Fire Safety Act 2021 (England & Wales)

News at Howard Independent Estate Agents | 10/01/2022

The Fire Safety Bill (the "Bill") received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021 and is now known as the Fire Safety Act 2021 (the "Act"). Powers within the Act allow the relevant Ministers to decide when the rules will be brought into force, and although no date has been set for implementation by the UK Government in England, there have been reports it could be imminent.

We await further information as to when this will come into force. In the meantime our regulators ARLA Property have produced a factsheet outling the basics:

Background

Following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, in April 2021 the UK Parliament passed the Fire Safety Act, making important changes to fire safety law for buildings that contain two or more sets of domestic premises in England and Wales.

What has changed?

The Act’s main aim is to ensure clarity over the areas covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

What is the Fire Safety Order?

The Fire Safety Order is the fire safety legislation in England and Wales which regulates buildings and sets out responsibilities for individuals subject to the Order.

What does the Fire Safety Order cover?

The Fire Safety Order was introduced in October 2006 and covers the ongoing fire safety management of a building while occupied. It applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales such as workplaces and commercial buildings. It includes the non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings such as the internal areas of blocks of flats as well as houses converted into two flats or into houses in multiple occupation.

What does this mean?

The Fire Safety Order requires a responsible person to undertake, and review regularly, a fire risk assessment of the building and maintain precautions that manage the risk of fire.

Who is a responsible person?

This will depend on the type of property. In residential buildings someone will likely be the responsible person if they own the building, but only in relation to the non-domestic parts i.e., freeholder or landlord or someone who has control over the building i.e., managing agent, landlord or letting agent.

What about duty holders?

In certain circumstances an individual may not be the responsible person but may still be a duty holder with some responsibilities under the Fire Safety Order if they have some control within the premises. Consequently, a duty holder is someone who has control of a building under a contract or tenancy agreement for two things. Firstly, the maintenance or repair of the building. Secondly, the safety of the building. A duty holder will usually be a managing agent, fire risk assessor or fire alarm engineer.

Shared premises

Shared premises are likely to have more than one responsible person and/or duty holder. In this scenario all parties will need to co-operate and co-ordinate, such as informing each other of fire safety risks, to comply with the requirements of the Fire Safety Order.

Fire Safety Act

The Fire Safety Act clarifies that the Fire Safety Order, in relation to all buildings that contain two or more sets of domestic premises, covers the building’s structure and external walls, including anything attached to the exterior of those walls (including balconies) and doors and windows in those walls.

NB: The Act also specifies that all doors between domestic premises and common parts, and the common parts themselves are covered by the Fire Safety Order regime.

What does this mean?

The fire risk assessment for each building covered by the Fire Safety Order must cover the new elements set out in the Fire Safety Act, and, where necessary, risks and hazards identified by that assessment must be addressed.

Who should carry out the fire risk assessment?

The responsible person must undertake a fire risk assessment. If the responsible person gets someone to do this work, it is recommended that they choose a person with Third Party Certification. However, even where the responsible person gets someone to complete it for them, they retain overall responsibility for the fire risk assessment.

What do tenants and occupiers need to know?

As part of the fire risk assessment, a fire action plan should be produced that advises about the necessary changes to the fire safety arrangements for the building, should any be required, such as timescales for completion of any recommended actions by the responsible person.

NB: Anyone who will be affected by the fire risk assessment should be made aware of any significant findings. In a block of flats this usually means a standard fire safety notice, but otherwise a separate plan of information for the building may be required.

How are the rules enforced?

Where a responsible person or duty holder breaches the Fire Safety Order, they may be subject to an enforcement notice or prosecution. Under the Order, local fire and rescue services can inspect premises and issue enforcement notices. Additionally, prohibition notices can also be issued which restrict or stop the use of the building.

Eligibility

The Fire Safety Act applies to England and Wales only. It has been developed in close collaboration between the Home Office and Welsh Government and agreed by the Senedd.

Application

Powers within the Act allow the relevant Ministers to decide when the rules will be brought into force. No date has been set for implementation by the UK Government in England, but in Wales the Act has been in force since 1 October 2021.

Further Information

Fire Safety Act
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/24/contents

Fire Safety Act – addendum
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-act-addendum

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made

Fire Risk Assessment Third Party Certification
https://www.firesectorfederation.co.uk/fire-risk-assessment/

Howard Estate Agents