The three notices compared.
| Notice | Power | Trigger | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations notice | Article 29 | Premises constitute a serious risk, or may do if changed | Responsible person must notify the authority before making specified changes (use, structure, services, quantities of dangerous substances) |
| Enforcement notice | Article 30 | Failure to comply with the Order | Specifies the failures and steps to remedy them; minimum 28 days to comply |
| Prohibition notice | Article 31 | Risk to persons so serious that use of premises ought to be prohibited or restricted | Prohibits or restricts use — immediately where the risk is imminent; typically stops sleeping use first |
How an audit becomes a notice
Most notices follow a fire safety audit — routine, complaint-driven or post-incident. The inspecting officer examines the fire risk assessment, tests knowledge of procedures and walks the building. Deficiencies are graded: broadly satisfactory outcomes produce an informal letter of deficiencies; substantive breaches produce an enforcement notice; conditions like locked exits in sleeping accommodation or absent detection produce prohibition action the same day.
Responding to a notice.
- Take dated photographs and secure the notice. The notice defines the alleged failures — everything that follows is measured against its wording.
- Commission or update the fire risk assessment immediately. The remediation programme should flow from a current, competent assessment, not ad-hoc fixes.
- Engage with the inspecting officer. Authorities routinely agree phased action plans and extensions where progress is demonstrable and interim measures (waking watch, temporary detection) control the risk.
- Document completion. Certificates for alarm, emergency lighting and door works close out the notice; ask the authority to confirm compliance in writing.
Appeals
Any of the three notices can be appealed to the magistrates' court within 21 days. An appeal suspends an alterations or enforcement notice pending the hearing — but a prohibition notice remains in force unless the court directs otherwise. Where the dispute is technical rather than legal, Article 36 provides a determination procedure through the Secretary of State as an alternative to litigation.
"If the authority is of the opinion that use of premises involves or will involve a risk to relevant persons so serious that use of the premises ought to be prohibited or restricted, the authority may serve a prohibition notice."Article 31(1)–(2), Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
Ignoring a notice
Non-compliance with any notice is a separate offence under Article 32(2), carrying an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment — sentenced on top of the underlying failures. Breaching a prohibition notice, particularly by continuing to sleep guests or tenants, is the conduct most likely to produce immediate custody. See fines and penalties.