Landlord Fire Risk Assessment

The legal duties

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies in England and Wales. Article 9 requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to people from fire, and to keep it under review. For rented housing, that person is often the landlord or managing agent for the shared parts of an HMO and for the common parts of a block of flats. The Order does not usually apply inside a single private dwelling let to one household.

Since 1 October 2023 the responsible person has to record the assessment in full. That change was made by section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022. GOV.UK's fire risk assessment guidance says you can do the assessment yourself if you understand the building, and that you should appoint a competent person if you do not.

Fire Safety Act 2021

The Fire Safety Act 2021 makes clear that, where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises, the Fire Safety Order assessment covers the building's structure, external walls (including cladding and balconies) and flat entrance doors. It applies in England and Wales.

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply in England, not in Wales. They add duties for residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises. GOV.UK's overview explains the resident-information duties, the fire door checks in taller buildings, and the extra information required for the tallest blocks. Check that guidance for the height thresholds rather than guessing them.

Housing Act 2004 and the HHSRS

The Housing Act 2004 is separate from the Fire Safety Order. Part 1 is the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which councils use to assess hazards in housing, including fire. Part 2 is HMO licensing. A mandatory licence is required in England and Wales for a large HMO: five or more people forming more than one household, sharing facilities. Councils can also run additional licensing for smaller HMOs and selective licensing for other private rented homes. GOV.UK explains the HMO licence.

HMO management regulations

Managers of HMOs have day-to-day duties under the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. The Welsh equivalent is the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Wales) Regulations 2006. Those regulations cover the condition of the house, including keeping escape routes clear and maintaining fire precautions. They apply whether or not the HMO needs a licence.

Wales

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies in Wales. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 do not. Welsh landlords must also register with Rent Smart Wales. The Welsh Government publishes its own fire safety guidance.

When a landlord needs one

• HMOs. Shared houses, bedsits and other HMOs need a fire risk assessment of the shared hallway, stairs, kitchen and the fire precautions that protect the people sleeping there. Licensing, where it applies, is an extra council requirement. It does not replace the Fire Safety Order.
• Common parts of flats. The freeholder or managing agent assesses the entrance, stairs, corridors, plant rooms and, under the Fire Safety Act 2021, the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors.
• A shop or other business you also control. If you are the responsible person for a workplace, that premises needs its own assessment. A flat above a shop can mean two responsible persons who need to co-operate.
• A single house or flat let to one household. The Fire Safety Order normally stops at the front door. You still have housing duties, including smoke and carbon monoxide alarms where those regulations apply, and the council can act on fire hazards under the HHSRS. That is not the same as the common-parts assessment described above.

Scotland and Northern Ireland use different fire safety law. This page is about England and Wales.

What's included

The online HMO and flats assessments are guided questionnaires. You inspect the building and record what you find. The PDF report includes the premises details, hazards, people at risk, the fire safety measures you describe, a risk rating and a prioritised action plan. It is a record of that assessment. It is not a licence, a certificate, or a statement that the fire and rescue service has accepted it.

The HMO questions are structured around LACORS housing fire safety guidance and cover shared escape routes, fire doors and detection. The flats questions cover communal areas and the topics introduced by the Fire Safety Act 2021. An assessor visit is a person attending the building, at the visit price below.

Our prices

See the full fire risk assessment cost guide or get a fire risk assessment quote.

Related guides

• HMO fire risk assessment
• Fire risk assessment for flats
• Fire risk assessment cost
• Fire risk assessment quote
• UK fire safety law

Landlord fire risk assessment questions