Since 23 January 2023 the Responsible Person for a block of flats in England has had specific, written duties about fire doors. They sit in regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, made under article 24 of the Fire Safety Order. The regulation is short. Most of the trouble I see comes from reading it as one duty, when it is three — and only two of them depend on the building's height.
1. Information to residents — every block, whatever its height
Regulation 10(1) applies to any building with two or more sets of domestic premises and common parts that residents would need to evacuate through. There is no height threshold. The Responsible Person must tell residents, in effect, that:
- fire doors should be kept shut when not in use;
- residents and their guests should not tamper with the self-closing devices; and
- faults or damage to doors should be reported immediately to the Responsible Person.
Regulation 10(3) sets the timing: to a new resident as soon as reasonably practicable after they move in, and to all residents within each period of 12 months beginning on 23 January 2023. A notice in the hall is not the same thing as providing the information to each resident, and you will want to be able to show when and how it went out.
2. Communal fire doors — every three months, above 11 metres
Where the building contains two or more sets of domestic premises and is above 11 metres in height, regulation 10(6) requires checks of any fire doors in the communal areas at least every 3 months. This is a flat duty: "must undertake checks". There is no best-endeavours qualification on it.
Height, for this regulation, is measured to the top storey in accordance with Appendix D to Approved Document B (regulations 10(8) and 3(2)(a)). That is not the same as the height of the roof, and a building that looks "about four storeys" can fall either side of the line. Measure it once, record how, and keep the figure on the building record.
3. Flat entrance doors — every twelve months, best endeavours
In the same buildings — two or more sets of domestic premises, above 11 metres — regulation 10(4) requires the Responsible Person to use best endeavours to check the fire doors at the entrances of individual flats at least every 12 months.
Best endeavours is not a get-out. Regulation 10(5) requires a record of the steps taken to comply, including, where a resident has not given access during a 12-month period, the steps taken to try to gain access. If the record shows one letter and nothing else, it is not a record of best endeavours. Dated letters, a follow-up, an appointment offered at a different time, and a note of each refusal — that is what the regulation is asking you to be able to produce.
What a check must include
Regulation 10(7) says one thing about the content of the checks, for both communal and flat entrance doors: they must include ensuring that the self-closing devices are working. The regulation does not prescribe the rest. A check that records only the closer has met the letter of paragraph (7) and very little else; the condition of the leaf, frame, glazing, seals and gaps is what tells you whether the door will hold back fire and smoke.
Where this goes wrong
- Treating the information duty as high-rise only. It applies to every block with common parts residents escape through.
- Losing the twelve-month cycle. The resident information runs on 12-month periods from 23 January 2023, the flat door checks at least every 12 months. Without a log, both drift.
- No record of failed access. Regulation 10(5) asks for exactly that, and it is the first thing anyone reviewing your compliance will look for.
- Guessing the height. The 11 metre line is measured to the top storey, not estimated from the street.
Related reading
- Residential PEEPs: what the new evacuation regulations actually require
- Is my building a higher-risk building?
- How to tell whether your fire risk assessment is any good