Quick Answers
Does the Building Safety Act apply to blocks under 18 metres?
The Building Safety Act's full Higher-Risk Building regime — registration with the Building Safety Regulator, the Principal Accountable Person structure, the Safety Case Report — applies only above 18 metres or seven storeys. But the Act also amended the Fire Safety Order and sits alongside the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which together create specific obligations for blocks between 11 and 18 metres. Those are already in force.
Who is the responsible person in an RTM block?
For fire safety purposes under the Fire Safety Order, the Responsible Person is whoever has control of the common parts — typically the RTM company or its managing agent acting on its behalf. The Building Safety Act's "Accountable Person" concept is a separate statutory role that applies only to Higher-Risk Buildings (18m+). For 11–18m blocks, the relevant duty-holder is the Responsible Person, not an Accountable Person.
What must be in place right now for an 11–18m block?
A current, written fire risk assessment by a competent person, with actions documented and being addressed. The Responsible Person identified and their contact details given to residents. Quarterly communal fire door checks and annual flat entrance door checks. Fire safety information provided to residents. These are current statutory requirements, not best practice.
The short answer: If your block is between 11 and 18 metres tall, the combination of the amended Fire Safety Order, the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 creates a specific set of obligations on the Responsible Person that go materially beyond the pre-2022 baseline. These include a written fire risk assessment by a competent person, quarterly communal fire door checks, annual flat entrance door checks, fire safety information provided to residents, and the Responsible Person's identity and contact details notified to residents. Most RTM directors of blocks in this height range have not confirmed what the law specifically requires of them — and in some cases, neither has their managing agent.
The enforcement context: the Building Safety Regulator (operated by the Health and Safety Executive) is now operational for Higher-Risk Buildings, and local Fire and Rescue Services continue to enforce the Fire Safety Order and the 2022 Regulations across all residential blocks. The assumption that mid-size residential blocks are below enforcement radar is no longer safe.
Key Takeaways
Fire safety law now has three tiers — not two
Most commentary focuses on the Higher-Risk Building regime for blocks above 18 metres. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 also created a distinct intermediate tier for 11–18 metre blocks with obligations that differ from both the baseline (all heights) and the full Higher-Risk regime (18m+). RTM directors of 11–18m blocks are operating in a regulatory space that is frequently misunderstood.
The Responsible Person must be identified and notified to residents
Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the Responsible Person for every multi-occupied residential block — including the 11–18m tier — must give residents the Responsible Person's name and contact details, and tell residents how to report fire safety concerns relating to common parts or the building's structure. This is an active legal requirement. RTM directors who have not confirmed who the Responsible Person is and communicated this to leaseholders are not compliant.
Fire risk assessments must be written, current, and competently done
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order to require every fire risk assessment for a multi-occupied residential building to be recorded in writing, and to be carried out by a competent person. These requirements came into force on 1 October 2023. An assessment carried out by an unqualified assessor, or one that is more than a few years old and has not been reviewed since material changes to the building, does not meet the current standard.
Fire doors: quarterly and annual checks for 11m+ blocks
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require Responsible Persons for residential buildings over 11 metres in height to carry out quarterly checks of all fire doors in common parts, and to use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors (those that open onto common parts) at least every 12 months. These are specific, recorded duties — not general best practice. Blocks that cannot demonstrate a door inspection programme are carrying a defined compliance gap.
Structural safety and cladding sit within scope
The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that Responsible Persons for multi-occupied residential buildings must manage the risk of fire for the structure, external walls (including cladding, balconies and windows) and flat entrance doors. For RTM directors, this means that known structural concerns and any external wall system issues must be documented, assessed by a competent person, and actively managed. The Building Safety Act's leaseholder protections for qualifying leaseholders apply to buildings over 11 metres.
Directors of RTM companies can be personally liable
The Fire Safety Order, as amended, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 provide for personal liability of directors of corporate bodies where an offence was committed with their consent or connivance, or attributable to their neglect. An RTM director who was aware that the block had unaddressed fire safety obligations and took no action is not protected by the corporate structure.
The Three Tiers: Where Does Your Block Sit?
The current regulatory framework is tiered primarily by building height. Understanding which tier your block sits in is the prerequisite for understanding what you must do.
Under 11 metres
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies — written fire risk assessment by a competent person, implementation of its findings, and fire safety management in common parts. Residents must be given fire safety information and the Responsible Person's contact details under the 2022 Regulations. The height-specific tiers (11m and 18m) do not apply.
