Acting for a client
An agent can arrange the FRA without pretending to replace the dutyholder
An estate, letting or managing agent can obtain quotations, provide records, coordinate access and commission an assessment on behalf of a landlord, licence holder or other client. The written instruction should identify the property, client, reason for the work, intended scope and who can authorise access or additional work.
Commissioning an assessor does not transfer every fire-safety duty to that assessor. Equally, calling somebody an “agent” does not decide their legal position. Responsibility under the Fire Safety Order depends on employment, ownership and the extent of control over the premises or fire-safety measures.
Confirm authority
Record who instructed the agency and who can approve the assessment and expenditure.
Name the dutyholder
Identify the landlord, licence holder, employer, owner or other responsible organisation where known.
State the trigger
Explain whether the request follows licensing, onboarding, renewal, a transaction, an incident or an overdue review.
Define the output
Ask for a premises-specific written FRA, limitations and prioritised action plan—not a generic certificate.
Legal boundary
Check the management agreement and what the agency actually controls
The responsible-person test cannot be reassigned simply by inserting a label into a management agreement. The agreement is still important evidence of who is expected to arrange maintenance, repair, access, resident communication and fire-safety work, while day-to-day practice shows who actually exercises control.
Where several responsible persons or dutyholders share a building, they must cooperate and coordinate. An agent should therefore obtain relevant landlord, freeholder, superior-landlord, commercial-tenant or block-management information instead of asking an assessor to work from an isolated property file.
| Agency involvement | Practical role | Responsibility point to check |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing or introduction only | Passes a request or assessor details to the client | An introduction alone does not establish control of the premises |
| Letting and tenancy management | Coordinates occupants, inspections, repairs and records | Check the appointment, retained landlord decisions and actual control |
| HMO licence management | Supports the application, conditions, inspections and evidence | Identify the licence holder, manager and housing duties for the property |
| Block or common-parts management | Controls shared routes, systems, contractors and resident communication | The managing organisation may be a responsible person or dutyholder for matters it controls |
| Portfolio compliance coordination | Procures assessments and tracks actions across multiple properties | Each premises still needs its own scope, findings, owners and completion evidence |
Single property or portfolio
Use one consistent process without turning reports into templates
A portfolio programme can standardise information gathering, quote requests, access, report naming, action tracking and escalation. It should not force different buildings into the same assessment conclusions. Construction, occupancy, licensing, fire precautions and management vary from one address to another.
Start with a property schedule and identify the most urgent or uncertain premises. A pilot assessment can confirm the information standard and reporting format before wider rollout, while fixed deadlines and higher-risk properties remain prioritised.
- Create one row per property with address, postcode, use, storeys and main contact
- Record the landlord, licence holder, managing entity and relevant control boundaries
- Add existing FRA dates, open actions, licence dates and council deadlines
- Flag sleeping risk, vulnerable occupants, mixed use and known door or alarm concerns
- Group access geographically only after urgency and premises complexity are considered
- Track report delivery, action ownership, evidence and closure separately for every property
HMO and rented-property work
Licensing deadlines often create the instruction—but the licence is not the FRA
A letting or managing agent may be asked to obtain an FRA for an HMO licence application or renewal, after a council inspection, or while taking over a managed property. Mandatory HMO licensing generally applies in England where five or more people forming more than one household share facilities, but councils can license smaller HMOs through additional schemes and other rented properties through selective schemes.
Check the live council scheme for the address, the licence holder, conditions and deadline. The licence and FRA serve different purposes: a licence does not replace a suitable and sufficient premises-specific fire risk assessment, and a report should not claim to guarantee that a licence will be granted.
Application or renewal
Provide the deadline, existing licence and any fire-safety conditions or council request.
New management instruction
Check whether the existing FRA, action plan and maintenance records were handed over.
Occupancy change
Record bedrooms, occupiers, households, shared facilities and any layout change.
Council concern
Supply the exact correspondence and distinguish the requested evidence from remedial work.
