UK Fire Safety Legislation: What Changed and What It Means for Building Professionals

The UK fire safety landscape has undergone its most significant transformation in nearly two decades. Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the subsequent public inquiry, Parliament enacted a series of interconnected laws that fundamentally alter the obligations of responsible persons, fire risk assessors, and property managers across England and Wales.

This article breaks down the three pillars of the new legislative framework: the Fire Safety Act 2021, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, and the Building Safety Act. Whether you are a fire safety consultant, a managing agent, or a responsible person for a residential block, understanding these changes is no longer optional — it is a professional and legal imperative.

The Fire Safety Act 2021: Clarifying the Scope of the Fire Safety Order

The Fire Safety Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021 and came into force in England on 16 May 2022 (Wales received it earlier, on 1 October 2021). At its core, the Act is a clarification of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — commonly known as the Fire Safety Order — as it applies to blocks of flats.

The Act addresses three specific issues:

1. Building Structure Within Scope

The Act clarifies that the "building structure" falls within the scope of the Fire Safety Order and, therefore, within the scope of fire risk assessments. This has already caused confusion in the sector, with some practitioners interpreting this to mean that all fire risk assessments must now be intrusive and examine the fire resistance of structural elements — walls, columns, beams, and so on.

This interpretation is incorrect.

The legislative intent, as confirmed by ministerial statements in the House of Lords, is far more limited. It means fire risk assessors should carry out a largely visual inspection of compartmentation and the layout of means of escape. In practical terms, this might involve opening risers to check whether cables penetrating into flats are properly fire-stopped. It does not mandate routine intrusive surveys of the building's structural fire resistance.

The government's position is clear: it is legitimate to assume that the structure of a building was designed correctly in terms of fire resistance. The only reason for an intrusive inspection would be if the fire risk assessor identifies telltale signs or justification to go beyond a non-intrusive assessment — for example, uncovering unprotected steelwork in a riser.

Key takeaway: Type 1 (non-intrusive) fire risk assessments have not been abolished. Competent fire risk assessors should continue to exercise professional judgement about when intrusive inspections are warranted, based on observable evidence.

2. Flat Entrance Doors Confirmed as Common Parts

The Act confirms that flat entrance doors fall within the scope of the Fire Safety Order as part of the common parts. This was already accepted practice among competent fire risk assessors — flat entrance doors are arguably the most critical element of fire compartmentation in a residential block, since the most common location for a fire to start is within a flat, and the entrance door is the barrier between the fire and the common escape route.

While this clarification was largely academic for experienced practitioners, it removes any residual doubt and places the matter beyond legal dispute.

3. External Walls, Cladding, and Attachments

The most consequential provision is the clarification that external walls, cladding systems, and attachments (such as balconies) now fall within the scope of the Fire Safety Order. This has major implications.

The characterisation of this as a "clarification" rather than an extension of scope is contested within the fire sector. Industry bodies have published guidance arguing forcefully that external walls were not previously within scope, noting that if they were, hundreds of thousands of existing fire risk assessments would have been deficient in scope.

The practical challenge is significant. The number of professionals who are:

- Competent to assess external wall fire performance,
- Willing to offer that service, and
- Insured under their professional indemnity cover to do so

...is very small. The sector made this clear to government during the Bill stage. As a result, the prevailing industry guidance advises fire risk assessors to exclude external walls from their fire risk assessments and recommend that a specialist assessment be commissioned.

#### The Risk-Based Approach and Prioritisation

Recognising the capacity constraints, the Home Office has published a risk prioritisation tool that allows responsible persons to prioritise blocks of flats in terms of the urgency of specialist external wall surveys. This risk-based approach is supported by the "risk-based guidance" provisions of the Fire Safety Act: if a responsible person can demonstrate they are following this prioritisation tool, that will tend to demonstrate compliance in any legal proceedings. Conversely, failing to follow risk-based guidance could expose them to criminal proceedings.

For buildings with traditional masonry walls where the fire risk assessor is confident about the construction, the updated guidance allows a pragmatic risk-based judgement that the wall does not constitute an undue risk — without requiring a full specialist survey. This prevents unnecessary expenditure on low-risk buildings and keeps specialist resources focused on buildings with genuinely hazardous cladding.

The national code of practice for Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEWs), published by BSI as PAS 9980 and available as a free download, provides the framework for these specialist assessments.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

Laid on 18 May 2022 and coming into effect on 23 January 2023, these regulations implement key recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase One report. They introduce a range of new duties for responsible persons, with different requirements depending on building height.

Requirements for All Blocks of Flats

Fire safety instructions must be displayed in a comprehensible form within every block of flats. The regulations specify that instructions must cover:

- The evacuation strategy (stay-put or simultaneous evacuation)
- How to report a fire (calling 999 or 112)
- Any other fire procedures the responsible person wishes to communicate

This information must be provided to all new residents as soon as possible after they move in and refreshed every 12 months. The annual refresh is particularly important — fire safety information given during the excitement of moving in is rarely retained, much like airline safety briefings. Regular reinforcement is essential.

While there is no explicit requirement to translate the instructions, they must be in "comprehensible form," which means responsible persons should consider whether all residents can actually understand the written material provided.

Fire door information must also be given to residents, advising them to report any problems with their flat entrance doors to the responsible person and not to tamper with self-closing devices.

Requirements for Blocks Over 11 Metres in Height

The responsible person must make best endeavours to carry out annual checks of flat entrance doors. This can be operationally challenging — some leaseholders may be uncooperative, requiring multiple visits and potentially court orders. This mirrors the access difficulties already experienced with annual gas safety checks in some tenanted properties.

