Safety-critical building systems across Germany are showing a sharp rise in defects, raising concerns for facility operators and asset managers alike. The latest inspection data suggests that compliance alone is no longer enough — resilience, accountability and proactive maintenance are becoming operational imperatives.
A growing number of safety and fire protection systems are failing to meet required standards, according to the latest TÜV Building Law Report 2026, reported by Facility Manager. The findings point to a clear deterioration in the technical safety of buildings, with consequences extending well beyond regulatory compliance.
More than one-third of regularly inspected systems (35.9%) were found to have significant defects — a sharp increase on the previous year. A further 37.2% recorded minor deficiencies, leaving only around one in four systems defect-free.
For facility managers, the message is unmistakable: technical risk is becoming an operational risk.
Ventilation and Fire Protection Under Scrutiny
Ventilation systems emerged as the most problematic category, with major defects identified in almost half of all inspections. Fire extinguishing systems also recorded a significant rise in failures.
For FM teams, the findings reflect a familiar challenge: systems may be installed, but not always maintained, coordinated or tested to perform reliably under emergency conditions.
When ventilation, suppression, and smoke control systems fail to operate as an integrated safety network, the consequences can escalate quickly — from operational disruption to serious life-safety risks.
From Handover to Resilience: A Growing FM Challenge
One of the report’s more concerning findings is the increase in defects identified during pre-commissioning inspections, suggesting many issues originate during design, installation and project delivery — well before building operators assume responsibility.
For facility managers involved in new developments or refurbishments, this underlines the need for stronger technical oversight and more rigorous acceptance testing. Yet the challenge does not end at handover. Emergency power and emergency lighting systems also showed declining reliability, with defect rates increasing and the proportion of fault-free systems continuing to fall.
As buildings become more connected and operational expectations continue to rise, resilience is emerging as a core FM responsibility. Safety infrastructure must remain operational during outages and emergencies, requiring a shift from reactive maintenance towards planned resilience and long-term asset assurance.
Three Priorities for Facility Teams
The report highlights three immediate actions for operators and FM teams:
- Strengthen inspection, maintenance and documentation across all safety-critical assets.
- Ensure identified defects are corrected promptly and independently verified.
- Review resilience strategies, including emergency power capability, clearly defined emergency responsibilities and regular testing of operational response plans.