Commercial · Fire Safety
Fire risk assessments.
Every building with a responsible person needs one, and since October 2023 it has to be written down in full, whatever the size of the premises. A great many small blocks and premises still do not have one.
Four types. Most buyers are not told the difference.
Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk from fire.
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force on 1 October 2023. The assessment must now be recorded in full regardless of the size or purpose of the premises. Before that, only premises with five or more employees had to record it. The change swept a very large number of small blocks into a written-record duty.
The fire safety arrangements, and the name of the competent person appointed to carry out or review the assessment, together with their organisation.
Non-destructive, common parts only. The standard baseline for most blocks of flats.
Destructive, common parts only. Used where there is reason to suspect hidden compartmentation defects.
Non-destructive, common parts plus a sample of flats. Increasingly the expected standard for residential blocks.
Destructive, common parts plus a sample of flats. The most thorough, used after concerns or an incident.
This is the part most assessment-only firms cannot do. Compartmentation, fire doors, sealing service penetrations. We carry out the work the assessment identifies rather than handing you a report and a problem.
From assessment to remedial works.
We talk through the building and tell you which type is proportionate, and why. Recommending Type 4 on a low-rise block with no history would be selling, not advising.
Carried out by a competent assessor and recorded in full, so it satisfies the section 156 duty rather than just informing you.
Findings ranked by risk with timescales, not an undifferentiated list.
Costed and carried out, so the plan gets closed out rather than rolled into next year's assessment.
Answered
plainly.
If you are the responsible person for premises, yes. That includes any building with two or more domestic premises and common parts, so almost every block of flats, plus commercial premises. The duty is on the person in control, usually the freeholder, landlord or managing agent.
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 removed the five-employee threshold for recording. From 1 October 2023 the responsible person must record the assessment in full regardless of the size or purpose of the premises, along with the fire safety arrangements and the name of the competent person. Many small blocks that previously had an unrecorded assessment now do not comply.
Type 1 is the baseline for most blocks. Type 3 is increasingly what is expected for residential blocks, because it looks inside a sample of flats rather than assuming. Type 2 and Type 4 are destructive and are used where there is a reason, such as suspected compartmentation defects or a previous incident. We will tell you which is proportionate for your building.
The Order requires it to be kept up to date rather than repeated on a fixed cycle. In practice most blocks review annually and reassess fully when something material changes: works, a change of use, an incident, or new occupancy.
We will tell you the assessor's specific qualifications before you instruct, in writing. We do not describe GMAS Group as certified, accredited or approved, because those words mean a named scheme and a defined scope, and we will not imply one we do not hold.
Yes, and that is the main reason to use us. Most fire risk assessors can only produce the report. Compartmentation repairs, fire door replacement and sealing penetrations are building work, and it is what we do.
No. Fire certificates were abolished when the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came in. Instead, the responsible person must assess the risk, record it, act on the findings and keep it under review. A recorded assessment and evidence that the actions are being closed out is what an inspecting officer will ask for.
You receive the written assessment with a prioritised action plan. Each action has a risk rating and a suggested timescale. We can then quote for the building work on the plan, such as fire doors, compartmentation and alarms, so the actions are closed out rather than carried into next year.
Yes. Properties let to paying guests fall under the Fire Safety Order, so the owner or operator is the responsible person and needs a suitable and sufficient assessment, including for a single flat let on a short term basis.
All 32 London boroughs, with a focus on west and south-west London.
Tell us the property
and we will survey it.
A site visit, an honest recommendation and a fixed written quote. London-wide.
What a fire risk assessment looks at.
A fire risk assessment is a structured look at how a fire could start in the building, who it would put at risk, and whether the precautions in place are enough. The assessor walks the building, reviews the records and writes up the findings with an action plan. These are the areas every assessment covers.
Sources of ignition and fuel
Electrical installations, heating, cooking, smoking, rubbish stores, and anything that could catch light near an escape route, such as bikes, prams or stored furniture in a communal hallway.
People at risk
Who is in the building and when: residents, staff, visitors, and anyone who may need help to get out, such as elderly or disabled occupants, or people sleeping in the building.
Means of escape
Whether the escape routes are protected, kept clear and signed, how long it takes to reach a final exit, and whether the evacuation strategy, such as stay put or simultaneous evacuation, suits the building.
Compartmentation and fire doors
Whether walls, floors and ceilings hold back fire and smoke as they should, whether service penetrations are sealed, and whether fire doors close, latch and seal.
Detection, warning and emergency lighting
Whether the fire alarm or detection system suits the building and is tested, and whether emergency lighting is in place and maintained where it is needed.
Management and records
Testing logs, servicing records, resident information and the arrangements for keeping all of it up to date. This is the part that most often goes missing in small blocks.
Blocks, HMOs, shops and short lets.
Blocks of flats
Any building with two or more flats has common parts, and the freeholder or managing agent is the responsible person for them. In buildings over eleven metres, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add duties around fire doors, information for residents and, in taller buildings, more.
HMOs
Houses in multiple occupation need an assessment, and the licence conditions usually set the standard for detection, fire doors and escape routes. See our HMO page for the building work that often follows.
Commercial premises and shops with flats above
Shops, offices, restaurants and mixed use buildings all need an assessment. Where there are flats above a shop, the separation between the two is one of the most important things the assessor looks at.
Landlords and agents with portfolios
We can schedule reviews across several buildings and line them up with the electrical testing and fire door checks, so the paperwork for each building is kept together.
Often needed
alongside this.
Areas we cover.
We take fire risk assessments across all 32 London boroughs. Most of our work is in west London, in Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington, Chiswick and White City, and in south west London, in Putney, Wandsworth and Wimbledon. We also work in south east London, in Greenwich, Blackheath and Lewisham.
If your property is outside these areas, call us anyway. We travel across London and will tell you honestly if a job is too far to price properly.