Scope test
Which buildings are covered?
The regulations apply where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises and has common parts through which residents would need to evacuate in an emergency. They principally cover purpose-built and converted blocks of flats and can include student accommodation and specialised housing.
They do not generally apply inside individual flats, except in relation to measures installed there for the safety of other residents. The responsible person under the Fire Safety Order carries the duties.
Duty matrix
What applies at each building height?
Some obligations apply to every in-scope building. The additional door-check duties begin only where the building is above 11 metres. The high-rise duties apply where the building is at least 18 metres high or has at least seven storeys.
| Building category | Core duties |
|---|---|
| All in-scope buildings | Display comprehensible fire-safety instructions; give them to new residents and after material changes; reissue at intervals not exceeding 12 months; provide recurring information about fire doors. |
| Above 11 metres | Use best endeavours to check every flat entrance door at intervals not exceeding 12 months; record access attempts; check communal fire doors at least every three months. |
| At least 18 metres or at least 7 storeys | Secure information box; electronic floor and building plans for the fire and rescue service; external-wall information; monthly checks of relevant lifts and essential firefighting equipment; wayfinding signage. |
Regulation 10
Fire-door information and checks
Every resident must receive information explaining that fire doors should be kept shut when not in use, self-closing devices must not be tampered with, and faults or damage should be reported immediately. The information must be given to new residents and then at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
Above 11 metres, the recurring checks focus on whether doors are in efficient working order and good repair, including whether self-closing devices work. They are not automatically a full technical fire-door survey, but defects must be addressed and work must be competent.
- Record each communal-door quarterly check
- Use best endeavours and record flat access attempts
- Check self-closing from different opening positions
- Look for obvious damage to door, frame, glazing, seals and hardware
- Arrange competent repair or replacement as soon as reasonably practicable
High-rise duties
Information for the fire and rescue service
For high-rise residential buildings, the responsible person must provide current electronic floor plans and a building plan, install and maintain a secure information box, and provide information about the design and materials of external walls and any material changes.
Relevant firefighting lifts, evacuation lifts and essential firefighting equipment require monthly checks. Where a fault cannot be rectified within 24 hours, it must be reported electronically to the local fire and rescue service and followed by confirmation when repaired. Wayfinding signage is also required in stairways and lobbies.
Plans
Keep floor and building plans accurate and supply them electronically to the local FRS.
Information box
Provide a secure box containing the prescribed information for firefighters.
External walls
Record design, materials and risk, and notify material changes.
Equipment
Check relevant lifts and essential firefighting equipment monthly.
Practical compliance
Build an auditable recurring programme
The regulations create recurring obligations, so a one-off FRA visit is not enough. The responsible person needs a calendar, named owners, access procedures, controlled records, escalation routes for defects and a process for reissuing resident information.
The full-FRA recording duty for all responsible persons is a separate Fire Safety Order amendment brought into force through section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 on 1 October 2023. It should be complied with alongside these regulations.
- Confirm and document the height and storey calculation
- Map each regulation to a named owner and frequency
- Keep resident communications and delivery records
- Control plans and external-wall information
- Link door and equipment defects to the FRA action process