If you own, manage, or occupy a non-domestic building in London, a fire risk assessment isn’t something you can leave to chance or put off until a fire officer comes knocking. It’s a legal duty under UK fire safety law, and getting it wrong — or not having one at all — carries real consequences, from enforcement notices to unlimited fines.
This guide covers what a fire safety risk assessment actually involves, who’s legally responsible for arranging one, and what London-specific factors tend to catch people out.
The Law Behind Fire Risk Assessment
The core legislation is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, usually just called the Fire Safety Order. It applies to virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales — offices, shops, warehouses, factories, and the common parts of residential blocks — and it places the legal duty squarely on whoever is defined as the “responsible person.” That’s typically the employer, building owner, occupier, or managing agent in control of the premises, and there can be more than one responsible person if a building is shared between several occupiers.
The Order requires the responsible person to ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is carried out by a competent person, and to keep it under regular review. Since amendments introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force in October 2023, that duty has become more demanding: it’s now a legal requirement for every responsible person to document their fire risk assessment london and fire safety action plan in writing, regardless of how many people they employ — a requirement that previously only kicked in once a business had five or more staff. The same amendments removed the previous fine cap for certain offences, moving from a maximum of £1,000 to unlimited fines.
The Five-Step Fire Risk Assessment Process
A properly conducted fire safety risk assessment generally follows five stages:
- Identify fire hazards — sources of ignition, fuel, and oxygen present in the building
- Identify people at risk — employees, visitors, contractors, and anyone who might need extra help evacuating, such as disabled occupants
- Evaluate, remove, and reduce risk — assess the hazards and people identified in the first two steps, then act to control the risk
- Record findings and create an emergency plan — document what’s been found, the action taken, and a clear plan covering evacuation procedures and staff responsibilities
- Review regularly — reassess whenever the building, its use, or its occupants change, and periodically even if nothing obvious has shifted
What Assessors Actually Look At
During a site visit, a fire risk assessor will typically examine:
- Escape routes, fire doors, and whether they’re kept clear and functional
- Fire detection and alarm systems, and whether their category matches the building’s risk profile
- Emergency lighting along escape routes
- Fire-fighting equipment such as extinguishers, and whether it’s appropriately located and serviced
- Storage of flammable or combustible materials
- Compartmentation — whether fire and smoke are contained by walls, floors, and fire-resisting doors
- Signage, evacuation procedures, and staff awareness of what to do in an emergency
Why London Buildings Present Specific Challenges
London’s building stock adds a layer of complexity that a lot of generic fire safety guidance doesn’t fully address. Period conversions, mixed-use buildings with shops beneath flats, and high-density blocks with multiple responsible persons are all common across the capital, and each brings its own set of considerations — shared responsibility for common areas, older escape route layouts that weren’t designed with current standards in mind, and a higher likelihood of previous alterations that changed the building’s fire strategy without anyone updating the paperwork to match.
If you’re arranging a fire risk assessment in London specifically, it’s worth using an assessor who’s used to this kind of building stock rather than one who mainly works on standard new-build commercial units.
Fire Risk Assessment and EICR: Related but Separate Duties
It’s worth being clear that a fire risk assessment is not the same document as an EICR. An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) focuses specifically on the condition of a property’s fixed electrical wiring, while a fire risk assessment looks at the whole building’s fire safety — escape routes, compartmentation, alarms, and management procedures. Landlords and building owners very often need both, since electrical faults are a recurring contributing factor in accidental fires, but neither document satisfies the legal requirement for the other.
Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor
Because the responsible person carries personal legal liability for getting this right, it’s worth being selective:
- Check the assessor’s qualifications and relevant experience with your building type
- Ask for a written, itemised report — not just a verbal walkthrough and a certificate
- Confirm they’ll document the fire safety action plan alongside the assessment itself, as now required by law
- Make sure a review date is built into the process, not left as an afterthought
For London-based businesses and landlords, a dedicated resource such as this one on fire risk assessment is a useful starting point for understanding local requirements and typical turnaround times.
For those comparing local providers, Liviosiv’s fire risk assessment service in London is another option worth adding to your shortlist alongside other qualified assessors.
Final Thoughts
A fire risk assessment isn’t a one-off certificate to file away — it’s an ongoing legal responsibility that has to be documented, acted on, and reviewed. Get the five-step process right, use an assessor who understands London’s particular mix of building types, and keep it updated alongside your other compliance paperwork, including your EICR, rather than treating each document as a separate, isolated task.
