Summary
In short
- Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order with effect from 1 October 2023. The assessment must now be recorded in full by every responsible person, regardless of employee count or premises type.
- Fire safety arrangements must also be recorded, setting out how fire safety is managed on the premises.
- The identity of anyone appointed to carry out or review the assessment must be recorded, along with their organisation, creating a traceable audit trail.
- Article 9A, which will require that any person appointed to assist is competent, is drafted in section 156 but has not yet been commenced. Appointing a competent assessor remains strongly advisable in the meantime.
- The reforms came in three phases: the Fire Safety Act 2021, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 from January 2023, and section 156 from October 2023.
- Suitable and sufficient is the standard, and it is not a tick-box minimum. An assessment that misses a real hazard fails it however it was produced.
What it is
What it is
What is a fire risk assessment?
An assessment identifying fire hazards, the people at risk, and the general fire precautions needed to protect them. In England and Wales it is required under Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for almost all non-domestic premises and the common parts of most residential buildings, and it must be suitable and sufficient.
Who is the responsible person?
Whoever is in a position to do something about fire safety on the premises rather than whoever holds a particular job title. In a workplace this is normally the employer; elsewhere it is the person with control of the premises in connection with a business. In multi-occupied buildings there will be several responsible persons with overlapping duties and, since October 2023, strengthened obligations to cooperate.
When to use it
When to use it, and when not to
This is a dedicated legal instrument. A general risk assessment does not satisfy it, and it does not satisfy the general one.
Use it for
- Any non-domestic premises, and the common parts of buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises
- Following any material change to the building, its use, its occupancy or its processes
- After a fire, near miss or false alarm pattern that indicates a control is not working
- When occupancy characteristics change, including anyone whose escape would be assisted or delayed
- At a review interval proportionate to the premises and its risk
Not for
- General workplace risk assessment, which does not address escape, compartmentation, detection or means of warning
- Hot work permitting, which controls a specific ignition source and is a separate authorisation
- The fire safety arrangements document, which describes how fire safety is managed and is now separately recordable
- Fire system servicing and testing records, which evidence maintenance of the systems the assessment relies on
- Building Safety Act duties for higher-risk buildings, including the safety case report, which are a distinct regime
Standards
What it is built against
Fire safety in England and Wales sits under a single order that has been amended three times since 2021, alongside separate codes in other jurisdictions.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| RRFSO 2005 art.9(1) | Suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to relevant persons, identifying the general fire precautions needed | Header |
| RRFSO art.9 as amended by BSA s.156 | Assessment recorded in full by every responsible person from 1 October 2023, whatever the size of the business | Result |
| BSA 2022 s.156 | Fire safety arrangements recorded, and the identity and organisation of anyone appointed recorded | Result |
| RRFSO art.9A (not yet in force) | Prohibition on appointing a person to assist unless competent, with competence defined by training, experience and knowledge | Header |
| RRFSO art.11 | Fire safety arrangements for effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventive measures | Result |
| RRFSO art.21 | Adequate fire safety training on induction, periodically, and on any change to premises or procedures | People at risk |
| Fire Safety (England) Regs 2022 | Phase two duties including fire door information and instructions to occupiers | Detection, warning and escape |
| NFPA 101 (US) | Life Safety Code covering means of egress, occupancy classification, detection and alarm | Detection, warning and escape |
What it does not cover
- General risk assessment, which does not address escape, compartmentation, detection or means of warning.
- Fire safety arrangements, now separately recordable and describing how fire safety is managed rather than what the risks are.
- System servicing and testing records, which evidence that alarms, emergency lighting and extinguishers are maintained.
- Hot work permits, which control a specific transient ignition source.
- Higher-risk building duties under the Building Safety Act, including registration and the safety case report.
Filling it in
Filling it in well
The structure is stable: what can ignite, what will burn, who is present, and whether they can get out. What has changed is what must be written down.
The duty is now to record the assessment rather than its significant findings. That means the reasoning, not just the conclusions: which areas were examined, what was found, what was judged not to present a risk and why. An assessment recording six findings and nothing else no longer meets the requirement even where the six findings are correct.
Section 156 requires the identity of any person appointed to carry out or review the assessment to be recorded, with their organisation where applicable. This creates a traceable record for enforcing authorities, insurers and future owners, and it means an assessment produced by an unnamed consultant no longer satisfies the recording duty.
Who is present, when, and what would delay or assist their escape. Night shift with reduced staffing, contractors unfamiliar with the layout, visitors, anyone with mobility, sensory or cognitive impairment, and lone workers. Means of escape adequate for a familiar daytime population may not be adequate for any of these.
Fire stopping is breached by legitimate work: cable pulls, pipe runs, duct installations. Once the ceiling tile is back the breach is invisible, and it is found during a fire risk assessment or during a fire. Lifting tiles above corridors and in risers is the single highest-yield hour of most assessments.
