This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Key takeaways
- In England and Wales, the legal backbone is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
- In multi-occupied residential buildings, your FRA scope must include the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors (as part of the Fire Safety Order’s scope).
- In England, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 adds extra duties, including routine checks for certain fire doors.
- You can do an FRA yourself if you’re competent, but you should use a professional assessor if you can’t ensure it’s suitable and sufficient.
- A clean audit trail is part of compliance: findings, actions, close-out evidence, and review dates.
Start with the legal duty and the right “Responsible Person”
Before you inspect a single door, get the basics right:
- Which premises are you assessing? The whole building, common parts, mixed-use, plant rooms, bin stores or garages
- Who is the “Responsible Person”? It depends on who has control, and there can be more than one.
If you’re not clear on the dutyholder and scope, your FRA becomes a document that looks fine but cannot be enforced internally.
Set the scope properly (this is where many FRAs fall short)
For social housing blocks, the common parts are the obvious focus. But since the Fire Safety Act clarification, a compliant approach for multi-occupied residential buildings must also take into account:
- Structure
- External walls (including cladding, balconies and attachments)
- Flat entrance doors (the doors between flats and common parts)
You can read more about “what’s in scope” in the government’s Fire Safety Act 2021 factsheet.
And if you already have an FRA, it may not need redoing from scratch if it already covers what it needs to, but it may need updating based on competent advice, including whether a deeper look at external walls is needed.
Decide whether you’re competent to do it or need an assessor
A legal-looking template is not competence.
You must ensure the FRA is suitable and sufficient, and if you cannot do that yourself, the government strongly recommends using a professional fire risk assessor.
If you commission an assessor, treat it like any other critical service:
- confirm scope in writing (including structure, external walls, flat entrance doors where relevant)
- ask how they inspect compartmentation and door sets (not just a visual corridor walk)
- agree on how actions will be graded and evidenced
Build an information pack before the site visit
An assessor can only judge risk against what’s actually true about the building. Bring the building back into focus before anyone steps on site:
- latest floor plans and layout drawings (including basements, rooftops, risers, plant)
- fire strategy (stay put, phased, simultaneous evacuation), if one exists
- a list of fire safety systems and last service dates (alarms/detection, emergency lighting, smoke control, dry risers, sprinklers where fitted)
- known issues: recurring arson, fly-tipping in common parts, door damage, voids, contractor hot works
- any recent works that may have affected compartmentation (new penetrations, refurb, door replacements)
For blocks of flats, the Home Office points readers to purpose-built blocks guidance, which helps frame what “good” looks like in real stock.
Follow a clear method (and keep it consistent)
Government guidance boils the assessment down to a straightforward process:
- Identify fire hazards
- Identify people at risk
- Evaluate and reduce risk
- Record findings and plan
- Review and update
That step-by-step is set out in their Workplace fire safety: fire risk assessments document, and it’s a solid structure even when you’re assessing common parts of residential buildings.
What to inspect on site
Means of escape
- escape route width and obstructions
- signage and emergency lighting (where required)
- final exits and security arrangements
Compartmentation and fire stopping
- service risers, penetrations, boxing-in, ceiling voids
- evidence of poor workmanship after refurbishment works
Fire doors (common parts and flat entrance doors)
- door leaf and frame condition, gaps, seals, glazing, letter plates
- self-closers working properly
- damage and resident alterations
In England, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 guidance and this fire doors fact sheet gives housing providers routine checks and the reason they matter: keeping the existing door performance in place.
External walls (where relevant)
- what the system is, what’s known, what’s unknown
- visible issues: missing cavity barriers, combustible features, damaged façade elements
- how risk is managed, and what information needs updating when changes happen
The legal duties for high-rise residential buildings are set out in the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, including keeping records relating to external walls and sharing plans and key information.
Turn findings into actions that can be closed
A compliant FRA produces decisions, not just observations.
Keep your action plan tight:
- action owner and due date
- what “done” looks like (photos, certificates, invoices, inspection records)
- interim controls where fixes take time (temporary signage, management checks, restrictions)
If you manage small blocks, fire and rescue services can audit common parts for compliance, and you cannot rely on “we meant to do it” when actions sit open.
Review when an FRA stops being valid
Your FRA should be reviewed:
- after significant works (especially anything affecting walls, doors, risers, and fire stopping)
- after a serious incident or near-miss
- when occupancy and use changes
- on a set cycle, and recorded
You can also check out this simple five-step checklist PDF that includes keeping a record of review and the date you did it.
Quick self-check: would your FRA hold up tomorrow?
- Does it clearly state who the Responsible Person is and what parts are in scope?
- For blocks, does it cover structure, external walls and flat entrance doors where needed?
- Are actions tracked to completion with evidence, not just notes?
- In England, are you meeting the extra checks and information duties under the 2022 Regulations?
For a fire safety view built around evidence and action control across your portfolio, you can look to software. True Compliance’s fire safety page is a good place to start.
