UK GOVERNMENT FIRE DOOR REGULATIONS

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – known as the Fire Safety Order (FSO) – provides the legal framework for regulating fire safety in all non-domestic premises, including workplaces and the communal parts of multi-occupied residential buildings in England and Wales.

 

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, Dame Judith Hackitt published her landmark report,  “Building a Safer Future: Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety”. The review concluded that there must be a whole-building approach to fire safety, requiring systemic change from design and construction through to occupation. The application of the Fire Safety Order, particularly in relation to the common parts of high-rise, multi-occupied residential buildings, was a key focus of her review.

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In June 2019, the Home Office published a Call for Evidence on the Fire Safety Order inviting views on how the legislation was being applied and enforced in England.   [footnote 1]. Its objectives were to update the evidence base, assess levels of compliance and enforcement, and identify where the Order might be strengthened. The Call for Evidence complemented the Building a Safer Future consultation, launched simultaneously by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Both the Fire Safety Order Call for Evidence and the Building a Safer Future consultation ran from 6 June to 31 July 2019 and were open to public responses. In 2020, the Home Office published a high-level summary of the responses received.

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Since then, fire safety law has been strengthened. The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that the Fire Safety Order covers the structure, external walls (including cladding, balconies, and windows), and flat entrance doors of multi-occupied residential buildings. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced new duties for responsible persons from 23 January 2023, including lift and fire-door checks, information for residents, and sharing building plans with fire and rescue services. The Building Safety Act 2022 established the Building Safety Regulator and new duties for Accountable Persons in higher-risk residential buildings (18 metres or seven storeys, or higher). Amendments made in October 2023 further require responsible persons to record fire-risk assessments, share safety information, and display contact details.

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The Fire Safety Order continues to apply in England and Wales although post-2021 reforms apply only in England, ensuring a clear, proportionate, and modern framework for managing fire safety across all regulated premises.​

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