The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — the framework.
The Order applies to virtually all premises in England and Wales other than single private dwellings. Its operative duties for the responsible person are:
- Article 8 — take general fire precautions to ensure the safety of employees and other relevant persons.
- Article 9 — make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and review it regularly.
- Article 11 — record fire safety arrangements: the planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventive measures.
- Articles 13–17 — firefighting equipment, detection and warning, emergency routes and exits, procedures for serious danger, and maintenance of all fire safety measures.
- Article 18 — appoint one or more competent persons to assist with preventive and protective measures.
- Article 21 — provide adequate fire safety training to employees, at induction and on exposure to new risks.
What changed after Grenfell.
Fire Safety Act 2021
The Act put beyond doubt that in any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises, the fire risk assessment must cover the building's structure and external walls — including cladding, balconies and windows — and all flat entrance doors opening onto common parts. Assessments of blocks of flats that ignore the external wall system are no longer suitable and sufficient. See the dedicated guide to assessments in blocks of flats.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
In force since 23 January 2023, these regulations impose operational duties on responsible persons in multi-occupied residential buildings, graded by height — from fire safety instructions for all residents through to monthly lift and equipment checks and wayfinding signage in buildings over 18 metres. The full breakdown by building height is covered separately.
Building Safety Act 2022, Section 156
From 1 October 2023, three changes apply to every premises within the Order:
| Before October 2023 | After Section 156 |
|---|---|
| Only "significant findings" recorded, and only where 5+ employees, a licence, or an alterations notice applied | The full assessment must be recorded, in every case, with no employee threshold |
| No duty to record who carried out the assessment | The identity of the assessor must be recorded (name, and organisation where applicable) |
| Limited cooperation duties | Responsible persons must cooperate and share information with every other responsible person in the building, and with residents |
The detail is covered in the guide to Section 156 and what it changed.
"Where the responsible person appoints a person to make or review the assessment, the responsible person must not appoint that person unless they are competent."Article 9A, Fire Safety Order (inserted by the Building Safety Act 2022)
Offences and enforcement.
The fire and rescue authority enforces the Order through audits, alterations notices, enforcement notices and prohibition notices. Breach of Articles 8–22 where the failure places persons at risk of death or serious injury is a criminal offence under Article 32, punishable by unlimited fines and, on indictment, up to two years' imprisonment. The penalties guide sets out the sentencing pattern; the enforcement notices guide explains the notice regime.