The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023 and implement most of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations that needed legislation. They add specific, practical duties for responsible persons of multi-occupied residential buildings, scaled by height.
All multi-occupied residential buildings
- Provide residents with fire safety instructions: what to do in a fire, how to report one, the evacuation strategy.
- Provide residents with information about the importance of fire doors, keeping them closed and not tampering with self-closers.
Buildings over 11 metres
- Quarterly checks of fire doors in common parts.
- Annual checks of flat entrance doors, using best endeavours to gain access.
- Monthly checks of lifts for firefighters and evacuation lifts and of essential firefighting equipment, with records available to residents and reports of unresolved faults to the Fire and Rescue Service.
Buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys
- Provide the Fire and Rescue Service with up-to-date electronic floor plans and a building plan identifying key firefighting equipment.
- Install a secure information box containing hard copies of the plans and the responsible person’s contact details.
- Install wayfinding signage visible in low light identifying floor and flat numbers.
- Provide information on the design and materials of the external wall system and record the fire risk assessment findings for it.
Enforcement
The Regulations are made under the Fire Safety Order and are enforced by the Fire and Rescue Service, which can issue enforcement and prohibition notices. Since October 2023 the Order also carries unlimited fines for some offences and a duty to record the fire risk assessment in full.
Do the Regulations apply to buildings under 11 metres?
Yes, in part. All multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises must provide residents with fire safety instructions and information about fire doors. The equipment checks and information box duties start at 11 metres and 18 metres respectively.
What must be checked monthly?
In buildings over 11 metres: lifts for use by firefighters and evacuation lifts, and other essential firefighting equipment such as smoke control systems, rising mains and fire detection. Faults that cannot be fixed within 24 hours must be reported to the Fire and Rescue Service.