FOI release

Apex Court - Fire Safety Audit Outcome

Case reference FOI2026/00125

Received 2 February 2026

Published 5 March 2026

Request

1) Request full audit report of findings @ Apex Court, W13 0DU, which was carried out on 15/10/25.

2) Although the enforcement notice was reported as issued on 15/10/25. We understand that the enforcement notice was only activated on 5/1/26. Can the LFB confirm and explain this delay with activating the enforcement notice by 3 months.

3) Has the freeholder delayed the enforcement notice  been activated? If yes, for what reason?

4) Has the freeholder appealed against the audit findings and enforcement notice( within the 21 days?)

5) Please provide all documentation and correspondence with regards to Apex Court.

Response

Please see my response to your requests in turn below:

1) Request full audit report of findings @ Apex Court, W13 0DU, which was carried out on 15/10/25. 

I have included the full Enforcement Notice letters, sent to Apex Ealing Development Limited, in PDF document ‘FOI202600125_Apex Court_Disclosure_Redacted’ in the "Documents" section below.  The Enforcement Notice letters can be found on pages 5 – 12 of 77 (Flats 10-18 22 and 23 Apex Court) and pages 13 – 21 of 77 (Flats 1-9 and 19-21 Apex Court) of this document.  Please note, personal data has been removed from Enforcement Notice letters under section 40 of the FOIA – Personal Information.

The LFB freely provide the outcome of Fire Safety Audits and notices issued under freedom of information act.  When the LFB identifies any safety concerns, we make this information available by providing copies of informal Notification of Fire Safety Deficiencies (NOD) letters, and through the public register any formal enforcement action.

Other materials, such as the audit reports themselves, are exempt from access via the FOIA provisions.  We consider these to be exempt under Section 31 of the FOIA (“law enforcement” – Section 31(1)(g) combined with 31(2) (a) and 31(2) (c)).  We are of the view that the correct balance between the public interest in building safety and our ongoing regulatory involvement lies in making information about enforcement action available (formal or informal) to those that request it, but in withholding the supporting information and evidence gathered during regulation activities.  This information should be protected from publication to preserve the safe space for good regulation principles and that any withheld information could be used at a later date as part of formal enforcement action or prosecution where the materials go to demonstrate the behaviour, actions or omissions of the responsible person.

 

2) Although the enforcement notice was reported as issued on 15/10/25. We understand that the enforcement notice was only activated on 5/1/26. Can the LFB confirm and explain this delay with activating the enforcement notice by 3 months.

There is no delay, LFB Inspecting Officers have three months to complete their audit files. The premises was inspected in October 2025 and the Enforcement Notices were issued to the Responsible Person in January 2026 (which is within three months of the inspection).

 

3) Has the freeholder delayed the enforcement notice been activated? If yes, for what reason?

4) Has the freeholder appealed against the audit findings and enforcement notice( within the 21 days?)

In response to your questions 3 and 4, our Fire Safey Regulatory department have confirmed that they have received no appeals from the Responsible Person relating to the Enforcement Notices issued in January 2026.

 

5) Please provide all documentation and correspondence with regards to Apex Court.

The LFB Fire Safety Regulatory department provided me with all documents held on their files for Apex Court, W13 0DU.

I have provided you with all the documents and correspondence you are entitled to under the FOI act in PDF file: ‘FOI202600125_Apex Court_Disclosure_Redacted’.  Please note, personal data has been removed from this document under section 40 of the FOIA – Personal Information.

We do hold some further fire safety information in relation to the building which we consider these to be exempt under Section 31 of the FOIA (“law enforcement” – Section 31(1)(g) combined with 31(2) (a) and 31(2) (c)):

  • Copies of the Fire Safety Audit reports from the inspections which resulted in some form of informal or formal action being taken by LFB.

  • Email correspondence between LFB and the Responsible Person for the premises.

As mentioned in my response to question 1, audit reports are exempt from access via the FOIA provisions.  We consider these to be exempt under Section 31 of the FOIA (“law enforcement” – Section 31(1)(g) combined with 31(2) (a) and 31(2) (c)).  We are of the view that the correct balance between the public interest in building safety and our ongoing regulatory involvement lies in making information about enforcement action available (formal or informal) to those that request it, but in withholding the supporting information and evidence gathered during regulation activities.  This information should be protected from publication to preserve the safe space for good regulation principles and that any withheld information could be used at a later date as part of formal enforcement action or prosecution where the materials go to demonstrate the behaviour, actions or omissions of the responsible person.

Email correspondence and detailed notes, or documents provided to us by the Responsible Person (RP) for the building are exempt from access via the FOIA provisions.  We consider these to be exempt under Section 31 of the FOIA (“law enforcement” – Section 31(1)(g) combined with 31(2) (a) and 31(2) (c)). 

We clearly understand that there is public interest and concern about knowing about the fire safety of the buildings in which people live, work or visit however we need to maintain a balance between the public interest in safety and the Brigade’s ability to work with responsible persons in a safe space where honest, frank and meaningful discussions can take place.  It is important that enforcing authorities are assisted in their investigations if witnesses and those responsible for compliance with regulations are willing to cooperate with the investigation on a voluntary basis and investigators are able to enter in discussions (either verbally, or by correspondence) with those involved to enable them to explore all aspects of the case and then arrive at a decision as to the appropriate action to take.

We also hold some correspondence between LFB and members of the public in relation to the premises.  We are of the view that these emails were provided to the LFB with the expectation of some level of confidence and also contain information that is personal to the sender.  As such, these are withheld under section 40 of the FOIA – Personal Information.

Documents

This is London Fire Brigade's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.