Most multi-let residential buildings in England are affected by the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which came into effect on 23 January 2023. They were laid under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and implement the majority of the recommendations set out in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report. The 2022 Regulations will involve additional duties for landlords and property managers, but have been welcomed as a set of proportionate measures that will improve the safety of residents of multi-occupied buildings.
Which buildings are within scope?
All buildings in England that contain two or more domestic premises, and common parts which residents would need to use in order to evacuate in an emergency.
Who are the responsible persons?
As with the 2005 Order, they are:
- employers, where the common part of a residential building is a workplace and the employer is in control of it – for example, where a caretaker or concierge is employed, or the communal parts of the building are used for commercial purposes;
- people who control the common parts of the premises in connection with the carrying on of a trade, business or other undertaking – eg a business tenant, the operator of a hostel or student block, or a property management agent; or
- the owner, where the property is empty or the person in control of the common parts of the premises is not carrying on a trade, business or other undertaking.
The government’s guidance clarifies that owners cannot decide to “make” someone else the responsible person, or delegate responsibility for compliance with either the 2005 Order or the 2022 Regulations (though the responsible person will often employ specialist contractors to assist with compliance). There can be more than one responsible person for a building.
There can also be duty holders who share some of the responsibility for fire safety. The extent of their obligation will depend on: (i) the level of control that they have over the premises; and (ii) the terms of any contracts and/or tenancy agreements. This can include professionals (such as fire risk assessors or fire alarm engineers) and tenants (depending on the level of control the tenant has over the common parts of the building – for example, if they have obligations to undertake maintenance
or repairs).
What are the fire safety duties imposed under the 2022 Regulations?
There are three levels of obligation, depending on the height of the building:
- In all in-scope buildings, responsible persons must both display and provide residents with fire safety instructions, and also give them information about the importance of fire doors;
- In residential buildings over 11m high, responsible persons must undertake annual checks of flat entrance doors and quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts; and
- In high-rise residential buildings (at least 18m or seven storeys tall), responsible persons must:
-
- provide their local fire and rescue service with up-to-date electronic building floor plans and place hard copies (plus a single-page building plan identifying key firefighting equipment) in a secure information box on site. The box must also contain the name and contact details of the responsible person;
- provide the FRS with information about the design and materials of the building’s external walls, inform them of any material changes and notify them of the level of risk that the design and materials of the external walls indicate and any mitigation taken;
- undertake monthly checks on lifts for use by firefighters and evacuation lifts, check the functionality of firefighting equipment, and report any defective lifts or equipment to their local FRS as soon as possible if the fault cannot be fixed within 24 hours; and
- install signage visible in low light or smoky conditions that identifies flat and floor numbers in the stairwells.
What should landlords do in order to ensure compliance?
Landlords who employ property management agents or who have entered into operating leases should check the terms of their asset management agreements or leases to see if the agent or operator could be deemed to have control over the common parts of the building. If so, it would be prudent to ask them to confirm that they have put systems in place to comply with the 2022 Regulations, and to verify this in site visits (eg check for the presence of fire doors, signage and secure information boxes). Landlords with control over the common parts of in-scope buildings must comply with the 2022 Regulations themselves.
Who will pay for the costs of compliance?
Compliance is likely to mean incurring additional costs. The 2022 Regulations do not specify who should pay them, so the parties involved in the ownership, management and occupation of in-scope buildings will have to decide. This will largely depend on the terms of agreements such as occupational leases, property management agreements and operating agreements.
Key duties
The regulations apply to multi-let residential buildings with communal exits. They impose additional fire safety duties on responsible persons, with criminal sanctions for non-compliance.
|
Building height |
Duties |
|
All |
Provide information about fire safety and the importance of fire doors |
|
11m-plus |
Carry out annual checks on flat entrance doors and quarterly checks on communal fire doors |
|
18m-plus |
Share specified information with the fire and rescue service; carry out regular maintenance of lifts and firefighting equipment; install signage |
Emma Pereira is head of real estate, Sarah Walker is a partner and Ed Colclough is head of construction and engineering at Travers Smith
