The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO)
Complete UK Compliance Guide
A Complete Guide for Responsible Persons
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the “RRFSO” or “Fire Safety Order”) is the main fire safety law for non-domestic premises in England and Wales.
It came into force on 1 October 2006 and puts legal responsibility on a “Responsible Person” — usually the employer, owner or person controlling the building — to carry out a fire risk assessment, put suitable fire precautions in place, and keep them maintained.
The Order has since been extended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which add specific duties for multi-occupied residential buildings. Non-compliance is a criminal offence and can lead to unlimited fines or imprisonment.
What is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005?
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is a statutory instrument (SI 2005/1541) that consolidated around 70 separate pieces of fire safety legislation, including the Fire Precautions Act 1971, into a single framework.
It came into force on 1 October 2006 and applies across England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent legislation).
Before the Order, businesses relied on a fire certificate issued by the fire authority, which effectively signed off a fixed set of precautions.
The FSO scrapped fire certificates altogether and replaced them with a risk-based approach: instead of ticking off a prescribed list, the person in control of a building must assess the actual fire risk on those premises and put in place precautions that are proportionate to it, then keep those precautions under review.
Who does the Fire Safety Order apply to?
The Order applies to virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, and to the shared areas of residential buildings. In practice, that covers:
- Offices, shops, warehouses and industrial units
- Factories and manufacturing sites
- Hotels, hospitals and care homes
- Schools, colleges and universities
- Places of worship and community buildings
- The common parts of blocks of flats and other multi-occupied residential buildings (stairwells, corridors, plant rooms, car parks)
Private dwellings themselves generally fall outside the FSO, but the shared parts of a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises are firmly within its scope — a point that later legislation (covered below) made even more explicit.
Who is the "Responsible Person"?
The Order places its duties on the Responsible Person, defined under Article 3. Who this is depends on the type of premises:
- In a workplace the employer, to the extent they have control of the premises.
- Where premises are not a workplace the person with control of the building “in connection with the carrying on of a trade, business or other undertaking”, or otherwise the owner.
In practice, this can be a landlord, a managing agent, a facilities manager, a freeholder or a tenant, depending on who actually controls fire safety matters in that part of the building. Where more than one person has some degree of control, a common situation in mixed-use or multi-let buildings, each of them can carry Responsible Person duties for the areas within their control, and they are legally required to cooperate and coordinate with one another.
Key duties under the Order
The core duties sit in Articles 8 to 22 of the FSO. The Responsible Person must:
- Carry out a fire risk assessment (Article 9) — a “suitable and sufficient” assessment identifying hazards, who is at risk, and what needs to be done to reduce that risk. This must be reviewed regularly and whenever there is reason to believe it is no longer valid.
- Apply the principles of prevention set out in Schedule 1 — avoiding risks, evaluating unavoidable risks, and tackling them at source.
- Put in place general fire precautions proportionate to the risk identified, and maintain them.
- Appoint one or more “competent persons” to assist with fire safety duties, with numbers and expertise proportionate to the size and risk profile of the premises.
- Maintain fire safety equipment and systems “in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair” — this includes alarms, detection, emergency lighting, escape routes, and passive fire protection measures such as fire doors, compartmentation and fire dampers.
- Prepare emergency plans and ensure firefighting and fire detection arrangements are adequate.
- Provide information, instruction and training to employees and other relevant persons, including anyone lawfully on the premises who might be affected by a fire.
- Eliminate or reduce risks from dangerous substances, where relevant to the premises.
Passive fire protection: an often under-managed duty
One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of FSO compliance is the ongoing duty to keep passive fire protection measures “in an efficient state” — not just installed, but demonstrably maintained. Passive systems don’t rely on activation like an alarm; they’re the fabric of the building itself, built to contain fire and smoke and protect escape routes for a defined period. That includes:
- Fire compartmentation — the walls, floors and fire-stopping that divide a building into contained sections.
- Fire doors — correctly specified, fitted and maintained, including intumescent seals and self-closing devices.
- Fire dampers — installed in ductwork to stop fire and smoke spreading through ventilation systems.
These measures degrade silently. A breach behind a raised floor, an unsealed service penetration, or a fire door propped open during day-to-day use can undermine a building’s entire fire strategy without anyone noticing — until a fire risk assessment, an inspection, or a real incident exposes it. Because these failures are hidden inside walls, above ceilings and within risers, a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment on its own often isn’t enough to catch them; they typically require a dedicated passive fire protection survey.
