The term fire risk assessment is most commonly associated with workplaces and non-domestic premises, where it is a well-established legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
But fire risk assessments are increasingly relevant in residential settings too, and for many flat owners, leaseholders, and property buyers, they have become a critical document that can affect not just safety but the ability to sell, mortgage, or insure a property.
This article explains what a residential fire risk assessment is, when one is needed, what it covers, and how it relates to the wider questions around external wall systems and the EWS1 process that have affected so many residential buildings in recent years.
What is a Residential Fire Risk Assessment?
A residential fire risk assessment is a systematic evaluation of the fire risks present in a residential building, or in the common parts of a building containing one or more residential units, carried out by a competent person with the knowledge and experience to identify hazards, evaluate risks, and recommend appropriate control measures.
For buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises with common parts, such as a block of flats, a converted house divided into flats, or a mixed-use building with residential accommodation, the Responsible Person is required under Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541) to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment of the common parts of the building.
The common parts include all areas that are not within the exclusive occupation of individual residents, including entrance halls, communal corridors, stairwells, landings, plant rooms, bin stores, car parks, and any other shared spaces.
Following the Fire Safety Act 2021 (c.24), the scope of the fire risk assessment for multi-occupied residential buildings was explicitly extended to include the structure of the building, its external walls including cladding, balconies, and windows, and the flat entrance doors of individual units.
This was a significant and far-reaching change that brought the external wall system firmly within the scope of the Responsible Person’s duties, and that has had profound implications for the assessment and remediation of fire safety defects in residential buildings across England.
Who Needs a Residential Fire Risk Assessment?
The duty to carry out a fire risk assessment under the RRO applies to the Responsible Person for the common parts of any multi-occupied residential building.
In practice, this means the freeholder of the building, the head leaseholder where they have repairing obligations for the common parts, the residents management company, or the right to manage company that has taken over management of the building.
For houses in multiple occupation, the fire risk assessment obligations are discussed in our separate article on HMO fire safety.
For higher-risk buildings, defined under Section 65 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (c.30) as buildings in England of 18 metres or more in height or seven or more storeys containing at least two residential units, additional duties apply under the Act, including the requirement to produce and maintain a safety case report and to register the building with the Building Safety Regulator.
When Does a Residential Fire Risk Assessment Become Relevant at the Point of Sale?
The relationship between fire risk assessments and property transactions has become increasingly significant in recent years, driven largely by the cladding crisis that followed the Grenfell Tower fire and the growing awareness among mortgage lenders, conveyancers, and buyers of the fire safety risks associated with certain types of residential building.
When a flat in a multi-occupied building is sold or remortgaged, the buyer’s solicitor and mortgage lender will typically require evidence that the building has been assessed for fire safety and that any significant deficiencies have been identified and are being addressed.
For many buildings, this has meant the provision of a current fire risk assessment carried out by a competent assessor, demonstrating that the common parts of the building have been assessed and that appropriate fire safety measures are in place.
For buildings where there are concerns about the external wall system, the cladding, or the fire safety of the structure, the process has often extended to the requirement for an EWS1 form, a subject discussed in detail later in this article.
A fire risk assessment that identifies significant unresolved fire safety deficiencies can affect the saleability and mortgageability of flats within the building, as lenders may be unwilling to lend against properties in buildings where serious fire safety concerns have not been addressed.
Conversely, a current, comprehensive fire risk assessment carried out by a competent assessor and demonstrating that the building is being managed to an appropriate standard can provide buyers, lenders, and insurers with the confidence they need to proceed.
For flat owners and leaseholders who are looking to sell or remortgage, ensuring that the building has a current and compliant fire risk assessment in place is therefore an important practical consideration as well as a legal one.
What Does a Residential Fire Risk Assessment Cover?
A residential fire risk assessment for a multi-occupied building will typically cover the following areas.
Construction and Building Fabric
The construction of the building is one of the most fundamental considerations in any residential fire risk assessment.
The age, type, and method of construction of a building directly influences its fire performance, including the speed at which fire can spread, the effectiveness of the compartmentation, and the vulnerability of the structure to fire damage.
Older buildings, particularly those constructed before modern building regulations came into force, may have been built using construction methods and materials that do not meet current fire safety standards.
Timber-framed construction, which is common in older buildings and increasingly used in modern residential developments, presents different fire risks to traditional masonry construction.
Converted buildings, where a house or commercial property has been subdivided into flats, may have compartmentation that is incomplete, inadequate, or has been compromised by subsequent alterations.
The fire risk assessor will consider the type and age of construction, the materials used, any known or suspected deficiencies in the building fabric, and the implications of the construction for the fire safety of the building and its occupants.
Compartmentation
Compartmentation is one of the most critical passive fire protection measures in any multi-occupied residential building.
