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Thank you for visiting our resources portal. In this article we aim to answer all frequently asked questions about Fire Risk Assessments, from the basics to the more complex queries. If you have a question that you can’t find the answer to here then please feel free to get in touch and we will be more than happy to help. You can either fill in our contact form or call one of our expert admin team on 0800 170 1201.
Yes, legally all non-domestic (commercial) premises are required to have a Fire Risk Assessment, and non-domestic premises with 5 employees or more are required to have a written version.
Any domestic (residential) property that isn’t a "single private dwelling” is also required to have a Fire Risk Assessment on the "common areas” of the property. For example, a house converted into two or more flats, or a flat block, will require a Fire Risk Assessment on all common areas like stairwells, lifts, reception areas, garages, hallways, roof spaces, etc. including the front doors of the flats (but not the actual flats themselves).
The fire safety regulations for HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupation) vary depending on the locality, it’s best to check with your area's HMO Enforcement Officer if you are required to have a Fire Risk Assessment. For example, in Hastings, HMO landlords are legally required to sign a declaration to confirm that they are conforming with the following requirements when they apply for a license: their property has a Fire Risk Assessment that complies with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, is reviewed regularly and can be provided when asked.
If you are the owner/managing agent of a domestic property where you have paying guests (like in a B&B, guest house, or self-catering property) then you will also need to comply with The Fire Safety Order and have a Fire Risk Assessment.
In properties where any of the following criteria is met then the Fire Risk Assessment must be recorded and must include the significant findings of the assessment, what measures have or will be taken in accordance with the Order, and identification of any people who are especially at risk:
A Fire Risk Assessment is legally required for all of the common areas in flat buildings or houses converted into flats and the flat front doors, but not the actual flats themselves.
The Fire Risk Assessment checklist is a list of five steps that the government has set out to help people identify what they need to do to prevent a fire and keep people safe. This is for people who wish to carry out their own Fire Risk Assessment instead of having a trained assessor do so, and is only suitable for very basic or small premises.
The five steps are:
The following things will need to be considered:
This is a very basic outline of the Fire Risk Assessment checklist, find the full version here.
According to the fire and rescue incident statistics for England for the year ending June 2020, the Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) attended approx 156,000 fires, with 231 of people affected by those fires unfortunately ending in a fire-related fatality and 6714 suffering non-fatal casualties.
Considering these facts makes it easier to see why complying with the legislation around Fire Risk Assessments and other fire safety practices is vital - to protect people from preventable harm and save lives.
A Fire Risk Assessment is a survey that aims to identify all potential fire hazards and their risks, then provide control measures or precautions to reduce the risks from these hazards where necessary/possible.
An Easy EPC Fire Risk Assessment is completed by one of our competent fire risk surveyors and highlights any hazards and their risks found and gives an overall risk rating of the property in question, along with how soon any actions need to be carried out and the timescale of the next review. In addition to this different parts and services of the property will be categorised as no intervention needed, intervention & action plan needed, or not applicable. If any intervention is advised in any FRA, then these will need to be addressed in the first instance. Failure to do so puts yourself and others at risk and also makes any insurance void in the event of an incident.
On the government website it says that fire risk reviews should be reviewed and updated regularly. In Article 9, (3) of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 it states that the Fire Risk Assessment must be kept up to date, particularly if there’s reason to suspect that the Fire Risk Assessment is no longer valid or there has been a change to the premises, for example change of use or layout, extensions or conversions, special or technical measures, etc.
It’s recommended that a Fire Risk Assessment is reviewed and updated annually, unless a change has occurred in the premises which would render the Fire Risk Assessment incorrect or outdated.
Depending on where your HMO is, you may be required to have a Fire Risk Assessment that complies with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, meaning that you’ll need to review and update your Fire Risk Assessment regularly or as soon as something significant changes in the property. It’s recommended that Fire Risk Assessments are updated annually if nothing has changed in the property.
Contact your HMO Enforcement Officer to check the HMO requirements for your area.
The cost of a Fire Risk Assessment varies depending on size, complexity and location of the property.
Need a Fire Risk Assessment quote?
Request your no obligation Fire Risk Assessment quote now by calling our freephone on 0800 170 1201 to speak to one of our admin team or click here to get in touch (Office Hours are Mon - Fri 9-5:30 excl. Bank Holidays).
For particularly small or uncomplex properties the responsible person can carry out a Fire Risk Assessment themselves with the help of standard fire safety risk assessment guides, however it is advised to have a "competent" professional risk assessor carry out the FRA where expertise or time is lacking, especially for properties/businesses that are not very basic.
Instructing a competent person to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment can be the easiest, most time efficient, and least stressful way for a responsible person to comply with the Fire Safety Order (2005), taking away the time consuming and often daunting task of identifying and deciding what to do about all fire hazards in a property, and giving it to a trained and experienced professional risk assessor.
If you do have a particularly small or simple property and wish to do your own Fire Risk Assessment, please see "What is a Fire Risk Assessment checklist” for a government resource on doing so.
According to the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 a Fire Risk Assessment must be kept up to date, particularly if there’s reason to suspect that the Fire Risk Assessment is no longer valid or there has been a change to the premises, for example change of use or layout, extensions or conversions, special or technical measures, etc.
It’s recommended that a Fire Risk Assessment is reviewed and updated annually, unless a change has occurred in the premises which would render the Fire Risk Assessment incorrect or outdated.