11 to 18 metres
All the baseline obligations plus: quarterly common-area fire door checks, best-endeavours annual flat entrance door checks, and the Building Safety Act's leaseholder protections for qualifying leaseholders. These obligations are in force now.
Above 18 metres / 7+ storeys
Full Higher-Risk Building regime under the Building Safety Act: mandatory registration with the Building Safety Regulator, Principal Accountable Person duties, Safety Case Report, mandatory Golden Thread of information, Building Assessment Certificate, resident engagement strategy, plus additional 2022 Regulations duties (building plans to the Fire and Rescue Service, secure information box, wayfinding signage, monthly firefighting equipment checks). Failure to register is a criminal offence.
Building height for these purposes is measured from ground level to the floor of the top occupied residential storey — not the roof. A block with a pitched roof may have a roof height above 18 metres but still fall in the 11–18m tier if the top residential floor is below 18 metres. If you are uncertain which tier your block falls into, a fire safety professional or structural engineer can confirm the measured height. Do not assume — the tier determines your compliance obligations entirely.
Who Is the Responsible Person in an RTM Block?
Different pieces of legislation use different terminology, which creates confusion — particularly for RTM companies where the management structure is not straightforward.
Responsible Person (Fire Safety)
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the "Responsible Person" is whoever has control of the common parts of the building. In an RTM-managed block, this is typically the RTM company — or the managing agent where the agent has been given control of the premises management. The Responsible Person must carry out and maintain a written fire risk assessment and implement its findings.
Duties of Co-operation
Where more than one person has control over different parts of the premises — for example, a freeholder with structural repairing obligations and an RTM company with control of common parts — each holds duties under the Fire Safety Order for the parts they control. They must co-operate and co-ordinate. An absent or non-responsive freeholder does not relieve the RTM company of its obligations for the parts it controls.
Accountable Person / Principal Accountable Person
The Building Safety Act's "Accountable Person" and "Principal Accountable Person" are statutory roles that apply only to Higher-Risk Buildings (18 metres or 7 storeys or more, with at least two residential units). For 11–18m blocks, these roles do not apply. The relevant duty-holder in the mid-rise tier is the Responsible Person under the Fire Safety Order — not an Accountable Person.
Managing Agent: Delegated, Not Transferred
A managing agent can carry out the practical duties of the Responsible Person — managing fire risk assessments, resident communications, safety documentation — but they do so as a delegate of the RTM company. Legal responsibility does not transfer to the agent. RTM directors remain accountable for ensuring these obligations are being met, whether or not a managing agent is in place.
The 11–18m Obligations in Detail
The specific obligations for blocks in the 11–18m tier flow from three pieces of legislation operating together: the Fire Safety Order (as amended by section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022), the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. They go materially beyond the pre-2022 baseline.
Since 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act requires every fire risk assessment for a multi-occupied residential building to be recorded in writing, and to be carried out by a competent person. Competence is not defined by a statutory register — assessors should have demonstrable training, experience, and continuing professional development appropriate to residential blocks of this type. The assessment must be reviewed when there are material changes to the building.
In forceA fire risk assessment that identifies issues and then sits unactioned is not compliance — it is a documented record of known risks the Responsible Person has not addressed. Leaseholders have the right to see the assessment on request, and Fire and Rescue Service inspectors will ask for both the assessment and the action log.
In forceRegulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires the Responsible Person to provide residents with their name and UK contact details, and information about how to report fire safety concerns relating to the common parts or structure of the building. This must be kept current — if the managing agent changes, or the Responsible Person within the RTM company changes, residents must be updated.
In forceRegulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires Responsible Persons for buildings over 11 metres in height to carry out at least quarterly checks of all fire doors in common parts, and to use best endeavours to undertake, at least every 12 months, checks of flat entrance doors that open onto common parts. Records must be kept. This is one of the specific 11m+ duties that the baseline regime does not impose.
In forceThe 2022 Regulations require Responsible Persons for all multi-occupied residential buildings to provide residents with information on the importance of fire doors and relevant fire safety instructions — including how to report a fire and what to do if a fire occurs, based on the building's evacuation strategy. For 11m+ blocks, this sits alongside the door-checking duties above.
In forceThe formal Golden Thread requirement under the Building Safety Act applies only to Higher-Risk Buildings. For 11–18m blocks there is no statutory Golden Thread, but the underlying principle informs sound practice: fire risk assessment records, structural survey findings, EWS1 or PAS 9980 appraisals (where applicable), asbestos management plan, and any known safety-relevant building defects should be recorded and accessible. If something goes wrong, the Responsible Person must be able to demonstrate that they knew about it, assessed it, and managed it.
