Read our latest report into “Why Window Restrictors Are Essential for a High Rise Building”. This report looks at recent cases of tragic falls as well as the regulations and guidelines affecting window safety for high rise buildings and how to comply with them. Read on to find out more…

The size of the risks posed by windows in high rise buildings 

Window restrictors are essential for high rise buildings because of the risk of falls from windows. These falls might be accidental, or resulting from confused states, or even deliberate acts of self-harm.

Most people underestimate the risk of falls from high rise windows but the statistics demonstrate that the risks are very real:-

  • According to ONS data, 66 people aged 19 or under died after falling from buildings across England and Wales between 2013 and 2022.
  • The same ONS report showed that 24 of these deaths were in London.
  • According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) more than 4,000 children under the age of 15 are injured in falls from windows each year.
  • One child under five is admitted to the hospital every day after falling from a building.
  • On average, each year, 10 children who fall from a window die and an unknown number suffer life changing injuries.

It’s not just children who are at risk from falls from high rise buildings. Sheffield City Council launched an investigation this year to look into the safety of high-rise windows after two council tenants fell to their deaths in the past two years.

Also this year NHS Lothian was fined £220,000 for safety breaches after two patients died in separate incidents when they fell out of hospital windows that were found to be lacking suitable window restrictors.

Even when falls from high rise buildings don’t cause fatalities, they cause life-changing injuries.  Falls from high rise windows are easy to prevent by installing window restrictors.

Window Restrictor Regulations for High Rise Buildings – Care & Education Settings 

Window restrictors are legally required in hospitals, care homes, education buildings and settings that care for people who may be vulnerable. Such care settings must have window restrictors in place that prevent windows from opening no wider than 100mm and that can only be over-ridden with a key or special tool. In these settings 3 window restrictor styles would be appropriate.

  • The Perma cable window restrictor is ideal. Permanently fixed, the Perma prevents the window from opening wider than 100mm unless the restrictor is removed with a screwdriver.
  • The Pro-5 Key Operated window restrictor. This option allows the window to be opened wider than 100mm with the use of a key.
  • The Titan steel window restrictor, the strongest and most secure window restriction device available. Like the Pro-5 this restrictor product allows windows to be fully opened with a key.

Window Regulations – Non-Care Settings

All residential property landlords are legally required to ensure that windows are designed, installed and maintained in a way that prevents accidents such as falls or entrapment.

While it is up to landlords to decide how to conform with the above legal requirement, if an accident did occur the HSE would decide whether the measures put in place by the landlord were compliant or not. A window that does not have proper locks or restrictors could easily be opened and lead to a fall.

Although high rise residencies in the U.K are not currently legally required to have fixed window restrictors in place, this may change as a result of a recent coroner report into the case of a man who tragically fell to his death from a 16th floor flat  window. Window restrictors were in place in this case, but they were of the type that can be overridden, so the man was able to fully open the window. The coroner sent a prevention of  future deaths report to Michael Gove at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in April which stated:-

“It is a matter of concern that, aside from certain buildings designed for educational or healthcare use, or provided for vulnerable adults, current building regulations do not require fixed window restrictors to be fitted to opening windows in high-rise residential buildings; and in relation to windows of the type and design in use in Stretford House, there is no current requirement to retrofit fixed window restrictors.”

The new Government’s upcoming review of the Decent Homes Standard and its focus on improving safeguarding of tenants in rented accommodation may lead to stricter regulations around the use of window restrictors in rented high rise accommodation. This would not be unprecedented. In New York, owners of buildings with more than three apartments must install proper window guards on all windows, including those overlooking balconies, in apartments with children 10 years and younger, so that there’s no more than 4.5 inches of open space. They must also install the guards if a resident requests one for any reason.

Social Housing High Rise Buildings 

Some housing associations are going further with window safety than is required by current regulations.  Stevenage Homes management organisation has fitted restrictors to every window on the second floor and above of its 75 developments of three storeys or higher. Its environmental health officer at the time concluded windows should open to a maximum of 100mm.

Clarion Housing Association has a process in place so that every high rise above seven storeys has a named building safety manager, providing a single point of contact – and, ultimately, overall responsibility – for security issues, including window operation.

Window Restrictor Options for High Rise Buildings

In summary, windows in high rise buildings do pose significant risks. Care and education settings are required to install window restrictors that can only be removed using a key or special tool. Landlords of high rise residencies have a duty of care with regards to windows and a recent coroner Prevention of Future Death report might mean that the style of window restrictor that has to be installed on such windows becomes more closely regulated.

We hope this guide has highlighted Why Window Restrictors Are Essential for a High Rise Building.  If you would like to discuss product solutions for the opening windows in your high rise buildings please do get in touch with our experienced team.