Fire safety is the compliance obligation with the most direct consequences for human life. The legal framework, who is responsible, what a proper fire risk assessment must cover, and what good management actually looks like.
Building Safety & Compliance →Key facts at a glance
Fire safety in residential blocks is not an administrative obligation sitting alongside other compliance tasks. It is the obligation with the most direct consequences for human life. Getting it wrong — failing to carry out a proper fire risk assessment, allowing outstanding safety actions to accumulate, neglecting communal fire safety measures — creates risks that cannot be undone after a fire.
This guide sets out the legal framework for fire safety in residential blocks in England, who the responsible person is and what they must do, what the fire risk assessment must cover, what communal fire safety measures are required, and how the Fire Safety Act 2021 changed the scope of the obligation.
The RRO is the primary piece of fire safety legislation that applies to the communal areas of residential blocks. It requires the responsible person to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, implement and maintain appropriate fire safety measures, and review the assessment regularly.
The RRO applies to the common parts — entrance halls, stairwells, landings, corridors, plant rooms. The flats themselves are not subject to the RRO, though they affect the risk assessment because fire doors and compartmentation form part of the building's fire strategy.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 amended the RRO to clarify that for multi-occupied residential buildings, the responsible person's duties extend beyond the common parts to include the structure, external walls (including cladding, balconies, and windows), and flat entrance doors. This was a significant expansion of scope — before the Act, there was ambiguity about whether external cladding and flat front doors were covered. The Act removed that ambiguity.
For blocks with any form of external cladding, rendered insulation, or combustible balconies, the responsible person must ensure those elements are included in the fire risk assessment. This connects directly to the EWS1 assessment process.
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced additional fire safety obligations for higher-risk buildings (18 metres+ or 7 storeys+, with at least 2 residential units). For HRBs, the responsible person's duties are strengthened and sit within the broader BSA framework including the Safety Case and resident engagement requirements. For non-HRB blocks, the RRO and Fire Safety Act 2021 obligations apply without the additional HRB layer.
The responsible person under the RRO is the person who has control of the premises or responsibility for the common parts. In a residential leasehold block this depends on the management structure.
| Management structure | Who is the responsible person |
|---|---|
| Freeholder-managed block | The freeholder, or the managing agent acting on the freeholder's behalf. The legal duty rests with the freeholder. |
| RTM company | The RTM company. Management transferred to the RTM company includes the fire safety management obligations. The RTM company's directors carry this responsibility collectively. |
| RMC | The RMC. As with RTM, the RMC's directors hold the responsibility collectively. |
| Managing agent | The managing agent carries out fire safety management on behalf of the responsible person. The legal duty cannot be transferred to the managing agent — it remains with the freeholder, RTM company, or RMC. The managing agent's role is to ensure the obligations are met, not to absorb the legal liability. |
The FRA is a structured assessment of the fire hazards present in the building, the people at risk, the measures in place, and the actions needed to address any gaps. It must be carried out by a competent person and kept current.
| Section | What it covers | Review frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Fire hazard identification | Sources of ignition, fuel, and oxygen in communal areas | Part of each review |
| People at risk | Occupants, visitors, contractors — particularly those who may need assistance to evacuate | Part of each review |
| Existing fire precautions | Fire detection, alarm systems, emergency lighting, signage, fire doors, fire extinguishers | Part of each review |
| External walls & flat entrance doors | Cladding, balconies, windows, combustible materials in the external wall system; condition and integrity of flat front fire doors | Required by Fire Safety Act 2021 |
| Escape routes | Adequacy, obstruction, signage, emergency lighting along escape routes | Part of each review |
| Fire safety management | Documented procedures, testing records, contractor management, resident information | Part of each review |
| Action plan | Prioritised actions to address identified risks — high, medium, low priority | Reviewed at each assessment |
Outstanding FRA actions are not a minor compliance gap. A fire risk assessment that identifies actions and those actions are not completed is not evidence that fire safety is being managed. It is a documented record of known risks that are not being addressed. In enforcement proceedings or following an incident, the FRA action log is one of the first documents reviewed. Actions rated as high priority — immediate danger — must be addressed urgently, not at the next convenient opportunity.
How often must the FRA be reviewed? The RRO requires regular review and review whenever there is reason to believe it may no longer be valid. There is no fixed statutory interval, but best practice points to at minimum every one to three years for most residential blocks. The review interval should be specified in the FRA itself and tracked in the compliance calendar.
Beyond the FRA, the responsible person must maintain a range of physical fire safety measures in the communal areas. These must be in working order, regularly tested, and maintained by competent contractors.
| Measure | What is required | Responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Fire detection & alarm | Appropriate system for the building. Regularly tested and serviced. Test records maintained. | Responsible person / managing agent |
| Emergency lighting | Lighting on escape routes and in communal areas. Tested monthly (functional) and annually (full duration). Records kept. | Responsible person / managing agent |
| Fire doors — communal | Self-closing fire doors throughout communal areas. Inspected regularly. Damage or non-closing remedied promptly. | Responsible person / managing agent |
| Flat entrance doors | Following Fire Safety Act 2021 — responsible person must assess condition of flat entrance fire doors and ensure they provide adequate fire separation. | Responsible person (requires access to individual flats) |
| Fire signage | Fire action notices, escape route signage, fire door keep shut signage. Legible and correctly positioned. | Responsible person / managing agent |
| Fire extinguishers | Where provided — appropriate type, correctly positioned, annually serviced by competent person. | Responsible person / managing agent |
| Communal area management | Escape routes kept clear of combustible materials and obstructions at all times. Leaseholders notified of requirements. | Responsible person / managing agent |
| Failure | Consequence |
|---|---|
| No fire risk assessment in place | Criminal offence. Enforcement notice. Unlimited fine. Potential prosecution of responsible person individually. |
| FRA not reviewed for more than 3 years with no significant changes | May be treated as inadequate in enforcement. Insurer may question validity of cover. |
| High priority FRA actions not completed | Documented evidence of known unmanaged risk. Serious aggravating factor in any enforcement or prosecution. |
| External walls not assessed following Fire Safety Act 2021 | Incomplete FRA. Responsible person not meeting expanded duties. |
| Flat entrance doors not assessed | Non-compliance with Fire Safety Act 2021. Responsible person exposed to enforcement. |
| Fire detection system not tested or serviced | Insurance condition potentially breached. Criminal liability if system fails in a fire. |
| Emergency lighting not tested, records not kept | Enforcement notice. Potential prosecution. |
| Fire doors wedged open or self-closers removed | Immediate fire safety risk. Responsible person liable if fire spreads as a result. |
| Communal areas obstructed with combustible materials | Breach of fire safety obligations. Lease breach by leaseholders. Insurance condition potentially breached. |
We commission fire risk assessments, manage outstanding actions, and maintain fire safety compliance for residential blocks across London and Essex. If you are unsure whether your building's fire safety is being managed correctly, contact us.
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