Who Is Responsible for a Fire Risk Assessment?

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person is the employer where a workplace is under the employer’s control.

Where that test does not apply, the Responsible Person may be:

• A person who controls the premises in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking
• The owner, where no other person has relevant control in connection with an undertaking

The Responsible Person must arrange a suitable and sufficient assessment of the fire risks to relevant people. The assessment must be recorded, kept under review and used to determine the precautions needed.

The Responsible Person is not always a single individual. It may be a limited company, housing provider, local authority, charity, partnership or other legal entity.

For the wider differences between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, see Fire Risk Assessment Legal Requirements Across the UK.

An employer is normally responsible for a workplace under its control, even where the building itself is rented.

The employer cannot assume that a landlord’s assessment of the common areas covers risks created by the employer’s own:

• Staff and work activities
• Machinery and equipment
• Stock and combustible materials
• Internal layout
• Storage arrangements
• Visitors, contractors and customers
• Emergency procedures and staff training

For example, a shop tenant may be responsible for the risks within its retail unit while the landlord remains responsible for shared corridors, stairs, plant rooms and building-wide systems.

Where several businesses occupy one building, each employer may need to assess its own area and co-operate with the landlord and other occupiers.

See Fire Risk Assessments for Offices and Shops for guidance on commercial occupancies.

Landlords, freeholders and management companies are commonly responsible for communal areas and shared fire-safety arrangements in residential buildings.

In England and Wales, the Fire Safety Order applies to the common parts of buildings containing two or more domestic premises. Its scope also includes the building’s structure, external walls and flat entrance doors opening onto the common parts.

Landlord-controlled matters may include:

• Communal corridors and stairways
• Final exits and escape routes
• Communal fire doors
• Flat entrance doors within the relevant statutory scope
• Smoke-control and alarm systems
• Emergency lighting
• External walls and balconies
• Firefighting facilities
• Inspection and maintenance arrangements
• Fire-safety information provided to residents

The Fire Safety Order does not generally extend into the private living areas of an individual flat. However, housing legislation, lease obligations and other requirements may still apply.

HMOs can also be subject to licensing requirements and additional housing standards. See Fire Risk Assessments for HMOs.

Yes. Fire-safety responsibility is based on control and legal obligations, not simply ownership.

A commercial tenant may control:

• Its occupied unit
• Its employees
• Work processes
• Internal escape arrangements
• Equipment and storage
• Fire precautions installed for its own use

The landlord may retain control of:

• The building structure
• Common escape routes
• Shared alarm systems
• Plant rooms
• External areas
• Building-wide inspection and maintenance

Residential leaseholders are not normally responsible for the fire risk assessment of the entire block merely because they own a flat. However, they may have responsibilities concerning alterations, access, their entrance door or works within the property.

The lease, tenancy agreement and actual management arrangements should all be considered.

A managing agent may arrange the FRA, maintain records, organise access and monitor remedial actions on behalf of the owner or management company.

This does not automatically make the agent the only Responsible Person. However, a managing agent may have duties in its own right to the extent that it:

• Controls parts of the premises
• Has responsibility for maintaining fire precautions
• Is contractually required to arrange safety work
• Has authority to appoint contractors
• Makes decisions affecting fire-safety arrangements

The practical position depends on both the management agreement and the control exercised in practice.

The managing agent should establish:

• Who holds each legal duty
• Which areas each organisation controls
• Who can authorise the assessment
• Who receives urgent findings
• Who controls budgets
• Who appoints contractors
• Who owns each remedial action
• Who maintains the final records

A fire safety audit may examine wider systems and management arrangements, but it does not replace the statutory FRA. See Fire Risk Assessment vs Fire Safety Audit.

Managing organisations reviewing broader compliance may also use Fire Safety Audits for Managing Agents.

Yes. Multi-occupied premises commonly have several organisations with overlapping duties.

For example:

• The landlord controls the common areas.
• An employer controls an occupied office.
• A facilities company maintains specified fire precautions.
• A concession operator controls part of a retail premises.

Responsible Persons must co-operate, co-ordinate their precautions and share relevant fire-safety information. Current requirements also require them to take reasonable steps to identify other Responsible Persons sharing duties for the premises.

Assessments should not leave gaps between areas of control. Particular attention may be required where:

• An escape route passes through another occupier’s area
• Alarm systems are interconnected
• Several businesses use the same final exit
• One party maintains equipment used by another
• Building works affect several occupiers

In Scotland, fire-safety duties for relevant premises generally rest with employers and other people who have control of the premises.