Good practice — aligned with statutory directionThe Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that the fire risk assessment must consider the structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies and windows. For blocks with external cladding or external wall systems that are not clearly low-risk, a PAS 9980 appraisal may be needed, and an EWS1 form may be required by mortgage lenders for leaseholders to sell or remortgage. Neon's compliance service covers external wall status as part of the building safety review for 11–18m blocks.
Case-by-case — depends on constructionThe Fire Safety Order: Applicable to All Blocks Regardless of Height
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 — applies to all multi-occupied residential buildings with common parts. This means it applies to blocks under 11 metres as well as those above. RTM directors of any block with shared entrance halls, stairwells, or communal areas are the Responsible Person for fire safety in those areas.
The Order requires:
- A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, recorded in writing, carried out by a competent person, reviewed regularly and when material changes occur
- Implementation of the general fire precautions recommended by the assessment
- Assessment of the risk of fire for the structure, external walls, and flat entrance doors opening onto common parts
- Maintenance of fire safety equipment — fire doors, fire detection systems, emergency lighting, dry risers — in working order
- Clear evacuation procedures communicated to residents
- Records of fire safety maintenance and inspections kept and available to the Fire and Rescue Service on request
Following the Fire Safety Act 2021, flat entrance doors (which form part of the fire compartmentation of the building) were confirmed to be within the scope of the Responsible Person's fire risk assessment duty. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, in force from January 2023, then imposed specific checking duties on Responsible Persons for buildings over 11 metres — quarterly checks of communal fire doors and best-endeavours annual checks of flat entrance doors. RTM directors of 11m+ blocks who have not addressed fire door inspection since January 2023 are carrying a specific compliance gap. For blocks under 11 metres, door condition should still be considered as part of the fire risk assessment, but the scheduled inspection duties do not apply in the same way.
The RTM Director Action Checklist for 11–18m Blocks
| Action | What to Do — and Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Confirm your block's height tier | Have the building measured to confirm whether it falls below 11m, in the 11–18m tier, or above 18m. Height is measured from ground level to the floor of the top occupied residential storey. This single determination drives all subsequent compliance obligations. Do not guess. |
| Identify the Responsible Person formally | Confirm who holds the Fire Safety Order Responsible Person role for common parts. Where the RTM company and the freeholder both hold duties (for example, freeholder retains structural repairing obligations), document the split clearly. Notify all residents with name and contact details, and tell them how to report fire safety concerns — this is a specific Regulation 10 requirement under the 2022 Regulations. |
| Commission or review the fire risk assessment | Confirm the assessment is current, in writing, and was carried out by a competent person with demonstrable experience in residential blocks of this type. If the last assessment is more than three years old, or there have been material changes (cladding works, layout changes, change of use), commission a new one. Check that the action plan is being progressed. |
| Establish a fire door inspection programme | For 11m+ blocks, put in place quarterly inspections of communal fire doors and best-endeavours annual checks of flat entrance doors. Keep records — date, inspector, findings, actions. Defective doors are a common enforcement issue and a common FRA action item. |
| Give residents fire safety information | Provide residents in writing with: the Responsible Person's identity and contact details; how to report fire safety concerns; the building's evacuation strategy (stay-put, simultaneous evacuation, or other); how to report a fire; and the importance of fire doors. This can be a single written notice or pack — but it must exist and be current. |
| Check external wall system status if cladding is present | If your block has external cladding or external wall insulation that is not clearly low-risk, confirm whether a PAS 9980 appraisal has been done and whether an EWS1 form has been issued. The Responsible Person is not automatically required to commission an EWS1 for every 11–18m block, but the fire risk assessment must consider external walls under the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the practical impact on leaseholders' ability to sell or remortgage is significant where cladding is present. |
| Consolidate safety documentation | Bring together the fire risk assessment and action log, fire door inspection records, structural survey findings, asbestos management plan, EICR, gas safety certificate, and any other safety-relevant building documentation into a single accessible record. If something goes wrong, the Fire and Rescue Service's first question is whether the documentation can be produced. The answer must be yes. |
What Your Managing Agent Should Be Doing — and What You Should Be Asking Them
A managing agent handling compliance for an 11–18m block in 2026 should be doing more than booking the annual gas safety and fire risk assessment and hoping nothing else comes up. The combination of the amended Fire Safety Order, the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 has materially changed what competent block management looks like for blocks in this height tier.
