Shared and serviced office guide

Fire risk assessments for multi-tenant offices

A multi-tenant office cannot be assessed as a collection of isolated suites. Tenant risks, common routes, building systems and emergency arrangements interact, so the responsible persons need coordinated assessments and clearly owned actions.

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Reviewed: 31 July 2026Guidance: EnglandReading time: approximately 8 minutes

Concise answer

What FRA is needed for a multi-tenant office?

Each responsible person must ensure the premises or areas within its responsibility are suitably and sufficiently assessed. A landlord or manager may assess common parts and shared systems, while each tenant employer assesses its workplace and activities.

Those documents should operate as an integrated set. Government office guidance states that units in a complex require consultation with other managers and that larger or more complex multi-occupied premises need an emergency plan compiled after consultation with other occupiers and responsible people.

Plan the instruction

Separate the scopes without separating the risks

A responsibility matrix helps assessors and dutyholders see who supplies information, who takes action and where more than one party must coordinate.

Assessment area	Building or common-parts scope	Tenant workplace scope
Fire alarm and warning	Building design, shared panels, maintenance, interfaces and impairment procedure	Local coverage, audibility or visual warning, staff response and tenant devices
Escape and evacuation	Shared stairs, final exits, capacity, strategy, reception and assembly coordination	Suite escape, headcount approach, visitors, wardens and people needing assistance
Fire separation	Structure, risers, common corridors, plant and base-build compartmentation	Fit-out partitions, doors, ceilings, penetrations and tenant alterations
Hazards	Common plant, refuse, loading, contractors and building works	Electrical equipment, kitchens, storage, processes, batteries and tenant contractors
Management records	Shared testing, defects, drills, strategy and contractor controls	Training, local checks, occupancy, actions and staff information

Building interfaces

Shared systems and routes that need joint scrutiny

The assessment should consider how a fire in one occupier’s area could affect others and whether people can escape without relying on another occupier’s unsecured or unmanaged space. It should also establish how building-wide faults and changes are communicated.

Alarm zones, signals, monitoring, cause-and-effect and tenant interfaces
Protected stairs, lobbies, corridors, final exits and external dispersal
Fire doors, risers, shafts, dampers and compartment boundaries
Emergency lighting and wayfinding across demises and common parts
Smoke control, sprinklers, firefighting lifts and dry or wet risers
Access control, turnstiles, reception barriers and fail-safe release
Basements, loading bays, refuse, cycle stores and charging areas
Plant rooms, roof spaces, shared kitchens and common amenities
Planned works, system isolations, temporary controls and defect escalation

Changing occupation

Serviced offices, coworking and flexible workspaces

Flexible offices can change client, room use and occupancy quickly. The operator may control reception, meeting rooms, shared amenities and systems, while each client employer remains responsible for its employees and workplace matters within its control.

The FRA and management system should set operating limits and change controls: maximum occupancy, permissible room uses, induction, visitor arrangements, out-of-hours access, event use, furniture changes and how new clients receive fire-safety information.

Client onboarding

Identify employers and share alarm, escape, emergency and contact information.

Variable attendance

Maintain competent cover and assistance arrangements on every occupied day.

Events and guests

Reassess crowding, room use, catering, exits and staff responsibilities.

Rapid fit-out changes

Control partitions, furniture, access systems and penetrations before use changes.

Management system

Create a workable coordination schedule

Cooperation should be routine rather than triggered only by an incident. The building manager and tenants should know when information is exchanged, how defects are escalated and who can authorise temporary or permanent changes.

Current list of responsible persons and emergency contacts
Shared assessment findings and action-status review
Alarm, emergency-lighting and other system impairment alerts
Coordinated drill programme and lessons shared with all occupiers
Process for PEEPs, generic plans and relevant cross-building assistance
Permit and approval process for fit-out, hot work and penetrations
Out-of-hours, lone-working and contractor arrangements
Handover process when a tenant, manager or responsible person changes

Commissioning an assessor

How to scope and compare multi-tenant office quotations

State whether the instruction covers the whole building, common parts, one tenant suite or a coordinated programme. Give every bidder the same floor, occupancy, tenant and system information so that prices represent comparable work.

Ask who will inspect, how shared systems and tenant interfaces will be treated, what existing reports are needed, whether occupied suites will be sampled or fully inspected, and how separate dutyholder actions will appear in the final report.

Building height, floors, floor area and number of tenant demises
Occupied, vacant, serviced, retail or mixed-use areas
Assessment boundaries and access to tenant-controlled rooms
Evacuation strategy and shared-system complexity
Existing landlord and tenant FRAs, strategy and plans
Site time, reporting format, action allocation and delivery date

Next logical step

Apply this guidance to the premises

Own or oversee the commercial asset?Connect tenant interfaces to asset and capital planning. Running the building day to day?Use the facilities and building-manager route for London office assessment support. Apply the guide to a London officeReview likely scope, costs and local assessment support. Clarify landlord and tenant dutiesMap control of demises, common parts and shared systems. Follow a multi-tenant office exampleSee how shared responsibilities could be worked through.

Office guidance and support

Apply the guide to a London office

Use the main office FRA guide for costs, scope and London enquiries, then check assessor competence before relying on a report.

01Office FRA guide 02Assessment costs 03Check competence 04Office FRA quote

Frequently asked questions

Fire risk assessments for multi-tenant offices FAQs

Does every office tenant need its own FRA?

Each employer or other responsible person must ensure the workplace and matters it controls are suitably assessed. A coordinated building-wide programme can sometimes produce connected reports, but a common-parts FRA alone may not cover each tenant’s activities and management.

Who assesses the common parts of an office building?

The landlord, freeholder, managing agent or another party with control commonly arranges the common-parts assessment. The precise responsible person depends on the legal and actual control arrangement.

Can one assessor complete all landlord and tenant FRAs?

Yes if the instruction, access and competence are suitable. Using one assessor can improve consistency, but every report still needs clear scope, responsible-person information and premises-specific findings.

Who organises the fire drill in a multi-tenant office?

The building and tenant emergency arrangements should be coordinated. A building manager may organise shared exercises while each employer ensures staff are informed, trained and able to follow the plan.

What happens if another tenant will not share information?

Record the request, limitation and potential effect, escalate through the landlord or building manager and apply appropriate interim controls. Responsible persons have duties to cooperate and coordinate; unresolved risk may require competent or legal advice.

Should vacant floors be included?

They should not be ignored where fire in the vacant area could affect occupied people, shared routes or systems. Scope should address access, detection, security, combustible contents, work and ongoing management.

How often should a multi-tenant office FRA be reviewed?

There is no universal statutory expiry date. Review regularly and whenever occupancy, tenants, fit-out, systems, incidents or other significant changes may affect validity. High change rates often justify closer review.

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Sources and limitations

Guidance reviewed 31 July 2026

This page provides general information for England. It is not legal advice or a building-specific assessment. Fire Safety Services is independent and is not affiliated with the Government, enforcing authorities, BAFE, NFRAR or IFSM.