On-site time by premises type.
| Premises | Typical site time | Report turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Small shop or office (under ~200m²) | 1–2 hours | 2–3 working days |
| Shared-house HMO (2–3 storeys) | 1.5–3 hours | 2–4 working days |
| Block of flats — common parts (Type 1) | 2–4 hours | 3–5 working days |
| Restaurant, pub or guest house | 2–4 hours | 3–5 working days |
| Warehouse / industrial unit | Half day | 5 working days |
| Care home, school, hotel | Half day – full day | 5–10 working days |
| Large multi-building estate | Multiple days, phased | Agreed programme |
What consumes the time
The walk-through itself is only part of the visit. A competent assessor also reviews documentation (alarm and lighting certificates, service records, training logs, the previous assessment), interviews the responsible person or manager on procedures, and tests knowledge of the evacuation strategy. Sleeping-risk premises take longer because escape provision must be examined room-type by room-type, and night-time staffing scenarios assessed. See what the assessor checks for the full inspection scope.
How to shorten the visit
- Have documents ready: previous assessment, alarm/emergency lighting/extinguisher certificates, fire door records, training records, floor plans if held.
- Arrange access to all areas — plant rooms, risers, roof spaces, locked stores. Inaccessible areas are recorded as limitations and may force a return visit.
- Make the person who runs the building available for the interview portion.
- For blocks of flats, notify residents if flat entrance doors will be inspected from the common parts.
Elapsed time, instruction to compliance.
- Instruction to site visit: typically 3–10 working days; urgent bookings (enforcement deadlines, licence renewals, completions) can usually be accommodated within 48–72 hours. Through FireCertificates, an assessor is confirmed within 24 hours of enquiry.
- Site visit: per the table above.
- Report delivery: 2–10 working days, scaled to complexity — see what the report contains.
- Action plan implementation: the schedule the report sets — high-priority items in days, capital works over months. Compliance is achieved by progressing the plan, not by holding the report.
Key fact: Beware assessments quoted at implausibly short durations for the premises type. A "45-minute" assessment of a three-storey HMO cannot examine what LACORS-based standards require — and a document produced from it is unlikely to survive audit.