Fire Risk Assessment UK: What It Is and How to Do One

If you're responsible for a non-domestic building in England or Wales — as an employer, landlord, or building owner — a fire risk assessment isn't optional paperwork. It's a legal duty, and getting it wrong carries some of the most serious penalties in UK safety law. This guide covers what a fire risk assessment is, who's legally responsible for it, the five-step process, how often it needs reviewing, and what's changed for 2026.

What is a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment (FRA) is a structured, documented evaluation of a building to identify fire hazards, work out who could be harmed by them, and decide what measures are needed to reduce that risk. It looks at ignition sources, what could fuel a fire, how a fire could spread, how people would escape, and whether detection and warning systems are adequate.

It isn't a one-off form you fill in and file away. Fire risk changes as a building is used, altered, or occupied differently — so an FRA is meant to be a living document, reviewed and updated as circumstances change, not a certificate you get once and forget.

Is a fire risk assessment a legal requirement?

Yes — unambiguously. Under Article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO), carrying out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is a legal requirement for virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, including workplaces, commercial buildings, and the common parts of multi-occupied residential buildings (shared hallways, stairwells, and similar areas in blocks of flats).

The RRO replaced dozens of earlier pieces of fire safety legislation with a single risk-based framework, and it puts the legal duty on a specific person — the Responsible Person — rather than leaving it ambiguous.

Not having one is a criminal offence. Fire and rescue authorities can issue enforcement notices, prosecute, and courts can impose unlimited fines, with imprisonment possible in the most serious cases. This is not a "fix it and move on" penalty structure the way some other compliance areas are — enforcement has become noticeably more active since the Grenfell Tower inquiry findings.

Who is the "Responsible Person"?

The RRO places the duty on the Responsible Person, which typically means:

The employer, if the workplace is under their control
The owner, if the premises aren't occupied by an employer
The occupier or managing agent, particularly for the common parts of residential buildings

For multi-occupied buildings there can be more than one Responsible Person with overlapping duties — a managing agent for shared stairwells, individual employers for their own units. If you're unsure whether you're the Responsible Person, that uncertainty is itself worth resolving early, since the legal duty exists whether or not you've identified yourself as holding it.

Can you do your own fire risk assessment?

Yes, in some cases — but the bar is genuinely "competent person," not "willing volunteer." You can carry out your own assessment if:

The premises are small, simple, and low-risk
You have relevant fire safety knowledge, training, and experience
The occupancy is limited and the layout is straightforward

For anything beyond that — larger premises, complex layouts, higher occupancy, vulnerable occupants, or anything with genuine ambiguity — a competent third-party assessor is the safer route. A competent assessor typically holds recognised fire safety qualifications (bodies like the FPA, NEBOSH, or IFE) and is registered on a recognised third-party scheme. Regardless of who conducts it, the assessment must be "suitable and sufficient" — reflecting the real risks of your specific building, not a generic template filled in without a proper site walk.

The 5 steps of a fire risk assessment

The standard structure, reflected in official guidance, breaks down into five steps:

Identify fire hazards. Sources of ignition (heating equipment, electrical faults, naked flames), sources of fuel (anything combustible), and sources of oxygen (ventilation, oxidising materials).
Identify people at risk. Staff, visitors, contractors, and anyone especially vulnerable — people with mobility issues, those unfamiliar with the building, anyone who may be alone or asleep on site.
Evaluate, remove, reduce, and protect. Assess the risk from what you've identified, remove or reduce hazards where possible, and put protective measures in place — detection, alarms, extinguishers, compartmentation, escape routes.
Record, plan, inform, instruct, and train. Document the significant findings, produce an emergency plan, and make sure staff and relevant occupants know what to do. Recording is now expected regardless of business size — the earlier threshold that only required written records for employers with five or more staff has been tightened, and current guidance expects proper documentation across the board.
Review and update regularly. Fire risk isn't static — layout changes, new equipment, different occupancy patterns, and near-misses should all trigger a review.

How often does a fire risk assessment need reviewing?

There's no single fixed legal interval — the RRO requires the assessment to stay "suitable and sufficient," which in practice means reviewing it whenever something material changes, and periodically even if nothing obviously has. As a general guide:

Annually is the common baseline for most commercial premises, even with no changes
Immediately after any significant change — renovation, a change of use, new equipment, altered occupancy, or after any fire, near-miss, or enforcement visit
More frequently for higher-risk premises — those with vulnerable occupants, complex layouts, or a history of issues

Treating the assessment as done once and filed away is one of the most common ways buildings fall out of compliance without anyone noticing.

What's changed for 2026

A few developments are worth knowing if you're arranging or reviewing an assessment this year:

Recording expectations have tightened. Following amendments connected to the Building Safety Act, current guidance expects the significant findings of a fire risk assessment to be recorded in full regardless of premises size — not just where five or more people are employed, as under the older reading of the rules.
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs). New regulations addressing evacuation planning for residents with disabilities or conditions affecting their ability to evacuate are being implemented for residential buildings in 2026, building on the Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. If you're responsible for a residential building, particularly higher-risk or multi-occupied premises, this is an area to check you're current on.
Enforcement remains active. Fire and rescue authorities have continued stepped-up inspection activity since Grenfell, particularly around competence of assessors and the depth of assessments — a superficial, template-only assessment is increasingly likely to be challenged.

What does a fire risk assessment cost?

Cost varies significantly with building size, complexity, and occupancy type, so treat any figure as a starting point rather than a quote. As a broad steer for straightforward commercial premises, professional assessments commonly range from roughly £150 for a small, simple premises up to several hundred pounds for larger or more complex buildings — high-rise, mixed-use, or higher-occupancy premises can run well beyond that. Always confirm what's included: a walk-through and written report is standard, but ongoing review support or action-plan follow-up may be quoted separately.

Fire risk assessment checklist

Confirm who the Responsible Person is for your premises — don't assume it's obvious.
Decide whether you can competently self-assess, or whether a qualified third party is the safer route.
Work through all five steps — hazards, people at risk, evaluate/reduce/protect, record and train, review.
Record findings in full, regardless of how small the premises is.
Set a review trigger list — not just a calendar date, but the specific changes (renovation, new equipment, occupancy change) that should prompt an immediate review.
Check PEEP requirements if you're responsible for a residential building with vulnerable occupants.

Your fire risk assessment will often flag the need for supporting certification — see our guide to the fire safety certificate template for what that documentation typically looks like.

For fire safety professionals managing assessments across sites

If you're the one carrying out assessments rather than commissioning them, the challenge usually isn't the site walk — it's keeping every property's review date on track, producing a consistent, defensible report every time, and proving what was found and when if enforcement ever asks.

Opscel is built for exactly that: capture the assessment on site from a phone or tablet, generate a structured, consistent report against your standard template, and get automatic reminders when a property's next review is due — across every site you manage, not just the one in front of you. See how Opscel's fire risk assessment software keeps a whole portfolio of assessments current without a spreadsheet tracking it all by hand.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fire safety law and enforcement expectations continue to evolve, particularly for residential and higher-risk buildings. Always confirm your specific obligations with a qualified fire risk assessor or your local fire and rescue authority.