Requesting useful quotations
Give every assessor the same property and instruction information
Comparable quotations depend on a consistent brief. A postcode and bedroom count alone may not reveal mixed use, inner rooms, shared systems, access restrictions, an existing action plan or the deadline that is driving the work.
Ask each provider to confirm the areas inspected, access assumptions, site attendance, records reviewed, report and action-plan output, limitations, turnaround, VAT, travel, follow-up and any specialist work excluded.
- Full address, postcode, property use and council area
- Storeys, approximate size, bedrooms or units and credible occupancy
- HMO arrangement, licence status, shared facilities and commercial uses
- Reason for the assessment and the organisation that requested it
- Existing FRA, action plan, plans, fire strategy and relevant correspondence
- Known alarm, emergency-lighting, fire-door or compartmentation issues
- Occupied-room access, keys, parking, permits and site-contact arrangements
- Required report date and any council, transaction or client deadline
Inspection coordination
Resolve tenant, key and room-access questions before the visit
The assessor needs access appropriate to the agreed scope. For occupied HMOs and rental properties, bedroom doors, detection, escape arrangements or relevant in-room conditions may require access or reliable supporting evidence. Common-parts-only access can create limitations that affect what the report can conclude.
The agent should establish lawful access arrangements, give appropriate notice, nominate a key holder or site contact, explain occupied or inaccessible areas and avoid sending unnecessary personal information about residents. Any restriction should be disclosed before the quotation and recorded in the final report.
Tenant notice
Arrange access using the tenancy, management process and applicable legal requirements.
Key control
Confirm who holds keys, alarm codes and permissions for locked rooms or service areas.
Site contact
Nominate somebody who understands the building and can answer factual questions.
Access record
List inaccessible areas and arrange a return visit if the limitation is material.
Existing reports and deadlines
Send the actual request and track what happens after the report
A council, insurer, buyer, freeholder or client may use similar words while asking for different evidence. Give the assessor the original request, inspection letter, licence condition or transaction deadline so the assignment is not scoped from a paraphrase.
If an FRA already exists, send its date, scope, action plan and evidence of completed work. The next requirement may be a review, an updated assessment, verification of changes or completion of outstanding actions—not automatically a completely new report.
| Trigger | Information to supply | Agent follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| Council or licensing request | Exact correspondence, deadline, licence and prior inspection findings | Confirm submission responsibility and retain evidence sent |
| Existing FRA review | Report, action plan, changes, incidents and completion evidence | Allocate new and carried-forward actions clearly |
| New management instruction | Handover documents, known gaps, contractors and resident contacts | Create a missing-information and overdue-action log |
| Sale, refinance or client request | Required document, reliance expectations and target date | Avoid promising a certificate or guaranteed compliance outcome |
| Fire or serious concern | Incident facts, interim measures and enforcing-authority contact | Escalate urgent life-safety issues rather than waiting for routine procurement |
From report to completion
Plan how fire doors, alarms and emergency lighting will be followed up
An FRA identifies and evaluates risk; it is not automatically a detailed inspection, design or service visit for every fire-safety system. Where the report identifies uncertainty or defects, the action may require a competent fire-door inspector, alarm specialist, emergency-lighting contractor, electrician, fire-stopping surveyor or other appropriate professional.
Agents should distinguish the assessor’s recommendation from the specification, quotation, remedial work and evidence of completion. Keep the original action wording, assign an owner and deadline, record interim measures where required, and retain certificates, photographs or follow-up reports that genuinely demonstrate closure.
Fire doors
Triage damaged, missing or poorly closing doors and arrange a suitable inspection where needed.
Alarm systems
Confirm category or grade, coverage, testing, faults and whether design or installation advice is required.
Emergency lighting
Resolve coverage, testing, duration, defects and records through appropriate competent support.
Action tracking
Record priority, owner, due date, status, evidence and whether the FRA needs review after work.