These are the specific questions RTM directors of 11–18m blocks should be asking their managing agent:
- Have you confirmed our block's height tier? If the answer is no or uncertain, the agent has not started.
- Who is the named Responsible Person for our block, and have residents been given their contact details? If the agent cannot answer immediately, this Regulation 10 obligation is not being met.
- When was our fire risk assessment last carried out, and is it in writing by a competent person? A paper file containing an assessment from 2019 with no review since does not meet the current standard.
- Are our communal fire doors being checked quarterly, and flat entrance doors annually? The answer should be yes, with records.
- Have residents been given written fire safety information — evacuation strategy, how to report fire safety concerns, importance of fire doors? This should be a written notice, not "residents can call the office."
- Is our safety documentation consolidated and accessible? The agent should be able to produce the full safety file for the block on request.
The 11–18m tier is the part of the post-Grenfell reform package that has generated the least client awareness and the most compliance gaps. Higher-Risk Buildings received the most attention — press coverage, Regulator communications, mandatory registration deadlines — and most Principal Accountable Persons for those buildings know what they need to do. The 11–18m tier got significantly less attention, and many RTM directors of blocks in this range are still operating on a pre-2022 compliance model. Our building safety service for mid-rise blocks covers the full 11–18m obligation set — from height confirmation and Responsible Person identification through to fire risk assessment review, fire door inspection programme, resident information, and external wall status. If you are not sure where your block stands, the right starting point is a compliance audit.
For detail on the general compliance obligations that apply to all blocks regardless of height, see Building Safety Compliance for Mid-Rise Blocks. For the service charge and reserve fund implications of building safety works, see Service Charges Explained and Reserve Funds and Sinking Funds.
Frequently Asked Questions
For fire safety purposes under the Fire Safety Order, the Responsible Person is whoever has control of the common parts — typically the RTM company or its managing agent acting on its behalf.
The Building Safety Act's "Accountable Person" and "Principal Accountable Person" are separate statutory roles that apply only to Higher-Risk Buildings (18 metres or 7 storeys or more, with at least two residential units). For 11–18m blocks they do not apply.
Where the freeholder retains structural repairing obligations, the freeholder may hold Fire Safety Order duties for the parts they control, while the RTM company holds duties for the parts it controls. Both must co-operate and co-ordinate. RTM directors should take legal advice to confirm the precise split for their specific building.
Yes. The Fire Safety Order applies to all multi-occupied residential buildings with common parts, regardless of whether the building was purpose-built or converted, and regardless of height.
The height-specific duties in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (the 11m+ tier and 18m+ tier) apply to any residential building that reaches the relevant height, whether purpose-built or converted. Many Victorian and Edwardian conversions will not reach 11 metres and so will not fall into the additional tiers — but the baseline Fire Safety Order duties still apply.
The Golden Thread is a Building Safety Act concept requiring safety-critical information about a building to be recorded and maintained throughout its life. The formal, mandatory Golden Thread requirements apply only to Higher-Risk Buildings (18m+).
For 11–18m blocks, there is no statutory Golden Thread — but the underlying principle that fire risk assessments, structural surveys, compliance records, and known safety defects should be documented and accessible reflects sound practice and aligns with the direction of regulation.
Enforcement varies by duty. For Higher-Risk Buildings, failure to register with the Building Safety Regulator is a criminal offence.
For fire safety obligations under the Fire Safety Order and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 — which apply across all residential blocks with common parts — enforcement is carried out by the local Fire and Rescue Service, which can issue alterations notices, enforcement notices, prohibition notices, and prosecute.
Directors of corporate bodies (including RTM companies) can be personally liable where the offence was committed with their consent, connivance, or through their neglect. Mid-size blocks are not below enforcement radar.
The height-specific tiers in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the Higher-Risk Building regime under the Building Safety Act do not apply to buildings under 11 metres. The Building Safety Act's leaseholder protections also apply only to buildings over 11 metres.
However, the Fire Safety Order (as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and section 156 of the Building Safety Act) applies to all multi-occupied residential buildings with common parts, regardless of height. The duty to have a current written fire risk assessment by a competent person, act on its recommendations, and manage fire safety in communal areas applies to all residential blocks, including those under 11 metres.
Not sure where your 11–18m block stands?
Neon's building safety compliance service confirms your block's height tier, identifies the Responsible Person, reviews the fire risk assessment, checks fire door inspection records, and produces a clear compliance gap report. If you don't know what the law requires of your block, that's the right starting point.
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