The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require relevant dutyholders to assess risk and provide suitable fire-safety measures. Scottish Government guidance is available for non-residential premises, HMOs, care homes and premises providing sleeping accommodation.

The position for ordinary domestic blocks differs from England and Wales. A premises-based FRA of domestic communal areas is strongly recommended as good practice, particularly in high-rise buildings, but is not generally imposed through Part 3 of the 2005 Act in the same way as it is under the Fire Safety Order.

HMOs, workplaces and specialised housing may be subject to different or additional duties.

Northern Ireland uses the term appropriate person.

For a workplace, the appropriate person normally includes the employer. For other relevant premises, responsibility can rest with the owner, occupier or another person with control.

Where several appropriate persons share premises, they must co-operate and co-ordinate their fire-safety measures.

HMOs may fall within the relevant-premises regime, with responsibilities commonly resting on the landlord, owner or another person in control.

The common areas of ordinary private blocks of flats do not automatically carry the same full fire-risk-assessment duty as HMOs or non-domestic relevant premises. Other fire-safety, housing, maintenance and building requirements may still apply.

The assessment work can be delegated, but the legal responsibility cannot simply be signed away.

A fire risk assessor may:

• Inspect the premises
• Review plans and records
• Evaluate existing precautions
• Record significant findings
• Recommend actions
• Identify limitations
• Support later reviews

The client remains responsible for:

• Selecting a suitable assessor
• Providing complete information
• Arranging access
• Considering the findings
• Implementing appropriate actions
• Keeping the assessment under review

Simple, low-risk premises may sometimes be assessed internally by someone with sufficient knowledge and understanding. More complex buildings will normally require professional assistance.

See Can You Carry Out Your Own Fire Risk Assessment?.

When external support is needed, compare Fire Risk Assessment Companies.

Clients looking for nearby providers should still assess competence and relevant experience rather than selecting solely by distance. See Fire Risk Assessors Near Me for Commercial Buildings.

Responsibility does not end when the report is received.

The dutyholder should:

• Review urgent findings promptly
• Assign each action to a named person or organisation
• Set realistic completion dates
• Commission further surveys where required
• Obtain clear scopes for remedial work
• Retain quotations, reports and completion evidence
• Update the FRA following significant changes or works
• Share relevant findings with other dutyholders

An FRA that is filed without action does not, by itself, manage the identified risk.

See What Happens After a Fire Risk Assessment.

Before obtaining quotations, the client should confirm:

• The legal entity commissioning the assessment
• The premises and areas included
• The parts controlled by other parties
• Who will provide access and records
• Who can answer operational questions
• Who receives urgent findings
• Who has authority to approve additional work
• Who will fund and manage resulting actions

Giving each assessor the same information helps produce comparable quotations and reduces disagreements about scope.

For the wider procurement process, see How Commercial Fire Protection Tendering Works and Fire Protection Tenders in the UK: The Complete Guide.

Common mistakes include:

• Assuming the building owner is always the only dutyholder
• Assuming a managing agent only performs administrative tasks
• Treating the assessor as responsible for implementing the report
• Ignoring risks created by a commercial tenant
• Failing to identify other dutyholders
• Leaving gaps between private and communal areas
• Relying only on ownership records without examining actual control
• Failing to update responsibilities after a sale, lease or management change
• Leaving recommendations without a named owner or deadline

The practical starting point is to identify who controls each part of the premises and who has authority to make the decisions needed to manage fire risk.

For clients and dutyholders

Use Fire Risk Assessment Companies to compare providers suited to the premises, occupancy and level of risk. Provide bidders with clear information about ownership, control, shared areas and access arrangements.

For fire risk assessors and consultancies

View Fire Risk Assessment Tenders for opportunities with defined premises and client requirements.

Who is legally responsible for a fire risk assessment?

It depends on the jurisdiction and who controls the premises. In England and Wales, the Responsible Person may be the employer, owner or another person with control.

Is the landlord or tenant responsible?

Both can be responsible for different areas. A landlord may control common parts and shared systems, while a commercial tenant controls its occupied unit and work activities.

Is a managing agent the Responsible Person?

Not automatically. However, a managing agent may hold duties where it controls parts of the building or is responsible for maintaining particular fire precautions.

Does hiring an assessor transfer responsibility?

No. The assessor provides professional assistance, but the dutyholder remains responsible for ensuring the assessment is suitable and for acting on its findings.

Can a building have several Responsible Persons?

Yes. Multi-occupied buildings often involve several dutyholders. They must co-operate, co-ordinate precautions and exchange relevant information.