Audit findings
Common audit findings
Fire risk assessment findings divide between what the assessment missed and, increasingly, what it failed to record.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Only significant findings recorded, not the full assessment. | RRFSO art.9 as amended | Record in full; the threshold and the significant-findings limit both ended in October 2023. |
| Assessor identity and organisation not recorded. | BSA s.156 | Name the person and organisation; the recording duty now requires it explicitly. |
| Fire safety arrangements not documented separately. | RRFSO art.11 as amended | Record how fire safety is managed, distinct from what the risks are. |
| Compartmentation breaches from cable or pipe penetrations. | RRFSO art.9 | Inspect above ceilings and in risers; contractors create these and nobody checks. |
| Assessment does not address occupants needing assisted escape. | RRFSO art.9 | Assess the actual population including impairment, unfamiliarity and out-of-hours staffing. |
| Not reviewed after a change of use, layout or occupancy. | RRFSO art.9(3) | Review on change; the assessment describes a building that may no longer exist. |
| Multiple responsible persons with no cooperation arrangements. | BSA s.156 | Cooperation and coordination duties were strengthened in October 2023 for multi-occupied premises. |
| Assessor competence not established. | RRFSO art.9A (pending) | Appoint a competent assessor; the duty is drafted and not yet commenced, and the standard applies regardless. |
| Fire safety training not delivered on induction or after changes. | RRFSO art.21 | Train on induction, periodically and on any change to premises or procedures. |
| Actions arising with no owner, date or verification. | RRFSO art.11 | Assign and verify; an assessment identifying hazards and changing nothing is evidence of knowledge. |
Worked case
Case in point: the small premises that did not know
Before October 2023 a responsible person employing fewer than five people, in unlicensed premises, had no duty to record the fire risk assessment at all. The assessment still had to be made and be suitable and sufficient, but nothing had to be written down.
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act removed that threshold entirely. Every responsible person must now record the assessment in full, record the fire safety arrangements, and record the identity and organisation of anyone appointed to carry out or review the assessment.
The practical effect is a large population of small premises, offices above shops, small workshops, care settings, community buildings, that carried no recording obligation for eighteen years and now do. Most were never told, because the change was framed publicly as a response to Grenfell and read as being about tall residential buildings.
Definitions
Definitions and key terms
- Responsible person
- Whoever has control of the premises in connection with a business, or the employer in a workplace. Determined by control, not job title.
- Suitable and sufficient
- The legal standard: proportionate to the premises and genuinely engaging with its risks, not a tick-box minimum.
- General fire precautions
- Measures to reduce risk and spread, means of escape, means of fighting fire, detection and warning, and training.
- Relevant persons
- Anyone lawfully on the premises and anyone in the immediate vicinity who could be affected by a fire there.
- Fire safety arrangements
- How fire safety is planned, organised, controlled, monitored and reviewed. Separately recordable since October 2023.
- Compartmentation
- Fire-resisting construction limiting spread, routinely breached by cable and pipe penetrations during ordinary work.
- Article 9A
- The competence requirement for appointed assessors, drafted in section 156 of the Building Safety Act and not yet in force.
- Higher-risk building
- In England, residential buildings at least 18 metres or with seven or more storeys, subject to a separate regime.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What changed on 1 October 2023?+
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order. The assessment must now be recorded in full by every responsible person regardless of business size or premises type, the fire safety arrangements must also be recorded, the identity and organisation of anyone appointed to carry out or review the assessment must be recorded, and cooperation duties between multiple responsible persons were strengthened.
Do small businesses need a written assessment now?+
Yes. The previous position was that recording applied only where five or more people were employed or the premises were licensed, and then only for significant findings. Both limits are gone. A great many small premises that never had a recording obligation now have one, and the change was widely read as being about high-rise residential buildings when the Fire Safety Order amendments apply almost universally.
Must the assessor be competent?+
Article 9A, which prohibits appointing a person to assist unless they are competent, is contained in section 156 but has not yet been commenced. In the meantime the assessment must still be suitable and sufficient, which in practice requires competence, and government guidance advises appointing competent assessors regardless. For complex premises, an assessor registered with a recognised body is the sensible route.
How often should it be reviewed?+
Whenever it may no longer be valid: a change to the building, its use, its occupancy, its processes or its fire safety systems, after a fire or a significant near miss, and at an interval proportionate to the risk. A fixed annual review is a backstop for changes nobody flagged, not the primary trigger.
What does an assessment most often miss?+
Compartmentation breaches and out-of-hours occupancy. Fire stopping is breached by cable and pipe installation during ordinary work and becomes invisible once the ceiling is closed. Occupancy assessed against a familiar daytime population frequently does not describe the night shift, the contractor, the visitor or anyone whose escape would be delayed.
The agents
What the agents do with it
The assessment is a legal document with a recording duty that recently broadened. What fails is the review nobody triggered and the ceiling nobody lifted.
Holds the assessment against the premises with the assessor identity recorded, and triggers review on changes to layout, use or occupancy.
Links contractor work above ceilings and in risers to a compartmentation check, since fire stopping is breached during legitimate work.
Connects fire system servicing and testing to the assessment, so the measures it relies on are evidenced as maintained.
Covers fire safety training on induction and after changes, which Article 21 requires and which lapses quietly.
This template lives in KnowSafe — safety and compliance. Incidents, hazards, permits, inspections and the critical controls behind them.
Meet KnowSafe→Sources
Sources
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, articles 9, 11 and 21
- Building Safety Act 2022 section 156, in force 1 October 2023
- Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
- NFPA 101 Life Safety Code (United States)
- Home Office guidance on fire safety responsibilities under section 156