The UK's legislative landscape surrounding fire safety has undergone significant reform since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. At the core of this change is the Fire Safety Act 2021 (FSA 2021), a pivotal piece of legislation that amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO). 

This Act marks the beginning of a sustained effort to enhance resident protection and improve accountability across the built environment.

What Every Building Owner Needs to Know Now

For building owners of multi occupied residential premises, the FSA 2021 is not a suggestion, it is a legal clarification of where your responsibilities begin and end. It demands a fundamental shift in how fire risk is assessed, managed, and mitigated across the entirety of a property.

The Clarification of Responsibility

The FSA 2021 was introduced specifically to eliminate ambiguity regarding the extent of the Responsible Person’s duties under the RRO. Where the building contains two or more sets of domestic premises, the Act explicitly extends the scope of fire safety duties to areas that were previously open to interpretation.

Defining the Scope of the Fire Safety Order

The Act ensures that the RRO applies not only to the common areas of multi-occupied buildings, such as stairwells and lobbies, but also to critical elements of the building structure itself. This change is to address systemic risks in construction and material use. The clarification applies regardless of the building’s height, though further duties are placed on higher rise buildings through subsequent regulations. 

Focus on the Building Envelope

The most impactful change for building owners is the explicit inclusion of the structure and external components within the fire safety assessment scope. Under the FSA 2021, the RRO now clearly applies to the following. 

The building’s structure and external walls, including any cladding, insulation, balconies, and windows. 

All doors between domestic premises and the common parts, meaning flat entrance doors. 

This means the materials used in the external wall system, including the fire risk posed by external cladding and the integrity of flat entrance fire doors, must now be formally assessed and managed by the Responsible Person. Fire and Rescue Services have been given greater authority to ensure compliance with these new duties. 

Immediate Actions for Building Owners

The new legislation necessitates prompt steps, focusing specifically on meticulous documentation and seeking professional guidance. 

Updating Your Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)

The primary obligation for the Responsible Person is the immediate review and revision of the existing Fire Risk Assessment to cover these clarified areas. An FRA that omits consideration of external walls or flat entrance doors will be considered non-compliant. 

Assessing these elements, particularly complex cladding systems, requires specialist knowledge; building owners must secure the services of only competent, certified fire risk assessors for this necessary task. This level of diligence mirrors the attention required when verifying the suitability of internal systems, as discussed in our piece on A Guide to Fire Risk Assessments for Schools.

The Non-Negotiable Role of Maintenance

The legislation stresses the requirement for all fire safety equipment and building features to be expertly maintained and fully functional. This duty extends to the recently included structural components, specifically fire doors. To verify the integrity of these systems it requires certified scheduled inspections. 

This competence, which validates your system care as detailed in Why BAFE SP203 Certification Matters for Your Fire Alarm Maintenance, is now also applied to essential structural elements. The priority is shifting away from simple transactional maintenance toward adopting a holistic, complete lifecycle approach to fire safety.

Securing Compliance with Magni Fire

Modern fire safety legislation is very complex and it means that responsible persons can’t afford to rely on generic advice or uncertified contractors. The legal examination of the entire premises, including all external structures, requires specialist expertise. 

Magni Fire understands the regulatory requirements created by the FSA 2021. We offer comprehensive Fire Risk Assessment review services, ensuring compliance for building owners of multi occupied residential properties. Our experts thoroughly examine critical areas like external walls and flat entrance doors to mitigate risk. 

Magni Fire delivers a holistic view of fire safety, combining essential system maintenance, including checks on crucial risers and alarm systems, with the new, demanding structural assessment obligations. 

If you were to partner with us we will provide you the assurance that your duties as a responsible person are being met with verifiable competence. 

We will provide the assurance that your duties as a Responsible Person are being met with verifiable competence. Our services ensure a seamless transition from outdated compliance methods to the demanding fire safety requirements set by the Act, guaranteeing your premises are secure and legally compliant. 

If you have any questions for our team, please do not hesitate to contact us.