The Building Safety Regulator has warned of potential structural safety issues affected reinforced concrete buildings.
In a piece of correspondence addressed to “principal accountable persons and buildings owners”, the regulator (BSR) issued a warning about so-called transfer slabs.
It said it was working with industry experts and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to better understand the extent of the risk and how it can be identified and proportionately managed.
A transfer slab is a floor arrangement where a column sits on top of a slab, but does not have a supporting column directly beneath it. It supports the load from the column, spreading it to the supporting columns below.
It has been used in the UK for more than 25 years, particularly in mixed-use schemes. However, the BSR emphasised that “not all construction of this nature will have issues”.
The concern is related to “punching shear in transfer slabs”, a failure mechanism where a high concentration of load causes a column to punch through the slab.
This could result in the collapse of part of a building, although the BSR is not aware of such an incident in the UK.
According to the BSR, the presence of transfer slab alone is not a reason for a building to be decanted, but that in places where there are specific concerns or visible signs of distress like cracking, building owners should seek professional advice.
Guidance on the design of transfer slab, published by the Institution of Structural Engineers in November 2024, initially raised concerns about the adequacy of historic engineering design methods in existing buildings, triggering the BSR to commission an independent study later in the year.
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