Fire Risk Assessments: What Happens When You Don't Have One

Fire Risk Assessments: What Happens When You Don't Have One

A fire risk assessment is not a box-ticking exercise. It is a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and failing to have one exposes you to unlimited fines, criminal prosecution, and up to two years in prison. Yet thousands of buildings across the UK remain without a compliant assessment, leaving responsible persons unknowingly on the wrong side of the law.

This post explains exactly what happens when you do not have a fire risk assessment, who is legally accountable, and how to avoid becoming the next enforcement statistic.

What the Law Actually Says

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (commonly referred to as the FSO or RRO) applies to virtually all non-domestic premises in England and Wales. This includes offices, shops, factories, warehouses, pubs, restaurants, churches, community halls, and the common areas of residential buildings such as blocks of flats and HMOs.

Under Article 9 of the Order, the responsible person must carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment of the premises. This is not optional. There is no exemption for small buildings, low-risk premises, or buildings with few occupants. If the premises fall within scope, a fire risk assessment is a fire risk assessment legal requirement.

Scotland has equivalent duties under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, and Northern Ireland under the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

Who Is the Responsible Person?

The concept of the responsible person catches more people than most realise. Under the FSO, the responsible person is:

• The employer, if the workplace is to any extent under their control.

• The person who has control of the premises in connection with carrying on a trade, business, or other undertaking (whether for profit or not).

• The owner, where the person in control of the premises does not have control in connection with a trade or business.

In practice, this means landlords, building managers, facilities managers, managing agents, and sometimes multiple parties simultaneously can be the responsible person. Crucially, you cannot delegate away the legal duty, even if you appoint a managing agent, ultimate responsibility remains with you.

Joint Responsible Persons

Where more than one person shares duties (for example, a freeholder and a managing agent), both can be prosecuted. The courts have consistently held that responsibility does not transfer simply because someone else has been appointed to manage the building.

The Consequences of Non-Compliance

Unlimited Fines

Since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 removed the cap on magistrates' court fines, there is no upper limit on the fine that can be imposed for fire safety offences. In the Crown Court, fines have reached six figures for serious breaches.

In 2023, the Fire Industry Association reported that fire safety prosecutions resulted in fines totalling over 2.2 million pounds across England and Wales. Individual cases have seen fines exceeding 100,000 pounds for a single premises.

Criminal Prosecution and Imprisonment

Fire safety offences under the FSO are criminal offences. The responsible person can be prosecuted personally, not just the company. Upon conviction on indictment, the maximum sentence is two years' imprisonment for offences under Articles 8 to 22 and Article 38 of the Order.

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, enforcement has intensified significantly. The Home Office reported a 30 per cent increase in enforcement notices issued between 2019 and 2023.

Prohibition and Restriction Notices

Before prosecution, fire and rescue authorities can issue:

• Enforcement notices, requiring you to remedy failures within a specified period.

• Prohibition notices, preventing the use of all or part of the premises until the risk is addressed. This can shut down a business overnight.

• Alteration notices, requiring you to notify the authority before making changes to the premises.

A prohibition notice on a commercial property can be financially devastating, lost revenue, broken leases, reputational damage, all of which could have been avoided with a compliant fire risk assessment.

Personal Liability

Directors and officers of companies can be personally liable under Section 32 of the FSO if the offence was committed with their consent, connivance, or through their neglect. This pierces the corporate veil, you cannot hide behind a limited company.

Real Enforcement: What Actually Happens

The following examples illustrate how enforcement plays out in practice:

• London, 2023: A landlord of a block of flats was fined 85,000 pounds and given a suspended prison sentence after failing to maintain fire doors, provide a fire risk assessment, or ensure adequate means of escape.

• Manchester, 2022: A hotel owner was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment (suspended) after repeated failures to comply with enforcement notices, including the absence of a suitable fire risk assessment.

• Birmingham, 2023: A care home operator was fined 150,000 pounds after an inspection revealed no fire risk assessment had been carried out in over four years, fire doors were propped open, and escape routes were obstructed.

These are not isolated cases. The National Fire Chiefs Council publishes prosecution outcomes regularly, and the trend is clear: enforcement is increasing, sentences are becoming more severe, and courts have little sympathy for those who ignore their duties.

What Does a Compliant Fire Risk Assessment Look Like?

A compliant fire risk assessment must be "suitable and sufficient." While the FSO does not prescribe a rigid format, PAS 79-1:2020 (published by BSI) provides the recognised standard for fire risk assessments of non-residential and multi-occupied residential premises.

A compliant assessment should include:

• Identification of fire hazards, sources of ignition, fuel, and oxygen.

• Identification of people at risk, including employees, visitors, disabled persons, and those in adjacent premises.

• Evaluation of the risk, considering existing fire safety measures and their adequacy.

• Record of findings, the assessment must be recorded if you employ five or more people, although best practice is to record it regardless.

• Action plan, with prioritised recommendations and timescales for remediation.

• Review arrangements, the assessment must be kept under regular review.

Who Can Carry Out a Fire Risk Assessment?

The FSO requires the assessment to be carried out by a "competent person." There is no legally mandated qualification, but the expectation is that the assessor has sufficient training, experience, knowledge, and other qualities to carry out the assessment properly.

In practice, third-party certification schemes such as those accredited by UKAS (for example, BAFE SP205) provide assurance that the assessor meets recognised competence standards. Using a certified assessor also strengthens your legal defence if the assessment is later challenged.

How Often Must a Fire Risk Assessment Be Updated?

There is no fixed interval prescribed by the FSO. However, the assessment must be reviewed:

• Regularly, best practice guidance suggests annually for most premises, and more frequently for higher-risk premises.

• When there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid, for example, after a fire, a near-miss, or a change in legislation.

• When there has been a significant change, such as a change of use, structural alterations, changes to occupancy, or the introduction of new hazards.

Failing to review an assessment is itself an offence. An outdated assessment can be treated as equivalent to having no assessment at all.

What Triggers Enforcement Action?

Fire and rescue authorities can inspect any premises within scope of the FSO at any time, without prior notice. Common triggers for inspection include:

• Complaints, from tenants, employees, neighbours, or members of the public.

• Post-incident inspections, following a fire or fire-related incident.

• Programmed inspections, targeting specific building types or sectors (sleeping accommodation premises are a current priority).

• Information from other agencies, councils, the HSE, or the police may share intelligence.

• Licensing applications, HMO licence applications, premises licence renewals, and planning applications can all trigger a fire safety review.

How to Protect Yourself

The steps are straightforward:

1. Commission a fire risk assessment from a competent, certified assessor.

2. Implement the recommendations within the timescales specified.

3. Review the assessment regularly and after any significant change.

4. Keep records of all fire safety measures, maintenance, and training.

5. Act on enforcement notices immediately, delays lead to prosecution.

The cost of a professional fire risk assessment is a fraction of the cost of a fine, a prohibition notice, or a prison sentence. More importantly, it protects the people who use your building.

Take Action Now

The law is clear: if you are the responsible person, a fire risk assessment is not negotiable. The consequences of non-compliance, unlimited fines, criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and personal liability, are severe and increasingly enforced.

Don't wait for an enforcement notice. Post your fire risk assessment job on Infirisk today and get proposals from qualified assessors in your area.