Fire doors in common parts must be checked every three months. Importantly, these checks are designed to be carried out by non-specialists such as caretakers with simple training. The checks are visual and straightforward:

- Confirm the door appears undamaged
- Open the door to a small angle and verify it closes fully under the action of the self-closer, overcoming latch resistance
- Open the door to a right angle and confirm it does not catch on the floor during its travel

Government guidance provides further detail on the checking procedure. The key point is that this does not require engaging specialist fire door inspectors for routine quarterly checks.

Requirements for High-Rise Buildings (18 Metres / 7+ Storeys)

High-rise buildings are defined in the regulations as having at least seven storeys (ground plus six) or being over 18 metres in height. Below-ground storeys are excluded from the count, and mezzanines count as a storey only if they are at least 50% of the internal floor area of the largest storey.

Secure information boxes must be installed, readily accessible to the fire and rescue service and reasonably secure. They must contain:

- Name, address, and telephone number of the responsible person
- Contact information for persons who can provide access to the building
- A single-page building plan plus floor plans (one per distinct floor layout)
- Plans must also be sent electronically to the fire and rescue service

There is no regulatory requirement to include information about residents in the secure information box. However, if a responsible person chooses to include information about disabled or vulnerable residents, the security of the box should be elevated beyond "reasonably secure" — such information could be exploited by criminals.

A record of external wall design and materials must be prepared and kept. If the fire risk assessment identifies particular risks relating to external walls, the record must also include details of any interim or permanent mitigation measures. This information must be sent electronically to the fire and rescue service and updated when changes occur. A standardised template is being developed to ensure consistency.

Monthly checks are required for:

- Firefighters' lifts — checking that the firefighter switch recalls the lift to ground level, that under-car control works, and that the lift cannot be called from other floors while in firefighter mode
- Smoke control systems
- Fire suppression systems (if installed)
- Automatic fire detection in common parts
- Automatic door release mechanisms operated by fire detection (e.g. magnetic door holders)

Evacuation alert systems, where installed, must be checked monthly but crucially must not be test-operated routinely. This ensures that residents who hear the alarm know it is a genuine emergency rather than a drill or false alarm.

Any faults must be reported electronically to the fire and rescue service within 24 hours, and repairs must be reported upon completion. Records of all checks must be maintained and made available to residents on request.

Wayfinding signage showing floor numbers and flat numbers must be installed retrospectively in high-rise blocks. Signs must be visible within stairways, on landings, and from firefighters' lifts when the doors open. A detailed specification (font, size, positioning) is provided in Approved Document B. Signs do not need to be photoluminescent in England, though Scottish building regulations do require this.

The Building Safety Act: What Is Coming Next

The Building Safety Act introduces a new regulatory regime for higher-risk residential buildings, overseen by a new Building Safety Regulator within the Health and Safety Executive, headed by a Chief Inspector of Buildings.

Key Provisions

Building Safety Managers were originally required under the Building Safety Bill but were dropped from the final Act following pressure from leaseholder groups. While some early adopters have already appointed building safety managers, there is no legal requirement to do so. However, someone must still manage compliance with the Act's requirements, so the role may persist in practice under different titles.

Building Safety Cases will be required for occupied higher-risk residential buildings. These are retrospective — they apply to existing buildings, not just new construction — and will cover both fire and structural safety, likely requiring multi-disciplinary input. The Building Safety Regulator has published broad guidance but acknowledges it is too early to confirm what a compliant building safety case looks like. Responsible persons would be wise to monitor developments rather than rushing to produce cases that may not meet the eventual standard.

Section 156 of the Act will amend the Fire Safety Order in several important ways:

- All premises will need documented fire risk assessments, removing the current exemption for organisations with fewer than five employees
- All findings must be documented, not just "significant findings"
- There will be a competence requirement for anyone appointed by the responsible person to carry out fire risk assessments — though how competence is demonstrated remains under debate
- Fire safety arrangements must be recorded for all premises
- Additional information must be provided to residents, covering risk levels, preventive and protective measures, the identity of the responsible person, and the person who carried out the fire risk assessment
- Handover of fire safety information will be mandatory when responsibility for a building transfers (e.g. when managing agents change), addressing a longstanding complaint from managing agents who inherit buildings with incomplete fire safety records

Approved Document B: Changes for New Buildings

Two notable changes to Approved Document B apply from December 2022 for new buildings:

- Secure information boxes are required for new blocks of flats over 11 metres in height — a lower threshold than the 18-metre/7-storey rule for retrospective installation
- Evacuation alert systems are required for new blocks over 18 metres in height, specified under Building Regulations Requirement B5

Looking Ahead

The fire safety legislative landscape continues to evolve rapidly. Building professionals must commit to continuous learning and ensure they are not operating on outdated knowledge. The key actions for responsible persons and fire safety professionals are:

1. Understand which regulations apply to each building in your portfolio based on height and occupancy
2. Implement the required checks and record-keeping ahead of enforcement
3. Engage specialist assessors for external wall appraisals where required, using the risk prioritisation tool to sequence work
4. Prepare for Section 156 by ensuring fire risk assessments are comprehensive, fully documented, and carried out by competent persons
5. Monitor guidance updates as the Building Safety Act's statutory instruments are rolled out over the coming years

The pace of change is unprecedented, and the consequences of non-compliance are serious — including criminal liability. Staying informed is not just good practice; it is a professional necessity.