It is the system of fire-resisting walls, floors, ceilings, and doors that divides the building into separate fire compartments, each designed to contain a fire within its compartment of origin for long enough to allow occupants to evacuate safely and for the fire and rescue service to attend and intervene.
In a block of flats, effective compartmentation means that a fire starting in one flat should be contained within that flat, or at worst within its floor, without spreading to other flats or to the common parts of the building.
The stay put evacuation strategy, which is standard for most purpose-built blocks of flats, is entirely dependent on the effectiveness of the compartmentation.
If compartmentation is compromised, fire and smoke can spread beyond the flat of origin, threatening the occupants of other flats and potentially rendering the escape routes unusable.
The fire risk assessor will assess the compartmentation of the building, including the fire resistance of the walls and floors between individual flats and between flats and the common parts, the integrity of the ceiling and floor voids, the sealing of service penetrations through fire-resisting elements, and the presence and condition of cavity barriers in wall and floor cavities.
Deficiencies in compartmentation are among the most significant findings in residential fire risk assessments, and they can be difficult and expensive to remediate, particularly in older or converted buildings where the original construction may not have incorporated adequate compartmentation.
Fire Loading
Fire loading refers to the quantity and combustibility of materials present in the building that could contribute to the development and spread of a fire.
In the common parts of a residential building, fire loading is a particular concern because the common parts are the primary means of escape, and a fire or significant fire load in a communal corridor, stairwell, or lobby can rapidly compromise the safety of all occupants in the building.
The storage of combustible materials in common parts, including bicycles, pushchairs, furniture, boxes, and other items left by residents, is a recurring problem in residential buildings and a significant fire safety concern.
The fire risk assessor will identify any significant fire loads in the common parts and will recommend measures to manage them, including the removal of stored combustible materials, the provision of secure storage areas away from escape routes, and the establishment of clear rules for residents about what may and may not be kept in common areas.
The fire loading within individual flats is also relevant to the overall fire risk assessment, as it influences the potential severity of a fire should one start in a residential unit and the demands that such a fire would place on the compartmentation.
Door Inspections
The inspection of fire doors is an integral part of any residential fire risk assessment, and one that has taken on increased significance following the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/547).
For buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require the Responsible Person to undertake annual checks of flat entrance doors and to undertake checks of fire doors in common parts at least every three months for buildings over 11 metres in height.
The fire door inspection will assess the condition and integrity of the door leaf, the condition of the door frame and its fit within the surrounding structure, the intumescent and smoke seals, the gap tolerances around the door leaf, the self-closing device, all ironmongery, any glazing and its beads and seals, and the appropriate signage.
A flat entrance door that is warped, damaged, missing its seals, or fitted with an inadequate self-closing device is not providing the fire protection that it was designed and installed to provide.
In the event of a fire in the flat, a defective entrance door could allow fire and smoke to escape into the communal corridor, threatening the escape route for all occupants of the building.
The fire risk assessor will identify any fire door deficiencies and will recommend remedial action, prioritising those deficiencies that present the most immediate risk to the effectiveness of the fire door.
The External Wall System and EWS1
The external wall system of a residential building encompasses everything that forms the outer skin of the building, including the cladding, insulation, cavity barriers, and any other materials forming part of the external wall construction.
The Grenfell Tower fire of 2017, in which the aluminium composite material cladding system was identified as the primary cause of the catastrophic external fire spread, brought the fire safety of external wall systems to the forefront of public and regulatory attention.
In the years since Grenfell, it became apparent that a very large number of residential buildings across England had been clad with materials that were potentially combustible, raising serious concerns about their fire safety and creating significant uncertainty for flat owners, leaseholders, buyers, and mortgage lenders.
The EWS1 process was developed by UK Finance, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and the Building Societies Association in response to this uncertainty.
EWS stands for External Wall System, and the EWS1 form is a document completed by a qualified professional confirming that the external wall system of a building has been assessed and providing a rating that indicates the outcome of that assessment.
The EWS1 form is not a legal requirement under any specific piece of legislation.
It is a mechanism developed by the lending industry to provide mortgage lenders with assurance about the fire safety of the external wall system of a residential building, so that they can make informed lending decisions on properties in that building.
The form is completed by a qualified professional, typically a fire engineer, an architect with relevant experience, or another suitably qualified person with knowledge of the building and its external wall system.
The professional must have the qualifications and experience specified in the guidance published by RICS and must carry appropriate professional indemnity insurance.
The EWS1 form provides one of two broad outcomes.
An A rating indicates that the external wall system does not incorporate combustible materials, or that any combustible materials present have been assessed and do not present a significant fire risk.
A B rating indicates that the external wall system does incorporate combustible materials, and that remediation or interim mitigation measures are required.
