Fire Risk Assessment Requirements: What Building Owners and Businesses Need to Know

A fire risk assessment is one of the most important parts of managing fire safety within a building. It is not simply a paperwork exercise—it must identify the risks to people from fire and set out the measures needed to remove or reduce those risks.

In England and Wales, the main legislation is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It requires the person responsible for a premises to ensure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is completed, recorded and kept under review.

Which Buildings Require a Fire Risk Assessment?

Fire risk assessments are generally required for:

• Offices, shops and commercial premises

• Factories, warehouses and workshops

• Hotels, guest houses and holiday accommodation

• Care homes, hospitals and healthcare premises

• Schools, nurseries and educational buildings

• Restaurants, pubs and entertainment venues

• Community centres and places of worship

• Construction sites

• Houses in multiple occupation

• The communal areas of blocks of flats

• Buildings containing two or more separate domestic premises

The Fire Safety Order does not normally apply inside an individual private home. However, it applies to the shared and communal areas of residential buildings, including corridors, staircases, entrance halls, plant rooms, bin stores and other areas used by residents collectively.

For multi-occupied residential buildings, the fire risk assessment must also consider the building’s structure, external walls, balconies, cladding systems and flat entrance doors opening onto common areas. This requirement was clarified by the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Who Is Responsible?

The legal duty normally sits with the building’s “Responsible Person”. Depending on the type of premises, this may be:

• The employer

• The building owner or freeholder

• A landlord

• A managing agent

• A residents’ management company

• A right-to-manage company

• An occupier

• A principal or main contractor

• Any person who has control over the premises

There may be more than one Responsible Person. Where different people or organisations control different parts of a building, they must cooperate, coordinate their fire-safety arrangements and share relevant information.

Appointing a fire-risk assessor does not transfer the legal responsibility away from the Responsible Person. The Responsible Person must ensure that the assessor is competent and that any significant findings are properly addressed.

What Should a Fire Risk Assessment Cover?

A suitable fire risk assessment should consider the building, its use, the people who may be present and the fire-safety precautions already in place.

The assessment should typically examine:

Fire Hazards

This includes potential sources of ignition, fuel and oxygen, such as electrical equipment, cooking facilities, heating appliances, smoking materials, combustible storage and flammable substances.

People at Risk

The assessment must consider employees, residents, visitors, contractors and anyone who may require additional assistance, including children, older people and people with reduced mobility or other vulnerabilities.

Escape Routes

Escape routes should be adequate, protected where necessary, clearly marked and free from obstruction. The assessment should consider travel distances, final exits, emergency lighting and whether people can escape safely.

Fire Detection and Warning

The assessor should review whether the fire alarm or detection system is suitable for the building’s size, layout, occupancy and evacuation strategy.

Fire Doors and Compartmentation

Fire doors, walls, floors, ceilings, service risers and penetrations should provide the intended level of fire and smoke resistance. Defects in compartmentation can allow fire and smoke to spread beyond the area of origin.

Firefighting Equipment

The location, type, condition and maintenance of extinguishers and other firefighting equipment should be considered.

Fire-Safety Management

The assessment should review staff training, evacuation procedures, testing regimes, maintenance records, contractor controls and the arrangements for monitoring fire-safety actions.

Emergency Planning

The premises should have appropriate procedures explaining what people must do if a fire occurs. For residential buildings, this should be consistent with the building’s evacuation strategy, such as stay put, simultaneous evacuation or another building-specific arrangement.

Does the Fire Risk Assessment Have to Be Written Down?

Current fire-safety requirements mean that Responsible Persons should record the fire risk assessment and fire-safety arrangements in full.

The written assessment should clearly identify:

• The hazards found

• The people who may be at risk

• The existing fire precautions

• Any deficiencies or areas of concern

• Recommended remedial actions

• Action priorities and timescales

• The assessor’s details

• The date of the assessment and review date

Changes introduced from October 2023 strengthened the requirements to record fire-risk assessments, fire-safety arrangements and information about the identity of the Responsible Person and any assessor appointed.

How Often Should a Fire Risk Assessment Be Reviewed?

There is no single statutory rule stating that every fire risk assessment must be renewed annually. The law requires it to be kept up to date and reviewed regularly.

