Who arranges an assessment for a block of flats?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended) applies in England and Wales to the common parts of buildings containing two or more homes. For a block of flats, the Responsible Person is usually the freeholder or management company. A managing agent often arranges the assessment on their behalf. The duty stays with the Responsible Person even when an agent arranges the assessment, and a building can have more than one Responsible Person, for example where there are shops or offices on the ground floor.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that the Order also covers the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors in these buildings. A small block is not outside the scope merely because it contains fewer flats than a larger development. A single private home is outside the Order. Different legislation applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and our assessments work to it.
How do Types 1 to 4 compare?
The four assessment types were first described in the guide "Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats", originally published by the Local Government Association and now published by the Home Office, and are now set out in BS 9792:2025, the code of practice for fire risk assessment in housing. The distinction is between common parts and flats, and between non-intrusive inspection and intrusive inspection, meaning sampled opening-up. More extensive inspection is not automatically the right choice for every block, and our quote states which type is being provided.
| Type | What does it cover? | Does it involve opening-up? | When is it appropriate? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | Common parts, with a sample of flat entrance doors. | Non-intrusive; normally includes sampled accessible ceiling tiles and service risers. | Usual starting point; normally sufficient for most purpose-built blocks unless serious compartmentation or fire stopping problems are suspected. |
| Type 2 | Common parts. | Intrusive sampled opening-up, usually with a contractor to open up and make good. | Usually a one-off where there is good reason to suspect serious structural problems; age alone is insufficient. |
| Type 3 | Common parts, plus escape routes, smoke alarms and landlord-controlled installations inside a sample of flats. | Non-intrusive. | May suit rented flats where there is reason to suspect risk from fire inside flats; for long leasehold flats it depends on the right of access in the lease. |
| Type 4 | Common parts and flats. | Intrusive. | Limited circumstances, such as a new landlord taking over a block with an unknown history of works. |
What does the usual starting point involve?
Type 1 is the basic assessment needed to satisfy the Order. It covers the common parts and includes a sample of flat entrance doors, rather than treating every dwelling interior as part of the assessment. Normally, a sample of readily accessible ceiling tiles is lifted and a sample of service risers opened where access is practicable. Since the Fire Safety Act 2021 it also considers the structure and the external walls, including cladding, balconies and windows, 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 quoted on its own and is not part of the assessment unless the quote says so.
If previous findings raise concerns about compartmentation or fire stopping, share those findings before the quote is prepared. The question is what evidence justifies a wider investigation, not whether the block is simply old. Before any intrusive inspection, the risk of disturbing asbestos should be considered, for example by checking the asbestos register and, where the areas to be opened have not been surveyed for asbestos, arranging a survey first. A building converted into flats is different from a purpose-built block: its compartmentation was not designed for the current use, so a wider scope is more often justified.
What about the evacuation strategy?
Every block has an evacuation strategy. Most purpose-built blocks use stay put, where residents not affected by a fire stay in their flats, and some use simultaneous evacuation. The assessment records which applies and whether the building still supports it, including compartmentation, fire doors, detection and any evacuation alert system. Any change of strategy is a decision for the Responsible Person with their Fire Risk Assessor.
For buildings of at least 18 metres or seven storeys, or over 11 metres with a simultaneous evacuation strategy, the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, in force since 6 April 2026, require the Responsible Person to identify residents who would need help to evacuate, offer them a person-centred fire risk assessment, and prepare a building emergency evacuation plan. Those are separate duties from the building assessment and are not included unless the quote says so, although the assessment considers the arrangements in place.
How should access inside flats be planned?
For Type 3 or Type 4 work, establish whether access to flats is available before agreeing the visit. Type 3 goes beyond what the Order requires by examining escape routes, smoke alarms and landlord-controlled installations inside a sample of flats. Access should not be assumed just because common parts are managed centrally.
Provide the number of flats, the tenure information relevant to access, and the arrangements for contacting occupants. Explain whether the previous assessment included dwelling interiors. That makes the distinction between common-parts access and access within homes visible when the scope is agreed.
Which duties apply above 11 metres and 18 metres?
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require checks of fire doors in common parts at least every three months in buildings over 11 metres, and the Responsible Person must use best endeavours to check flat entrance doors at least once a year. In buildings of at least 18 metres or seven storeys the Regulations add further duties, including monthly checks of lifts for use by firefighters and of other fire-fighting equipment, information on the external walls and floor plans for the fire and rescue service, a secure information box and wayfinding signage. These are specific checking duties, not a universal assessment review interval, and the assessment checks that they are being done. Buildings of at least 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more residential units are also higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022, with an Accountable Person whose duties sit alongside the Responsible Person's.
Fire door inspection reports, as distinct from the assessment, report what is found. The Responsible Person decides what to do with their Fire Risk Assessor; an inspection report is not a certificate or a works specification.
Which assessment code and records apply?
BS 9792:2025 is the code of practice for fire risk assessments in housing; it replaced PAS 79-2:2020. Keep the agreed assessment scope clear, especially where previous reports used a different type or had access limitations. The assessment gives priority-rated actions to support decisions about the building, and the report is the written record of the full assessment that the Responsible Person has had to keep since 1 October 2023, together with the name and organisation of the assessor, under section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022. The same section requires residents to be given fire safety information in a form they can understand. Who carries out the assessment, and how to check their competence, is covered on our page on what affects the cost of a fire risk assessment.
This is general information, not legal advice. The Responsible Person should take advice on their own situation.