On 12 August 2025, the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) granted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) an interim injunction prohibiting the occupation of a higher-risk building (HRB). 

In the case of Health and Safety Executive v Integritas Property Group (IPG) [2025] EWHC 2613 (TCC) the HSE, exercising its role as the Building Safety Regulator under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022), applied for an injunction preventing the occupation of a property. This was on the grounds that IPG lacked had yet to acquire a  certificate to show that building regulations had been complied with. 

The HSE also presented evidence of serious safety concerns explaining that the injunction sought was not solely due to an administrative process. The HSE maintained that there were good reasons why a certificate could not be provided and that it was unlikely to become available in the immediate future.

While the application for an injunction was made without notice, it should not have come as a great surprise to IPG since they had already received a contravention notice, cancellation notice and stop notice, in relation to the property. Still this was not enough to dissuade IPG from actively marketing the property for student occupation, and this was evidently a step too far for the HSE.

The judge (Freedman J) was satisfied that, as the statutory regulator with responsibility for enforcing building safety, the HSE had sufficient standing to seek an interim injunction to prevent breaches of criminal law under the BSA 2022. Applying the principles in the leading case of American Cyanamid , the judge agreed with the HSE that damages would not be an adequate remedy given the health and safety risks, and the balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction. 

The decision demonstrates that the HSE will bring injunctions in the exercise of its regulatory function under the BSA 2022, including where it considers the regulations it seeks to uphold are being flouted. It especially relevant as the legislation did not expressly afford the HSE such a power. For the time being we should all assume that interim injunctions will be an option in the HSE arseanl.  

Once the full judgment is available it will be interesting to learn how much weight was placed by the judge on the evidence of physical safety concerns or whether the absence of a completion certificate was and is sufficient by itself to justify the granting of such an application.