Anyone who has control of non-domestic premises in England or Wales — employers, landlords of shared or commercial buildings, business owners, and self-employed people running premises — needs a fire risk assessment. This is a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), not an optional best-practice measure. If you employ staff, let out commercial or shared residential property, or run any premises the public visits, the duty almost certainly applies to you.
Who is legally responsible for a fire risk assessment?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places the duty on the "responsible person" — defined in Article 3 of the Order. This is usually the employer, but where there is no employer it can be the person who has control of the premises, such as the owner or managing agent. In practice, the responsible person is typically one of the following:
- Employers — for any workplace, whether an office, shop, factory, warehouse or site cabin
- Landlords — for the common parts of blocks of flats, HMOs (houses in multiple occupation), and any commercial premises they let out
- Building owners and managing agents — for shared or multi-occupied buildings
- Sole traders and self-employed people — where they control premises used for business purposes
- Charities and voluntary organisations — for any building they occupy or manage, including village halls and community centres
- Event organisers — for temporary structures and venues used for public events
Domestic households are generally exempt — a private home occupied by a single family does not need a fire risk assessment. However, the common parts of a block of flats (stairwells, corridors, communal entrances) are covered by the Order, and following the Grenfell Tower fire, this obligation has been enforced far more strictly.
What does the law actually require?
Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the general fire precautions needed. This mirrors the "suitable and sufficient" standard used across UK health and safety law, including general risk assessment legal requirements under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
A compliant fire risk assessment must identify fire hazards (ignition sources, fuel, oxygen), identify people at risk (including anyone with mobility, sensory or cognitive impairments), evaluate and reduce the risk, record the significant findings where five or more people are employed, prepare an emergency plan, and provide staff training and information. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, introduced after Grenfell, added further duties for high-rise and multi-occupied residential buildings — including mandatory sharing of fire risk assessment findings with residents.
Does a business with one employee still need one?
Yes. Unlike the five-employee threshold that applies to written health and safety risk assessments under general workplace law, the fire risk assessment duty under the FSO applies regardless of headcount. A sole trader working alone in a rented unit is still the responsible person and still needs a fire risk assessment. The only difference the five-or-more threshold makes is that it becomes a legal requirement to record the significant findings in writing — though recording it is strongly recommended for every business, since it is the primary evidence of compliance if a fire inspector visits or a fire occurs.
Which types of premises are covered?
The Order applies to almost all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, including:
- Offices, shops, and retail units
- Factories, warehouses and industrial premises
- Restaurants, pubs, cafes and takeaways
- Schools, nurseries and colleges
- Care homes and healthcare premises
- Hotels, guest houses and holiday lets
- Blocks of flats and HMOs (common parts)
- Village halls, places of worship and community buildings
- Construction sites and temporary work premises
- Sports and entertainment venues
If your business or organisation occupies or controls any of the above, you are very likely the responsible person for fire safety purposes. If you're unsure whether your specific activity requires any form of risk assessment at all, our do I need a risk assessment tool can help you check quickly.
What happens if you don't have a fire risk assessment?
Failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is a criminal offence under Article 32 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Fire and Rescue Services enforce the Order and can issue an Enforcement Notice requiring improvements, a Prohibition Notice closing all or part of the premises immediately where there is a serious risk to life, or prosecute the responsible person. Penalties on conviction can include an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment for the most serious breaches. According to HSE and Home Office fire statistics, several hundred fire safety enforcement notices are issued in England each year, with prosecutions increasing significantly since the introduction of the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
Beyond criminal liability, an employer or landlord without a valid fire risk assessment is also exposed to civil claims following any fire-related injury, and buildings insurance may be voided or a claim refused if it is found that no assessment was in place.
How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?
There is no fixed statutory interval, but the responsible person must review the assessment regularly and whenever there is reason to believe it is no longer valid — for example after a fire or near-miss, a change of layout or use of the premises, new furnishings or storage of flammable materials, an increase in occupancy, or the results of a fire safety inspection. Many fire and rescue authorities recommend an annual review as a minimum, with higher-risk premises (care homes, HMOs, high-rise residential buildings) reviewed more frequently.
Getting your fire risk assessment done
You do not need to hire an external fire risk assessor for most standard premises — the law allows a "competent person," which can be the business owner, an employee, or a specialist. What matters is that the assessment is genuinely suitable and sufficient for your premises, not generic. Our AI risk assessment generator produces a fully written, regulation-referenced fire risk assessment tailored to your specific premises in minutes, ready as a downloadable PDF and Word document.
For a broader look at UK risk assessment law and process, see our ultimate guide to risk assessment and our detailed breakdown of risk assessment legal requirements.
Also see: The ultimate guide to risk assessment · Do I need a risk assessment? · Risk assessment legal requirements · AI risk assessment generator