If you're responsible for a block of flats in England — whether as a managing agent, RMC director, or freeholder — fire risk assessments are one of your most important legal obligations. The regulatory landscape has tightened significantly since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and 2026 brings continued enforcement of duties introduced by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.

This guide covers who is responsible, what must be assessed, how often, and what happens if you get it wrong.

Who needs a fire risk assessment?

Any building containing two or more domestic premises with shared common parts requires a fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). Common parts include hallways, staircases, lifts, corridors, landings, and entrance foyers.

This applies regardless of building type — purpose-built flats, converted houses, mixed-use buildings with commercial premises on the ground floor, and even small blocks of maisonettes with shared escape routes.

Who is the "Responsible Person"?

The FSO places legal duties on the "Responsible Person" — typically the freeholder, managing agent, or RMC acting on behalf of leaseholders. Even if you appoint a third-party fire risk assessor, legal responsibility remains with the Responsible Person.

For self-managing RMCs, this means the directors carry personal responsibility for ensuring fire risk assessments are completed, reviewed, and acted upon.

What must the assessment cover?

Since the Fire Safety Act 2021 came into force in May 2022, the scope of fire risk assessments has expanded beyond just the common parts. The assessment must now also consider:

The building's structure and external walls — including cladding, insulation, and balconies
Flat entrance doors — these must be fire doors where they open onto common areas
Windows and anything attached to the exterior of the building
Common parts — corridors, stairwells, lobbies, service rooms, and plant rooms

The assessment itself should evaluate risks related to fire starting, fire spreading, escape routes, fire detection and alarm systems, emergency lighting, signage, and firefighting equipment.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

These regulations, which came into force on 23 January 2023, introduced additional practical duties on top of the fire risk assessment requirement:

For all buildings with two or more domestic premises:

The Responsible Person must provide residents with relevant fire safety information in a format that is easily understood
This information must be displayed in a conspicuous part of the building

For buildings over 11 metres or with seven or more storeys:

Quarterly checks of fire doors in communal areas
Annual checks of flat entrance fire doors
Sharing of building plans and fire safety information with the local fire and rescue service

How often should fire risk assessments be reviewed?

There is no fixed statutory interval. The law requires assessments to be "suitable and sufficient" and kept "under regular review." In practice, this means:

Annually is considered best practice for most blocks
Immediately following any significant changes — building works, alterations to escape routes, addition of external cladding, or major refurbishment
After any fire-related incident in the building
When the risk profile changes — for example, new lithium-ion battery storage areas for e-bikes, or changes to building use

For higher-risk buildings, more frequent reviews may be appropriate.

Common fire safety compliance gaps

From working with managing agents and RMC directors, several issues come up repeatedly:

No documented assessment — some blocks, particularly smaller self-managed ones, have never had a formal fire risk assessment carried out
Outdated assessments — the assessment exists but hasn't been reviewed since before the Fire Safety Act 2021 expanded the scope to include external walls and flat entrance doors
No remediation tracking — the assessment identified issues, but there's no structured record of what was done about them, by whom, and when
Missing certificates — fire door inspection reports, alarm testing certificates, and emergency lighting test records aren't linked to the assessment
No resident notification — the 2022 regulations require fire safety information to be shared with residents, but many blocks haven't implemented this

The cost of non-compliance

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced personal accountability provisions for building safety. Managing agents and RMC directors can face:

Enforcement notices from the fire and rescue service
Fines for non-compliance with the FSO or the 2022 Regulations
Criminal prosecution in serious cases — particularly where a failure to maintain fire safety leads to harm
Personal liability for directors of RMCs who fail to ensure proper compliance

Beyond legal consequences, leaseholders are increasingly informed about their rights. An RMC director who can't demonstrate a current fire risk assessment and evidence of acting on its findings will face difficult questions — whether at an AGM or before a First-tier Tribunal.

Getting fire safety compliance under control

The challenge for most blocks isn't understanding the requirements — it's tracking them. A single block might need to monitor fire risk assessment review dates, fire door inspection cycles, alarm testing schedules, emergency lighting checks, and remediation work arising from each inspection.

Multiply that across a portfolio or even a handful of buildings, and it becomes clear why spreadsheets and email threads aren't sustainable.

BlockGuardian was built specifically for this problem. It tracks compliance status across all seven categories that affect UK residential blocks — including fire safety — with automated reminders, inspection-to-case linking for remediation work, document storage for certificates and reports, and a complete audit trail. If you're looking for a structured way to manage fire safety compliance, start a free 45-day trial and see how it works in practice.