Within each broad rating, there are sub-ratings that provide more detail about the specific findings of the assessment and the remedial action required.
Where an EWS1 form gives a B2 rating, indicating that the combustible materials present pose a significant fire risk and that remediation is required, mortgage lenders will typically be unwilling to lend against properties in the building until remediation has been completed.
This has left many flat owners in buildings with B2 ratings unable to sell or remortgage their properties, trapped in homes they cannot easily leave, a situation that the leaseholder protections in Schedule 8 of the Building Safety Act 2022 were in part designed to address.
When is an EWS1 Required?
Guidance on when an EWS1 form is required has evolved significantly since the process was first introduced, and it is important for building managers, leaseholders, and conveyancers to be aware of the current position.
RICS published updated guidance in 2023 clarifying the circumstances in which an EWS1 assessment is required.
In general terms, an EWS1 is required where a building has cladding or other external wall materials that could present a significant fire risk, and where a mortgage lender requires assurance about the fire safety of the external wall system before lending.
Buildings of all heights can be subject to EWS1 requirements, though the specific circumstances in which an assessment is needed will depend on the construction of the building and the requirements of the individual lender.
The assessment process requires a detailed inspection of the external wall construction, including an assessment of the materials used, their combustibility, and the effectiveness of any cavity barriers and other fire safety measures incorporated into the wall system.
In many cases, the assessment will require intrusive investigation of the wall construction, including the opening up of sections of the wall to identify the materials present behind the outer cladding layer.
The Relationship Between the Fire Risk Assessment and the EWS1 Process
The fire risk assessment and the EWS1 process are related but distinct exercises.
The fire risk assessment is a legal requirement under the RRO and covers the overall fire safety management of the building, including the common parts, the structure, the external walls, and the flat entrance doors.
The EWS1 form is a specific document produced for the purposes of the mortgage lending process, focusing specifically on the external wall system and its fire safety implications.
In many cases, the fire risk assessor will identify concerns about the external wall system as part of the fire risk assessment, and will recommend that a more detailed EWS1 assessment is carried out by a suitably qualified professional.
The findings of the EWS1 assessment will in turn inform the fire risk assessment, providing the assessor with detailed information about the construction and fire performance of the external wall system that can be used to evaluate the overall fire risk to the building and its occupants.
For building managers and responsible persons, ensuring that both the fire risk assessment and any required EWS1 assessment are current, comprehensive, and carried out by competent professionals is an essential part of managing the fire safety of a residential building.
Interim Measures and Waking Watch
Where a fire risk assessment or EWS1 assessment identifies significant fire safety deficiencies, including concerns about the external wall system, interim measures may be required to maintain an acceptable level of safety while remediation works are planned and carried out.
The most common interim measure is a waking watch, a system of trained personnel patrolling the building around the clock to detect any fire and raise the alarm manually.
Waking watch arrangements are expensive to maintain and are intended as a temporary measure while longer-term solutions are implemented.
The installation of a common fire alarm system, which alerts all residents simultaneously in the event of a fire, can in some circumstances replace or reduce the need for a waking watch, and government funding has been available to support its installation in certain categories of building.
The Responsible Person must ensure that any interim measures in place are properly managed, regularly reviewed, and replaced with permanent solutions as soon as practicable.
How We Can Help
At ESI: Fire Safety, we carry out residential fire risk assessments for blocks of flats, converted properties, and other multi-occupied residential buildings, providing comprehensive assessments that cover all aspects of fire safety including construction, compartmentation, fire loading, door inspections, and external wall systems.
We work with freeholders, managing agents, residents management companies, and right to manage companies to ensure that their buildings are compliant with the RRO and the requirements of the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
Where concerns about the external wall system are identified, we can advise on the EWS1 process and work with suitably qualified professionals to ensure that the assessment is carried out promptly and to the standard required by lenders and RICS guidance.
If you manage a residential building and need a fire risk assessment, or if you have concerns about the fire safety of your building’s external wall system, get in touch with our team today.
Further Reading and Key Legislation:
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/contents/made
Fire Safety Act 2021 (c.24): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/24/contents/enacted
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/547): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/547/contents/made
Building Safety Act 2022 (c.30): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/30/contents/enacted
RICS EWS1 guidance: https://www.rics.org
UK Finance EWS1 information: https://www.ukfinance.org.uk
BS 8214:2016 Timber-based fire door assemblies: https://www.bsigroup.com
Grenfell Tower Inquiry: https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk
Building Safety Regulator: https://www.hse.gov.uk/building-safety/regulator.htm
GOV.UK Building Safety guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-safety-act-2022
This post is intended as a general guide. Residential fire safety is a complex and rapidly evolving area of law and practice. Always seek advice from a qualified fire safety professional for guidance specific to your building and circumstances.
