New Home Office regulations take effect for all multi-occupied residential buildings

On 23 January 2023, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into effect, implementing many of the recommendations made by the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry that relate to building owners’ and managers’ responsibilities. Some of the regulations apply to all multi-occupied residential buildings, including houses that have been divided into two flats, where residents would use a communal area to evacuate the building in the event of a fire. Some are specific to buildings 18m and over.

As part of the regulations, new requirements for the inspection and maintenance of fire doors (Regulation 10) have been introduced. For multi-occupied residential buildings 11m and over in height, the Responsible Person must check all flat entrance fire doors at least every 12 months, and carry out checks of any fire doors in communal areas at least every three months. In addition, the Responsible Person of any multi-occupied residential building, regardless of its height, must provide residents with relevant fire safety instructions and information about the importance of fire doors (Regulation 9).

To support the Responsible Person of a building, which includes building owners or anyone who manages a building, the Home Office has published factsheets and guidance on how to implement these new responsibilities, as well as guidance specifically on implementing new responsibilities relating to fire doors. The fire door guidance is based on the assumption that a fire risk assessment has already assessed the suitability of the fire doors in the building, and sets out what the new requirements entail, what information the Responsible Person must provide to residents, and how to routinely check and inspect fire doors.