A review should also be completed when:

• There has been a fire or significant near miss

• The building’s use or occupancy changes

• Structural or refurbishment works are completed

• Escape routes or internal layouts are altered

• New equipment or processes are introduced

• Fire doors or compartmentation are replaced or altered

• The evacuation strategy changes

• Vulnerable occupants are introduced

• The existing assessment may no longer be valid

• There is reason to believe the assessment is no longer suitable or sufficient

Many organisations arrange an annual review as good practice, with a more detailed reassessment following significant changes or at intervals recommended by the competent assessor.

A review should not merely change the date on the report. The Responsible Person should confirm that the building, occupancy, risks and fire precautions remain accurately represented.

Are Small Blocks of Flats Exempt?

No. A common misconception is that a small residential building does not require a fire risk assessment.

The communal areas of a building containing two or more domestic premises can fall within the Fire Safety Order, regardless of whether the building is considered high-rise. Government guidance specifically addresses the fire-safety duties applying to smaller blocks of flats.

The level and complexity of the assessment should be proportionate to the building. A small converted property will not necessarily require the same assessment approach as a high-rise residential tower, but its communal escape routes, fire doors, compartmentation, alarms and management arrangements must still be considered.

Additional Residential Building Requirements

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced additional requirements for multi-occupied residential buildings in England.

The precise duties depend partly on the building’s height, but they can include:

• Providing residents with fire-safety instructions

• Providing information about the importance of fire doors

• Undertaking checks of communal fire doors

• Using best endeavours to check flat entrance doors in buildings over 11 metres

• Providing building plans and fire-safety information to the fire and rescue service for high-rise residential buildings

• Installing and checking secure information boxes

• Checking firefighting lifts and essential firefighting equipment

Flat entrance doors are specifically within the scope of the fire risk assessment where they open onto common parts.

Higher-risk residential buildings may also be subject to separate duties under the Building Safety Act 2022. In general terms, these are buildings that are at least 18 metres high or have at least seven storeys and contain at least two residential units.

What Happens if There Is No Suitable Fire Risk Assessment?

Fire and rescue authorities can inspect premises and take enforcement action where fire-safety duties have not been met.

Depending on the circumstances, enforcement action may include:

• Informal recommendations

• Alterations notices

• Enforcement notices

• Prohibition or restriction notices

• Financial penalties

• Criminal prosecution

More importantly, an unsuitable or outdated assessment may leave serious risks unidentified, placing occupants, employees, residents and visitors in danger.

Completing an assessment is only the first step. The Responsible Person must act on its significant findings and maintain the fire precautions identified as necessary.

Choosing a Competent Fire-Risk Assessor

The person completing the assessment must have sufficient knowledge, training, experience and ability for the building being assessed.

Competence should be proportionate to the complexity and risk of the premises. A straightforward, low-risk workplace may require a different level of expertise from a care home, hotel, complex residential building or premises with unusual construction.

Before appointing an assessor, building owners and managers should check:

• Relevant fire-safety qualifications and training

• Experience with similar premises

• Professional indemnity and public liability insurance

• Membership or certification through an appropriate professional or third-party scheme

• The scope and limitations of the proposed assessment

• Whether a clear, prioritised action plan will be provided

How Hicksfield Can Help

Hicksfield provides professional fire risk assessments for commercial, residential and mixed-use premises.

Our assessments are designed to provide building owners, landlords, managing agents and Responsible Persons with a clear understanding of:

• The fire risks within their premises

• The condition of existing fire precautions

• Areas requiring further investigation

• Recommended remedial actions

• The priority of each action

• The information needed to support ongoing compliance

A fire risk assessment should be practical, understandable and specific to the building—not a generic checklist.

Where significant defects are identified, the report should help the Responsible Person make informed decisions, obtain suitable quotations and create a manageable programme of corrective works.

Arrange a Fire Risk Assessment

Whether you manage a commercial property, workplace, block of flats or mixed-use building, it is important to ensure that your fire risk assessment accurately reflects the current premises and its occupants.

Contact Hicksfield to arrange a professional fire risk assessment or to discuss whether an existing assessment requires review.

This article provides general information for premises in England and Wales and should not be treated as legal advice. Separate fire-safety legislation applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.