Part 4: Higher-risk buildings Residents’ etc duties Section 95: Duties on residents and owners Effect
This section provides that residents of a higher-risk building (aged 16 or over) and owners of residential units in higher-risk building must:
not act in a way that creates a significant risk of a building safety risk materialising;
not interfere with a relevant safety item; and
comply with a request made by the appropriate Accountable Person for information reasonably required to perform their duties to carry out an assessment of building safety risks and to manage those risks.
	The duties apply to residents of all tenures living in the building including but not limited to leaseholders, social housing tenants, and private renters; the duties also apply to non-resident owners of residential units. The duties are about residents’ behaviours and actions, including in responding to requests for information from the appropriate Accountable Person to ensure they can assess and manage building safety risks.
	The provision places a set of clear responsibilities on residents in relation to helping to keep their building safe, including ensuring that Accountable Persons can carry out their building safety duties. The Accountable Person is, by virtue of sections 95 and 96, able to enforce these duties by issuing contravention notices, which can be enforced through application to the courts.
	"Relevant safety item" means anything in or which forms part of the common parts (as defined in section 71) of a higher-risk building that is intended to improve the safety of anyone in the building or in its vicinity in relation to a building safety risk. For example, signage, sprinklers, fire extinguishers etc. All residents (and owners of residential units) are required not to interfere with a relevant safety item, this means damaging it, removing it, or interfering with its intended function. This applies unless the resident has a reasonable excuse to "interfere" with the relevant safety item, for example: using a fire extinguisher to put out a fire.