Fire Safety

Duty to Carry Out a Fire Risk Assessment

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (known as the FSO) introduced duties regarding fire safety in the common areas of HMOs, flats and maisonettes. The task is placed on the responsible person, who must carry out a fire risk assessment and take specific action to minimise fire risk in the common parts. 

Section 1 of the Fire Safety Act 2021 commenced in England on 16 May 2022. It has always been a requirement that the common areas of flats require a risk assessment. Still, the relationship between buildings without common areas and individual apartments has been clarified.

'Responsible person' means 'the person who has control of the premises in connection with the carrying on a trade, business or other undertaking'. In practice, this will usually be the landlord. Still, in the case of absentee landlords where the 'carrying on of the business' is undertaken by a managing agent, it may be the managing agent.

A risk assessment is not required under the legislation when a house is let on a single tenancy. However, the fire safety order will apply if a building contains two or more dwellings. In addition to the common parts, the 2021 amendments now clarify that a fire risk assessment is still required even if the building has no common parts. The evaluation should include the structure and external walls (including doors and windows on those walls) and anything attached to the walls, including balconies, cladding fixings etc. This will mean a house converted into two self-contained flats, each with a door straight off the street, will need a risk assessment.

Whilst the individual dwellings remain outside this legislation (but not outside fire safety under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System), any door from a dwelling into a common area (or to the outside) is now within the new requirements and should be included in the risk assessment.

These provisions are enforced by fire and rescue authorities, and there is, therefore, a dual enforcement regime in place in multi-occupancy premises. A Fire Safety Protocol has been established to avoid duplication and potential conflict as a framework for joint working arrangements between the fire and rescue authorities and local authorities.

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 started on 23 January 2023 and are made under the FSO as discussed above.

Regulations 9 and 10 relate to all buildings with two or more domestic premises and communal areas, which include self-contained flats or individual room tenancies with a shared area used to exit.

Fire safety instructions to residents (regulation 9)

A responsible person must display fire safety instructions prominently in communal areas. The instructions must include the following:

  • how to evacuate a building,
  • how to report a fire to fire and rescue, and
  • any other instruction that tells residents what to do when a fire has occurred.

In addition, the responsible person must provide a copy of the instructions:

  • to all residents within the building within 12 months of the start of the regulations;
  • to a new resident as soon as reasonably practicable after they move in; and
  • to all residents every 12 months.

The guidance says:

These instructions will be provided to residents upon a change and on an annual basis to ensure that residents always have up-to-date information and an annual refresher when there is no change.

If there are any material changes to the instructions, the new instructions must be displayed prominently in the building, and a copy must be provided to all residents.

Fire doors (regulation 10)

The responsible person must also provide information about fire doors in the building, whether or not they are within the individual dwelling or the communal parts. The information must include that:

  • all fire doors are to be kept closed when not in use,
  • residents or their guests should not tamper with any self-closing devices, and
  • residents should immediately report any fault or damages to the fire doors to the responsible person.

The information must be given to all existing occupiers within 12 months of when the regulations commence and to all new occupiers as soon as reasonably practicable after that resident moves in. 

Furthermore, the information must be given every 12 months as a refresher.

Fire doors - building above 11 meters

In addition to the information requirements, where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises and is above 11 metres in height, the responsible person must:

  • Use best endeavours to undertake checks of fire doors at the entrances of individual domestic premises at least every 12 months.
  • Keep a record of the steps taken to comply. In any case, where access was not granted during any 12 months, the actions that the responsible person took to try and gain access.
  • Undertake checks of any fire doors in communal areas of the building at least every three months.

The checks must, in particular, ensure that the doors' self-closing devices are working and also:

  • if there have been any alterations or damage to a door's glazing apertures or air transfer grille
  • if there are any gaps around the door frame and that seals and hinges are fitted correctly
  • that the door closer shuts the door
  • that the door closes perfectly around the whole frame
  • that there is no visible damage (either deliberate or from wear and tear) to the door or door closer

Height measurement will be calculated to "the height to the top storey" following Appendix D to Approved Document B.

Further guidance

The government has published guidance Check your fire safety responsibilities under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.

If a structure comprises two maisonettes with front doors on the street and no communal area, these regulations will not apply. Also, they won't apply to a house let on a joint and several tenancy, although there would be no harm in issuing the instructions.

The rules broadly cover high-rise buildings, some relating to those over 11 metres and some to those 18 metres or at least seven storeys with communal areas, which this article hasn't considered.

LGA (formerly LACORS) National Fire Safety Guidance

In July 2008, the Local Authorities Co-ordinator of Regulatory Services (LACORS) issued national fire safety guidance for landlords and local authorities in England.

Compliance with the guidance will satisfy landlords' legal requirements under the Fire Safety Order and is available here.

The guidance explains the general principles of fire safety and how to carry out and record a fire safety risk assessment.

Part D of the guidance provides valuable illustrations of the fire precautions suitable for the most common property types. The illustrations are based on properties of average fire risk, and the guide explains the factors that determine normal risk.

In addition to HMOs, the guidance includes fire safety advice for single occupancy properties, and the Housing Act 2004 requires such properties to be fire safe.

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