What Affects the Cost of a Fire Risk Assessment?

Which building features affect the quote?

The type and use of the premises help define the assessment. An office, a hotel and a block of flats need to be understood in the context of their occupancy and management arrangements. Tell us whether people sleep in the building, rather than assuming the address or description makes this clear.

Size, number of floors and layout also matter. Include an approximate floor area and explain whether the premises occupy a whole building or only part of it. If layouts or uses differ across a site, describe those differences so the proposed scope reflects the buildings actually being assessed.

Why does the assessment type matter for flats?

For a block of flats, the scope can range from a non-intrusive assessment of the common parts to one that opens up construction on a sampling basis and goes inside a sample of flats. BS 9792:2025, the code of practice for fire risk assessment in housing, sets out four types. Type 1 covers the common parts without opening anything up, including a sample of flat entrance doors seen from the common parts, and is the usual starting point. Type 2 adds opening-up in the common parts. Type 3 adds checks inside a sample of flats. Type 4 is intrusive in both. They are not interchangeable descriptions of the same visit, and our quote states which type is being provided.

Tell us whether you need access inside flats and share any previous findings that have prompted the enquiry. Opening-up needs a contractor to open and make good, the building's asbestos register and, where the areas to be opened have not been surveyed for asbestos, a survey before the visit. The age of the building on its own does not decide the type; construction type, known alterations, previous findings and what can be seen in the common parts do.

Are external walls and flat entrance doors included?

Since the Fire Safety Act 2021, the assessment must consider the structure, the external walls, including cladding, balconies and windows, and flat entrance doors. A general assessment looks at these as far as they can be seen without opening up. Where the external wall construction cannot be confirmed, the report may recommend a separate fire risk appraisal of external walls to PAS 9980:2026. That is specialist work, scoped and quoted on its own, and it is not part of the assessment unless the quote says so. It can apply to a block of any height.

Tell us the number of storeys and the approximate height of the building. In England, the duties on the Responsible Person under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 change at 11 metres and again at 18 metres or seven storeys, and the assessment checks that those arrangements are in place, which affects the time on site. Person-centred fire risk assessments for individual residents under the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, in force since 6 April 2026, are separate from the building assessment and are not included unless the quote says so.

How do access and portfolio arrangements affect the scope?

Tell us how many buildings are involved and whether you want a portfolio assessed together. Identify the use and location of each building rather than sending only a combined floor area. That way each building can be quoted properly and the programme planned around it.

Access arrangements are equally important. Explain whether buildings remain occupied, who can provide access and whether visits need to take place outside normal hours. Tell us if any areas can only be reached at certain times or with a particular person. Clear access information helps establish what the proposed attendance needs to cover.

Which documents help define the work?

Existing information helps establish what is already known and where further work may be needed. Send the previous assessment if available and identify any fire strategy, floor plans, asbestos register, and test and maintenance records. Tell us if documents are missing rather than treating the absence of records as a reason to delay the enquiry.

If fire engineering input may be needed, identify the issue that has raised the question. A building with a complex layout or an unresolved design question may need a different scope from a straightforward assessment enquiry. The quote should distinguish the proposed assessment from any separately scoped technical work.

What does the RiSKFiX assessment include?

The service reviews building plans, occupancy and management arrangements, alongside fire hazards and ignition sources, escape routes, emergency lighting, signage, fire detection and alarm, fire-fighting equipment and any suppression, fire doors, compartmentation, external walls and other passive fire protection, and the testing, maintenance and training records. It considers the evacuation strategy and any occupants or residents who may need help to evacuate. Photographic evidence supports the findings, and the report gives priority-rated actions for the Responsible Person. It is also the written record of the full assessment that the Responsible Person has had to keep since 1 October 2023.

RiSKFiX confirms building type, occupancy and access by email, then attends the premises and discusses arrangements with the Responsible Person. Reporting follows PAS 79-1:2020 for premises other than housing and BS 9792:2025, which replaced PAS 79-2:2020, for housing, including blocks of flats, houses in multiple occupation and specialised housing. The quote confirms report delivery arrangements. RiSKFiX can also carry out remedial works identified by the assessment, so the Responsible Person can deal with one team if they choose. The assessment is priced and written independently of any works: the findings and priorities are the same whether or not you ask us to quote for them, any works are quoted as a separate document with its own scope, and you are free to use any contractor. Where we have that interest, the report says so.

Who will carry out the assessment?

Since 1 October 2023, the Responsible Person must keep a written record of the full assessment and the name of the person and organisation engaged to carry it out or review it, under section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022. The law does not yet require a Fire Risk Assessor to hold a particular certificate. The Government consulted in 2026 on mandatory certification of Fire Risk Assessors, and BS 8674:2025 is the competence framework for individual assessors, with foundation, intermediate and advanced levels matched to the complexity of the building. Our report names the assessor, as the law requires. Ask any assessor, including us, about their experience of your type of building and which level of BS 8674:2025 competence the job needs, and keep the answer with the assessment.

What should I send for a reliable quote?

Provide the information below in the enquiry and explain any uncertainties. An approximate floor area is more useful than leaving size unmentioned. If the request follows an earlier report, attach it and identify the particular findings you want the new scope to address.

• Address and postcode.
• Building type and use, including whether people sleep there.
• Number of floors, approximate floor area and, for buildings with flats, the approximate height in metres.
• For flats, the number of flats, whether access inside flats is needed and whether the external wall construction is known.
• Previous fire risk assessment, if there is one.
• Any deadline, access restrictions or out-of-hours requirements.