The Fire Safety Act 2021, which officially passed the parliamentary process on April 29th, is a major focal point within the property market at present.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 has a considerable impact on residential blocks across England and Wales. Following the Grenfell tragedy, the Fire Safety Act amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and brings, among other things, flat entrance doors within the scope of ‘non-domestic premises’, such as the communal areas of multi-occupied residential buildings. Therefore, flat entrance doors that directly impact common parts of the building from now on will need to be inspected on a regular basis to make sure they are self-closing and fire resistant for at least 30 minutes. This is a preventative measure, designed to eliminate smoke and fire from spreading onto the common parts.

The Fire Safety Act now holds the ‘Responsible Person’ (i.e. the Freeholder, RMC) accountable for managing fire risk and checking that all necessary assessments are performed. This means that the Responsible Person is the accountable party for ensuring that the individual apartment entrance doors  meet a certain criteria and are well maintained.