risk assessment, with consent. Our fire evacuation statistics guide explains the wider evacuation context.
Frequently asked questions
How many fires are there in high-rise flats in the UK each year?
England’s fire and rescue services attended 695 fires in purpose-built flats or maisonettes of 10 storeys or more in the year ending March 2026. That is 4.0% more than the preceding year. This is an England figure, not a UK total.
What counts as a high-rise building in UK fire statistics?
FIRE0205 uses purpose-built flats or maisonettes of 10 or more storeys. The cladding portfolio covers buildings 11 metres and over; the occupied higher-risk residential-building regime generally uses at least 18 metres or seven storeys and at least two residential units, subject to its statutory scope.
How many tower blocks in the UK still have unsafe cladding?
At 31 August 2026, 4,724 buildings were in England’s monitored unsafe-cladding portfolio, including 1,849 with remediation completed. Separately, the March 2026 estimate was 5,900–7,400 residential buildings containing dwellings that have or have had unsafe cladding.
How many people have died in high-rise fires in the UK?
The England series for purpose-built flats of 10 or more storeys records 10 fire-related deaths in the five years ending March 2026. The preceding five years recorded 91 and included Grenfell. The latest single year recorded two deaths.
How much will cladding remediation cost?
The latest published central estimate is £15.1 billion, with a £11.8–£22.7 billion range, for external-wall remediation of residential buildings containing dwellings, 11 metres or higher in England. It uses a March 2025 cost basis and has not been updated for the revised March 2026 building estimates.
Where do UK high-rise fire statistics come from?
Fire counts and deaths come from MHCLG’s England fire-incident statistics and FIRE0205. Remediation progress and cost estimates come from MHCLG’s Building Safety Remediation release. Registration requirements come from the Building Safety Regulator; these sources use different building definitions.
If you help run a high-rise or any multi-occupied building, the numbers on this page are the argument for competent people on the ground: fires are rarer than a decade ago, but nearly half the buildings with known unsafe cladding are still waiting for work to start. Our Fire Warden Training course covers evacuation procedure, sweeps, assembly-point management and PEEPs — £18 per learner, RoSPA approved and CPD accredited, 60 to 90 minutes online, with an instant certificate on passing and bulk discounts from 10 delegates.
Related guides
- Fire Evacuation Statistics UK: Rescues, Drills & Evacuation Behaviour Data
- Fire Door Statistics UK: Failure Rates, Inspections & Compliance Data
- Fire marshal responsibilities: the complete UK duties list
- Fire marshal checklist: daily, weekly and emergency procedure
- How many fire marshals do you need?
Sources & references
- MHCLG — Fire and rescue incident statistics, year ending March 2026
- MHCLG — Fire statistics data tables, including FIRE0205
- MHCLG — Building Safety Remediation, August 2026: progress and dated cost estimates
- MHCLG — August 2026 management-information tables, including Combined and Enforcement tables
- Building Safety Regulator — Applying to register a high-rise residential building
- GOV.UK — Residential PEEPs: guidance for Responsible Persons
High-rise fire safety depends on trained people on the ground — get certified with accredited, workplace-ready training.
Explore the Fire Warden Training course →
Mark writes about workplace health & safety, fire safety and accredited online training for Fire Warden Training, part of Online CPD Academy.