Since the tragic Grenfell incident, fire safety in residential buildings has been at the forefront of many discussions. The Fire Safety Act 2021 gained Royal Assent last year and sections 1 and 3 came into force earlier this month on 16 May 2022. An easy update to miss.

The Fire Safety Act clarifies that the duties contained in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 include and extend to the following:

1. Structure and external walls (to include cladding, balconies and windows)
2. Doors between domestic premises and common parts (for example flat doors).

The government has released guidance, including a Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation tool to assist those carrying risk assessments. Many may find this useful and we have included a link to the government guidance below. 

This change will primarily affect landlords and managing agents in control of properties containing two or more domestic units. We recommend that landlords and managing agents alike familiarise themselves with this update and check whether their existing fire risk assessments comply with these changes. If existing risks assessments do not comply, landlords and managing agents may wish to update their risk assessments at the earliest opportunity.