What the Fire Safety Act 2021 actually changed, and what it didn’t

Three years on from the Fire Safety Act coming into force, we still meet responsible persons, and their solicitors, who are unclear on what the Act changed and for whom. Here is a plain-language breakdown.

Some background first

The Fire Safety Act 2021 was a direct legislative response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report, which identified specific failings in how the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applied to multi-occupied residential buildings. The Act is short, and its effect is narrow but important.

It does not replace the Fire Safety Order. It clarifies and extends it. The distinction matters, because a great deal of guidance written after the Act conflates the two pieces of legislation in ways that mislead responsible persons about their actual obligations.

What the Act actually changed

Before the Act, there was genuine legal uncertainty about whether the Fire Safety Order applied to the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors of multi-occupied residential buildings. The Act resolved that uncertainty.

Structures and external walls

The Act clarifies that the Fire Safety Order applies to the structure and external walls of a building, including doors, windows, balconies and anything attached to the exterior. The responsible person for the common parts must now include the external envelope in their fire risk assessment.

For taller buildings, this feeds directly into the question of a PAS 9980 external wall appraisal. For lower-rise buildings, it typically means the assessor records the construction type and considers whether the cladding or render poses any ignition or spread risk.

Flat entrance doors

The Act also confirms that flat entrance doors, to the extent they form part of the building’s compartmentation, fall within the scope of the responsible person’s assessment. This is the provision that generated the most confusion in practice. It typically means:

• Checking the fire door specification for each flat entrance (FD30 minimum in most cases)
• Confirming intumescent strips and smoke seals are fitted and intact
• Checking that self-closing devices function correctly
• Recording any deficiencies and setting remedial timescales

The flat entrance door provision is the one most managing agents still haven’t properly actioned. They think it only applies to communal fire doors. It doesn’t.

, Kevin Bonnar, Clear Fire

What the Act didn’t change

The Act applies specifically to buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises. It does not alter the obligations of responsible persons for offices, retail, hospitality, industrial or other non-domestic premises. For those building types, the Fire Safety Order 2005 continues to apply in its original form. It also does not change the review frequency, the competence required of the assessor, the written-record duty (employers with five or more staff), or the enforcement powers of the fire and rescue authority.

The Building Safety Act 2022 is the bigger change

For buildings at least 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more residential units, the Building Safety Act 2022 creates a separate, more demanding regime, registration with the Building Safety Regulator, a new duty-holder structure, a safety case and mandatory resident engagement. Many responsible persons conflate the two Acts: the Fire Safety Act is the narrower clarification; the Building Safety Act is the more structurally significant piece for higher-risk buildings.

What you should do now

1. Ensure your fire risk assessment explicitly addresses the external walls and flat entrance doors, not just the common parts
2. Confirm whether your building falls under the Building Safety Act’s higher-risk regime
3. If your last assessment predates 2021, commission a review against the current scope

If you’re unsure where your building stands, that’s exactly the kind of question Kevin or Jon will answer on the phone, no charge, no hard sell.