The Fire Safety Act 2021 and the 2022 Regulations explained

After the Grenfell Tower fire, two pieces of law changed what the Responsible Person for a block of flats in England has to do. The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified what the existing law covers. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 added specific new duties, most of them in force since 23 January 2023.

The Fire Safety Act 2021

The Act amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to make clear that, in any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises, the Order covers:

• the building's structure and external walls, including windows, balconies and cladding
• all doors between the domestic premises and the common parts, including flat entrance doors.

This means fire risk assessments for blocks of flats must consider the external walls and flat entrance doors. The Act applies in England and Wales.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Regulations set duties that depend on the height of the building.

All multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises:

• Give residents fire safety instructions, including the evacuation strategy and how to report a fire.
• Give residents information on the importance of fire doors.

Buildings with storeys above 11 metres, in addition:

• Check communal fire doors at least every three months.
• Use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least every twelve months.

High-rise residential buildings (at least 18 metres or seven storeys), in addition:

• Provide the fire and rescue service with electronic floor plans and a single-page orientation plan.
• Provide information about the design and materials of the external walls.
• Install a secure information box containing the building's details and floor plans.
• Fit wayfinding signage visible in low light or smoky conditions.
• Check lifts for firefighters and other key fire-fighting equipment monthly, and report faults that cannot be fixed within 24 hours to the fire and rescue service.

What to do

Make sure your fire risk assessment reflects the Act, put a fire door inspection programme in place, and if your building is high-rise, check that every item on the high-rise list has been done and is recorded.