If you manage or own a residential building, you need to be on top of, and understand, fire door regulations. Inspections happen, so falling short of the legal requirements has real consequences.
In answer to the question – Yes. Communal fire doors are a legal requirement and keeping them compliant is your responsibility. In this guide, we break down the details of fire door compliance, frequently asked questions and what you can do to make sure you’re meeting the requirements.
What counts as a communal fire door?
A communal fire door is any door in shared parts of a building. This may include hallways, stairwells and lobbies. This is separate to individual doors located in flats within the block. This guide covers both since anyone asking whether fire doors are a legal requirement usually wants to know about the doors throughout their building.
If you’re managing an HMO, there’s a different set of requirements as kitchens almost always need a fire door, since they’re the most common place for a fire to begin. However, the details of this sit under separate HMO fire safety guidelines, so it’s worth checking the rules for your specific property type.
The legal framework
Fire door requirements for communal areas come from three separate pieces of legislation, introduced gradually across nearly two decades.
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the foundation everything else is built on. It applies to buildings which have two or more residences, sharing common areas such as a hallway, stairwell or other communal space and ensures that someone has to be designated the ‘Responsible Person’, usually a landlord, freeholder or managing agent, who must carry out ongoing fire risk assessments and put general fire precautions in place. They must make sure fire doors are working properly as part of that responsibility.
- Fire Safety Act 2021
The Fire Safety Act 2021 amended the existing law to answer some of the additional questions the 2005 order didn’t cover. It confirmed that the building’s structure, external walls and every apartment entrance door are within the scope of the 2005 order, regardless of the building’s height. This means a landlord, freeholder or managing agent could no longer exclude a resident’s front door from their responsibility, making it the duty of the ‘Responsible Person’.
- Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
This is a separate set of regulations using the powers within the 2005 order to add specific extra duties to the legal requirements. It requires that for buildings above 11 metres, communal area fire doors must be checked at least every three months and apartment entrance doors at least once every twelve months, through best endeavours.
Who is legally responsible?
As outlined in the legal framework, the ‘Responsible Person’ must enact the requirements. This is usually the landlord, freeholder or managing agent and since the Fire Safety Act 2021, that covers both the communal fire doors and apartment front doors. When considering who is responsible for fire doors in flats, the responsible person must make a reasonable attempt to work with residents for access to inspect their door.
It isn’t a resident’s legal liability if something goes wrong with their own front door, but the “Responsible Person” has to tell them to keep it shut, leave the self-closer untouched and report any damage. That’s required whatever the building’s height, even where the quarterly and annual checks don’t require it.
Does building height change what’s required?
The height-based split comes from the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. Buildings over 11 metres must have communal fire doors checked quarterly and flat entrance doors checked annually. Below 11 metres, the general duty to maintain fire doors applies, without a set frequency.
What happens if you don’t comply?
Fire door law penalties are to be taken seriously. Fines, enforcement notices or invalidated insurance are possible outcomes for failure to follow the regulations.
What fire rating does a communal door need?
Communal fire doors are rated FD30 or FD60, indicating the length of time of fire resistance, either 30 minutes or 60 minutes. Which one you need comes down to your building’s fire risk assessment and takes into account aspects such as the building’s height, escape route design and what’s on the other side of the door.
Read more about our FD30 and FD60 fire door options
How to check if your building is compliant.
There are a few ways you can check if your building is compliant:
- A current fire risk assessment that includes the doors. Ensure it’s not a generic building-wide report, but one that specifically references fire door condition and location.
- Certified doorsets. The door, frame and hardware need to be tested and certified together as a single unit, with documentation to prove it.
- Logged inspections happening on schedule. Quarterly for communal doors, annually for flat entrance doors.
- The risk assessment needs a qualified fire risk assessor. Checking and certifying the doors themselves is specialist fire door survey work – Which is exactly what LFS does.
FAQs
- Do all flats need fire doors?
Yes. Any flat in a building with shared hallways, lobbies or stairwells needs a certified fire door as its entrance door, not just a standard front door. - Are landlords responsible for fire doors in a block of flats?
The “Responsible person”, which could be the landlord, is legally accountable for both communal fire doors and each flat’s entrance door. - Can a leaseholder or tenant replace or alter their flat’s fire door?
No, not without permission and not with just any door. Whether you’re a leaseholder or a tenant, your lease or tenancy agreement will almost always require a landlord’s consent and any replacements must match the original fire rating. - How often should communal fire doors be inspected?
At least every three months if the building is above 11 metres. Below that height, there’s no fixed schedule, but doors still need to be kept in working order. - What happens if a fire door fails inspection?
A fire door that fails inspection is a fire risk and must be repaired or replaced without delay. The “Responsible Person” is required to act.
Let LFS help you.
Asking the right questions when it comes to fire safety is a clear sign that compliance and regulations are at the top of your agenda. So, to bring it back to where the article started – Yes, communal fire doors are a legal requirement and if you manage a residential building, keeping them compliant is your responsibility.
If you’re not sure where your building stands, that’s exactly what a fire door survey is for. Get in touch with LFS so we can help you with the next steps and ensure you remain compliant.