All non-domestic properties are required to have a Fire Risk Assessment. In properties where any of the following criteria is met then the Fire Risk Assessment must be recorded and must include the significant findings of the assessment, what measures have or will be taken in accordance with the Order, and identification of any people who are especially at risk:
As well as all non-domestic properties, anyone responsible for a property that isn’t a "single private dwelling\” must have a suitably competent person complete a FRA. This means that the Order is relevant to any person in control of a property that contains two or more domestic dwellings (i.e. blocks of flats, a house converted into flats) as the common areas* are counted as non-domestic, and also if a property has paying guests such as bed and breakfasts, guesthouses and self-catering properties.
*"Common areas\” include entrance doors to individual flats, hallways, lifts and shafts, stairwells, roof spaces, gardens, outhouses, and garages in domestic properties like flat blocks and houses converted into flats, meaning domestic landlords must also be aware of the Regulatory Reform Order 2005 regulations (as well as various others such as The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 and the Housing Act 2004 for regulations inside of the home).
If there are less than 5 occupants regularly in the property then a written Fire Risk Assessment is not required, HOWEVER a Fire Risk Assessment IS still required, it just doesn’t need to be written down.
Single private dwellings are not required to have Fire Risk Assessments. While Fire Risk Assessments are required for the common areas up to and including the front doors of individual flats in buildings like flat blocks, a Fire Risk Assessment of the interior of the flats themselves are not required. Please keep in mind that you will still have to comply with other fire safety regulations such as The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 and the Housing Act 2004.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Part 2 Article 18 states that a fire risk states that the person who does the Fire Risk Assessment should be "competent\” . This means that the assessor must show competency on or higher than the level of the complexity of the risks of the property to be assessed, so that they can properly assist in advising preventative and protective measures. This can be sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities that provide them with the necessary competency.
For particularly small or uncomplex properties it may be suitable for the responsible person to complete the Fire Risk Assessment themselves using the Fire Risk Assessment checklist, however it is advisable (especially for larger or more complex properties) that a professional, trained and experienced fire risk assessor carries out the assessment.
In Part 1 Article 3 and Part 1 Article 5 of the Fire Safety Order 2005 we learn that the responsible person is anyone in control of a non-domestic premises or domestic premises with a non-domestic element (ie common areas in a non private single dwelling, or a domestic property that has paying guests).
If any one of the following criteria is met then that Fire Risk Assessment must be written down:
We do! Request your no obligation Fire Risk Assessment quote now by calling our freephone on 0800 170 1201 to speak to one of our admin team or click here to get in touch (Office Hours are Mon - Fri 9-5:30 excl. Bank Holidays).
Local fire and rescue authorities are responsible for enforcing Fire Risk Assessment regulations for the majority of properties, however HSE is responsible for the enforcement on construction sites, nuclear premises, and on ships that are under construction or undergoing repair works.
The easiest and least stressful way to get a Fire Risk Assessment is to have a competent Fire Risk Assessor survey the property and compile their findings into a report.
Request your no obligation Fire Risk Assessment quote now by calling our freephone on 0800 170 1201 to speak to one of our admin team or click here to get in touch (Office Hours are Mon - Fri 9-5:30 excl. Bank Holidays).
All commercial properties are required to have a Fire Risk Assessment, regardless of if they’re occupied or not.
The following properties must keep a written version of their Fire Risk Assessment:
If a property has paying guests, such as B&Bs and guest houses, then they also require a Fire Risk Assessment.
Any person in control of a property that contains two or more domestic dwellings (i.e. blocks of flats, a house converted into flats) must have a Fire Risk Assessment for the common areas (i.e. stairwells, reception areas, garages, etc) as the common areas are counted as non-domestic.
In Part 1 Article 3 and Part 1 Article 5 of the Fire Safety Order 2005 we learn that the responsible person is anyone in control of a non-domestic premises. This can be:
The following properties must keep a written version of their Fire Risk Assessment:
If a property has paying guests, such as B&Bs and guest houses, then they also require a Fire Risk Assessment.
Any person in control of a property that contains two or more domestic dwellings (i.e. blocks of flats, a house converted into flats) must have a Fire Risk Assessment for the common areas (i.e. stairwells, reception areas, garages, etc) as the common areas are counted as non-domestic.
In Part 1 Article 2 we learn that a relevant person is anyone who is or may be in or in the property or in the immediate vicinity of the property in question, meaning anyone who could be affected if there was a fire at the property, for example:
While specific qualifications or skills for the competent person aren’t set out in The Fire Safety Order 2005, it is required that the person shows competency on or higher than the level of complexity of the risks of the property to be assessed. This means that for particularly small or uncomplex properties the responsible person can carry out a Fire Risk Assessment themselves with the help of standard fire safety risk assessment guides, however it is advised to have a "competent\” professional risk assessor carry out the FRA where expertise or time is lacking, especially for properties/businesses that are not very basic.
As well as various other regulations regarding fire safety, The Regulatory Reform Order 2005 tells us that:
It’s an offence to fail to have a Fire Risk Assessment (that is written down if necessary), this offence can be punished by either a fine up to £5000 for minor penalties, or unlimited fines and up to 2 years in prison for major penalties (Pt 4 Art. 32). You can learn more about notices and appeals here.
Easy EPC Fire Risk Assessments take up to 10 working days to produce from the appointment date. If it has been longer than 10 working days, or you would like to check on the progress of your report please get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to look into this for you.
If you have any further questions please fill in our contact form and one of our admin team will be in touch shortly, alternatively you can give us a call on 0800 170 1201. (Office hours are Mon - Fri 9:00 - 17:30 excl. Bank Holidays).
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