England high-rise fire safety: checks residents can request

Residents of blocks of flats in England can ask the building’s responsible person for current fire instructions and details of required safety checks. Duties differ by building height, while unresolved hazards can be raised with the landlord, local fire and rescue service, council or, for relevant higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Regulator.

Fire-safety information every block should provide

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply to multi-occupied residential buildings containing communal areas. The responsible person—often a landlord, freeholder, managing agent or another person controlling those areas—must give residents fire-safety instructions and explain the importance of fire doors.

Instructions should cover how to report a fire, the building’s evacuation strategy and what residents should do after discovering a fire. Updated information must be supplied when it changes, and reminders must be provided at least every 12 months.

Missing information does not by itself prove that a building is unsafe. Residents should request it and establish whether the responsible person has met the applicable duties.

Extra checks for buildings above 11 metres

Where the building is more than 11 metres tall, the responsible person must use best endeavours to check flat entrance fire doors at least annually. Fire doors in communal areas must be checked at least every three months.

Residents can ask when their entrance door was last inspected and how access for the check is arranged. They should report damaged closers, doors that do not shut properly, missing seals or alterations that may affect a door’s performance.

Duties for high-rise residential buildings

For these regulations, a high-rise residential building is at least 18 metres tall or seven storeys, with two or more domestic premises.

Additional duties include providing fire and rescue services with electronic building plans and information about external wall systems. The responsible person must also maintain a secure information box and install wayfinding signs identifying floors and individual flats.

Lifts intended for firefighters or evacuation, and other essential firefighting equipment, require monthly routine checks. A fault that cannot be fixed within 24 hours must be reported electronically to the local fire and rescue service, followed by confirmation when it is repaired.

A practical checklist for residents

• Identify the responsible person and obtain their contact details.
• Request the current fire instructions and evacuation strategy.
• Ask when communal and flat entrance fire doors were last checked.
• In a high-rise building, ask when lifts and essential firefighting equipment were last tested.
• Report defective doors, lifts, alarms or firefighting equipment promptly and keep dated records.
• Ask for the building’s complaints procedure if a concern remains unresolved.

Where to escalate an unresolved concern

Start with the landlord, managing agent or named responsible person. If the concern involves compliance in communal areas, contact the local fire and rescue service, which enforces the Fire Safety Order in most residential buildings. A council’s housing or environmental health team may assess hazards affecting rented housing.

Residents of an occupied higher-risk building can use the principal accountable person’s complaints process and may escalate qualifying building-safety concerns to the Building Safety Regulator. An immediate danger should be reported through emergency services.

Grenfell recommendations and current law are not identical

The UK Government published its formal response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 recommendations on 26 February 2025. A government commitment or inquiry recommendation is not automatically a legal duty: some changes require legislation, regulation or further implementation. Residents should distinguish existing requirements under the 2022 regulations from reforms that remain in progress.

Source: UK Government