Recent changes: the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
Following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report, the Order was extended by two further pieces of legislation. These didn’t replace the FSO, they clarified and added to it, particularly for multi-occupied residential buildings.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021, with its main provisions commencing on 16 May 2022. It confirms that, in any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises, the FSO’s Responsible Person duties extend explicitly to:
- The structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies and windows
- All doors between individual flats and the common parts, including flat entrance doors
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023, made under Article 24 of the FSO. They introduce more specific, tiered duties depending on building type and height
| Applies to | Key Duties |
|---|---|
|
All multi-occupied residential buildings |
Display fire safety instructions; provide residents with fire door information;
wayfinding signage
|
|
Buildings above 11 metres |
Check communal fire doors at least every 3 months; check flat entrance
doors at least every 12 months; keep records of checks
|
|
High-rise buildings (18m+ or 7+ storeys) |
Share information on external wall construction, floor plans and
building plans with the local Fire and Rescue Service; maintain a
secure information box, inspected at least annually |
Enforcement and penalties
The FSO is enforced by local Fire and Rescue Authorities, typically through scheduled audits, post-incident inspections, or inspections following a complaint.
Where a Responsible Person is found to be in breach, an authority can:
- Issue an Alterations Notice where a premises poses a serious risk, requiring proposed changes to be reviewed before they proceed
- Issue an Enforcement Notice setting out the failure and requiring it to be remedied within a set period (a minimum of 28 days)
- Issue a Prohibition Notice restricting or preventing use of all or part of a premises where there is a risk to life so serious that use should be restricted immediately
Under Article 32, it is a criminal offence to fail to comply with an Enforcement or Prohibition Notice, and it is separately an offence to fail to comply with the core fire safety duties (Articles 8–22 and 38) where that failure places people at risk of death or serious injury.
Cases are heard in the Magistrates’ Court or, for more serious breaches, the Crown Court, and penalties can include unlimited fines and imprisonment for the most serious offences.
Fire and Rescue Authorities regularly publish the outcomes of prosecutions and enforcement action, and cases involving failure to act on enforcement notices, even without a fire actually occurring, continue to result in fines against the responsible companies or individuals.
Staying compliant: a practical checklist
- Identify who the Responsible Person is for every part of your premises, and agree responsibilities in writing where control is shared
- Commission a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment from a competent person, and review it after any material change
- Get passive fire protection — compartmentation, fire doors and dampers — properly surveyed, not just visually checked, since defects are frequently hidden
- Put a planned maintenance and inspection regime in place, with dated records for every check
- If you manage a multi-occupied residential building, confirm which Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 duties apply based on height, and meet the door-check and information-sharing timescales
- Keep staff and residents informed and trained, and document that this has happened
Need a passive fire protection survey?
Meritas has been helping owners, occupiers and facilities managers across the East of England meet their Fire Safety Order duties since 2016. We carry out fire compartmentation surveys, fire door inspections and fire damper assessments, and provide clear remediation roadmaps so you can demonstrate ongoing compliance. Get in touch to discuss your building.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s the main fire safety law for non-domestic premises in England and Wales, in force since 1 October 2006. It replaced fire certificates with a duty on a “Responsible Person” to assess and manage fire risk on an ongoing basis.
Usually the employer in a workplace, or the owner, landlord, occupier or managing agent where the premises isn’t a workplace. Where control is shared, more than one party can hold duties and must cooperate with each other.
Yes. It’s required under Article 9 of the Order, and failing to carry one out is a criminal offence in its own right, regardless of whether a fire has ever happened on the premises.
There’s no fixed interval in the legislation — it must be reviewed regularly and whenever there’s reason to think it’s no longer valid, such as after a refurbishment, a change of use, an incident, or a significant change to occupancy or the building’s structure.
Fire and Rescue Authorities can issue Alterations, Enforcement or Prohibition Notices. Failing to comply with fire safety duties in a way that risks death or serious injury, or ignoring a notice, is a criminal offence carrying unlimited fines and, for the most serious cases, imprisonment.
Yes, to the common parts. The Fire Safety Act 2021 also confirmed it covers the structure, external walls, cladding, balconies and flat entrance doors of buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises.
The Order is the core legislation. The Fire Safety Act 2021 amends it to make explicit that, in multi-occupied residential buildings, Responsible Person duties extend to the building’s structure, external walls and flat entrance doors — it extends the FSO’s reach rather than replacing it.
Need Help Meeting Your Fire Safety Obligations?
Understanding your responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 can be challenging.
At Meritas, our passive fire protection specialists are here to help you identify potential risks and maintain compliance.
From fire compartmentation surveys and fire door inspections to fire damper assessments and remedial guidance, we provide practical solutions to help keep your building and its occupants safe. Contact our team today to discuss your fire safety requirements.
About Meritas Fire Protection
Meritas is a premier UK provider of comprehensive passive fire protection services, registered under company number 10288456. The technical team specialises in fire compartmentation, annual fire damper testing, remediation and installation, and certified fire door installations. By using rigorous compliance audits, Meritas helps local authorities secure long-term structural resilience and safeguard communities nationwide. Meritas always goes the extra mile, ensuring that all work carried out goes Beyond Compliance.
