What to do if…
your porch, balcony, or deck feels like it is pulling away from the building

What to do now

1. Get to a safer pause: calmly move everyone off the porch, balcony, or deck. Keep children and pets well back.
2. Stop access: shut and block the door or route onto it. Put a clear note on the door saying it is not safe to use.
3. Make a no-go zone below and around it: keep people away from the area underneath, the edge, and the likely drop zone. If it overhangs a pavement, car park, shared garden, or neighbour’s area, warn people from a safe distance.
4. Look only from a safe place: from inside, through a window, or from well back, check for a widening gap, fresh cracks where it meets the wall, leaning posts, sagging, repeated cracking noises, loose masonry, or pieces falling.
5. Call 999 if there is immediate danger: call if it may collapse soon, if debris could fall onto people, if anyone is trapped or injured, or if the structure is affecting a public area.
6. Report it as a dangerous structure if it is not an immediate 999 emergency:
   • England and Wales: report a dangerous building or structure to your local council, usually through Building Control or the dangerous structures route.
   • Scotland: phone your local authority Building Standards or dangerous buildings service if possible.
   • Northern Ireland: contact your local council, usually through Building Control or dangerous or derelict property routes.
7. If you rent, live in a flat, or share the building: tell the landlord, managing agent, freeholder, housing association, or factor immediately. Say clearly that the porch, balcony, or deck is not safe to use and needs urgent structural inspection.
8. Record what you can without going close: take photos or video from a safe distance. Note the date, time, weather, what moved, what you heard, and whether the gap or cracking is new.
9. If you suspect a utility risk:
   • Smell gas in England, Wales, or Scotland: get into fresh air and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
   • Smell gas in Northern Ireland: get into fresh air and call the Northern Ireland Gas Emergency Service on 0800 002 001.
   • Damaged external electrical equipment, sparking, or downed lines in Great Britain: keep well clear and call 105, or 999 if there is immediate danger.
   • Damaged external electrical equipment, sparking, or downed lines in Northern Ireland: keep well clear and call NIE Networks on 03457 643 643, or 999 if there is immediate danger.
10. Ask for a structural assessment: once the area has been kept clear, arrange for a structural engineer or suitably competent building professional to inspect the connection to the building, supports, fixings, and any wall damage.