The Responsible Person'sGuide to Fire Safety Compliance

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, fire safety duties fall on the Responsible Person for a building. Most owners assume this is someone else, a managing agent, a landlord, a head office. Very often, it's them.

If your premises is a workplace under your control, you as the employer are the Responsible Person, even if you rent just one floor of a larger building. If the premises isn't a workplace, such as the shared parts of an HMO, it's whoever controls the premises in connection with a business or other undertaking, or the owner if the building is vacant.

In shared or multi-let buildings, responsibility usually splits between parties. A landlord may hold responsibility for shared corridors and stairwells, while each tenant is responsible for their own space, and everyone with some control (including managing agents and maintenance contractors) has duties to the extent of that control. Where there's more than one Responsible Person, the law requires them to cooperate and coordinate their fire safety measures.

The core duties are more ongoing than most people expect. It isn't a certificate you get once and file away.

• Carry out a fire risk assessment. A suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk to everyone who could be affected. You must keep a record of it.
• Keep it under review. Reviewed regularly, and whenever you suspect it may no longer be valid or there's been a significant change to the premises or how it's used.
• Put general fire precautions in place. Prevention measures, safe escape routes, emergency lighting, signage, a fire alarm system and firefighting equipment, all where necessary for your premises.
• Appoint a competent person for fire safety. Someone to assist with compliance, unless you're competent to manage it yourself.
• Provide information and training. Staff need to know the fire procedures for your premises, not just have seen a notice on the wall.

A few things have moved this year that are worth knowing about, even if none of them change what you need to do today.

The Building Safety Regulator is now fully independent

As of January 2026, the BSR operates independently from the Health and Safety Executive. In practice this means clearer, more focused oversight of building safety regulation going forward.

Martyn's Law enforcement is stepping up

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 introduces duties for venues with a capacity of 200 or more, with a higher tier of requirements for larger venues. Enforcement expectations are increasing through 2026. If this applies to your premises, now is the time to check where you stand.

Building regulations guidance is being updated

Changes to Approved Document B are expected later in 2026. If you've got building work planned, worth checking current guidance before you start rather than partway through.

This isn't meant to alarm you, just to be straightforward about what's actually at stake. If an enforcing authority (usually your local fire and rescue authority) finds you're not complying, they can start with verbal advice, move to an informal notice, then a formal statutory notice. Failing to comply with duties under the Order, or with a notice, in a way that puts someone at risk of death or serious injury, can lead to prosecution and criminal sanctions, including unlimited fines and, in the most serious cases, imprisonment.

There's a practical side too: many commercial insurance policies treat fire safety compliance as a condition of cover. If compliance has lapsed, a claim can be contested or reduced at exactly the moment you need it most.

A quick self-check. If you can tick most of these honestly, you're in a reasonable position. (Ticks here are just for your own reading, nothing is sent to us.)

• Fire risk assessment carried out, and reviewed at least annually
• Fire doors close properly and are never propped open
• Extinguishers serviced annually, with a visible tag
• Emergency lighting and alarms tested and logged
• Staff trained within the last year, not just told once
• Records kept somewhere you could find them in five minutes