New fire regulations come into force as part of the Building Safety Act 2022 on the 1st October 2023. Aimed at strengthening fire safety in most non-domestic premises, the centrepiece is a requirement for all holiday let properties to conduct a full written fire risk assessment. However, this is not the only requirement, nor is it as simple as employing someone to complete a risk assessment.
Worry not – we’re here to help. As providers of approved fire risk assessments, we’ve put together a guide to the new fire risk assessment law. Read on to learn what the new law entails, the requirements and responsibilities of guests and owners, and a simple guide on the changes you need to make as the owner of a holiday let or other non-domestic property.
What is the Fire Safety Order 2005, and why has it changed?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 was part of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001, and was applied across England and Wales, with Scotland and Northern Ireland governed by separate legislation. The Fire Safety Order 2005 (FSO) was most notable for moving the onus for fire risk assessments from the Fire Service to organisations themselves.
Prior to the FSO, all public, commercial, and non-single-household domestic dwellings required a fire safety certificate to operate, which would have to be granted and renewed by the Fire Service following an inspection. After the law, responsible persons would be required to source fire risk assessments, which could be provided by third-party assessors.
While intended to relieve the burden of risk assessments from the Fire Service, the law had the unintended consequence of reducing compliance, as it did not define either a timeframe for the checks or any mandatory fire safety qualifications. This led to a number of fire risk assessments being found to be non-compliant, and a majority of fire risk assessors lacking registration with an accredited fire safety body.
What is Section 156 of the Fire Safety Order 2023?
Following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, a process began to close loopholes and address oversights in UK fire and building safety laws. The Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made the most pressing changes to fire safety laws, while the Building Safety Act 2022 introduced new standards for the design, construction and refurbishment of all buildings over 18 metres in height.
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 – commonly referred to as the Fire Safety Order 2023 – supersedes the previous guidance in the Fire Safety Order 2005. Coming into force on 1st October 2023, this section introduces new fire safety standards for all non-domestic premises, including both commercial properties and multi-occupancy dwellings, such as holiday lets or apartment blocks.
The focus of Section 156 is on the fire safety responsibilities of Responsible Persons (RPs). Under the new rules, RPs must fully document all relevant fire safety information, share this with both tenants and other Responsible Persons, and conduct fire risk assessments using competent assessors. While the legal requirement for a competent assessor is yet to be defined, the guidance is that they should have sufficient knowledge, training and experience.
Who does Section 156 apply to?
As of 1st October 2023, Section 156 of the Fire Safety Order 2023 applies to all multi-occupancy residential buildings and non-domestic premises. This includes any building containing two or more domestic dwellings (e.g. flats), as well as holiday lets and other paid guest accommodation (e.g. chalets or cottages), office buildings, and other commercial properties.
Properties which provide sleeping accommodation for over 10 people with more than four bedrooms on the first floor will continue to be held to pre-existing guidance in the Fire Safety Risk Assessment for Sleeping Accommodation. This does not include buildings which include multiple self-contained dwellings on a single floor, such as apartment blocks.
Owners and landlords of small paying guest accommodation may carry out their own fire risk assessments where possible. Small paying guest accommodation includes single premise accommodation consisting of a ground floor or ground + 1st floor dwelling. This encompasses individual flats within a purpose-built block, as well as houses or other buildings converted into flats or holiday accommodation.
While there is an allowance for Responsible Persons of small paying guest accommodation to conduct their own fire risk assessments, it is still recommended to use a qualified fire risk assessor to ensure full compliance with the law. As well as fire risk assessments for large buildings, SAMS can also provide fire risk assessments for small non-domestic premises, including converted houses and small blocks of flats – get in touch and enquire today.
How can I comply with Section 156 of the FSO?
The requirements under Section 156 can be broken down into two key areas: improving transparency around fire safety, and improving the quality of fire risk assessments. One of the issues highlighted by the Grenfell Tower fire was the lack of transparency around fire safety features in the building, and the lack of accountability when issues were not fixed. As such, Responsible Persons now need to provide a comprehensive fire safety paper trail.
RPs can achieve this by recording all fire safety information on a building, including fire safety features such as alarms, doors, extinguishers and sprinkler systems; evacuation routes and congregation points; the results of recent fire risk assessments; and a timetable for any corrective actions. This information should then be shared with relevant parties, including other Responsible Persons and any residents or tenants of the building.
On fire risk assessments, every effort must be made by Responsible Persons to ensure that the individual undertaking your fire risk assessment is knowledgeable, experienced and well-trained. As most RPs lack the personal experience and training needed to identify these characteristics, the best way to ensure this is to only hire fire risk assessors who are certified by a leading industry body, such as the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM) or the Institute of Fire Engineers (IFE).
Both organisations maintain a list of approved fire risk assessors, who meet all of the professional criteria necessary to conduct trusted fire risk assessments. These individuals will have undergone extensive practical and theoretical training on fire risks, and be able to identify any fire risk factors within your building, providing a comprehensive and actionable assessment. This can then be used to take corrective action to ensure your building is safe and fully compliant with the Fire Safety Order 2023.
What is the Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool?
The Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool has been developed by the UK government to help Responsible Persons with their fire safety responsibilities. The online tool provides guidance on how to prioritise fire risk assessments, helping to identify the urgency with which fire risk assessments of different types of buildings should be completed.
The tool asks the Responsible Person to answer a series of fire safety questions about a building. Once you have answered the questions – including the provision of relevant data – the tool will provide a tier rating for the building, where Tier 1 represents the most urgent priority for a fire risk assessment. Opportunities to answer ‘Don’t Know’ are limited, so the Responsible Person should have all of the relevant fire safety information to hand.
The tool is helpful in identifying where an existing fire risk assessment needs to be updated to accommodate recent changes in the law, including the identification of potentially dangerous cladding and other high-risk elements of a building. A building given a Tier 1 or Tier 2 priority rating should have a fire risk assessment conducted immediately.
Use of the tool is not mandatory, but it is encouraged. It is possible that Responsible Persons may already have a system in place to prioritise the completion of fire risk assessments for their properties, in which case the tool may not be necessary. It is still worth using even if you are only responsible for one building, as it will still provide guidance on how urgent the need for a new fire risk assessment is.
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If you’re looking to conduct a fire risk assessment for your holiday let or other non-domestic property, SAMS can help. Our fire risk assessors hold FPA and NEBOSH Fire qualifications, and are fully qualified and registered with the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM). To discuss your requirements and arrange a fire risk assessment, get in touch with us today.