The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The foundation of fire safety law for non-domestic premises in England and Wales, in force since October 2006. It replaced fire certificates with a duty on the responsible person to carry out a fire risk assessment and put suitable fire precautions in place.
The responsible person is usually the employer, owner, landlord or managing agent. They can appoint a competent person to do the assessment but cannot pass on the legal responsibility.
The Fire Safety Act 2021
In force since 16 May 2022. It clarified that, in any building with two or more homes, the Fire Safety Order covers the structure and external walls (including windows, balconies, cladding, insulation and fixings) and all doors between flats and common parts, including flat entrance doors.
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
These set out specific duties for residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises. In all such buildings, residents must be given fire safety instructions and information about the importance of fire doors.
Buildings over 11 metres
Communal fire doors must be checked every three months, and flat entrance doors every year on a best-endeavours basis.
Buildings over 18 metres
Additional duties apply, including secure information boxes, wayfinding signage, floor plans and building plans shared with the fire and rescue service, and monthly checks of lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment.
The Building Safety Act 2022: written assessments
Since 1 October 2023, every responsible person must record their full fire risk assessment in writing, whatever the size of the business. They must also record the name of anyone who helped carry it out, and share fire safety information with residents and other responsible persons in the building.
HMO licensing
Mandatory licensing applies to houses in multiple occupation with five or more people forming two or more households. Many councils add their own additional or selective licensing schemes, or Article 4 Directions that control new HMOs through planning. Our area pages list the local rules we know about.