Regulatory Reform Order 2005

The Home Office has released a guide titled "A Guide to Making Your Small Block of Flats Safe from Fire" in consultation with experts from the fire, business, and housing sectors. The purpose of this guide is to provide advice and suggestions to aid in complying with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended). It is important to note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with the legislation and seek legal advice if needed.

Download the Guide

A Guide to Making Your Small Block of Flats Safe from Fire offers easy-to-follow and practical advice for individuals who are responsible for fire safety in small blocks of flats to comply with fire safety regulations and keep their premises safe from fire.

Such persons include:

social housing provider
private sector landlords
freeholders
resident management companies
right to manage companies
managing agent

This guide focuses on small, general needs blocks of flats that:

were constructed as a purpose-built block of flats; or
were converted into a block of flats in accordance with the 1991, or later, versions of the Building Regulations; and
were, in either case, designed on the basis of a ‘stay put’ strategy, whereby, in the event of a fire in one flat, occupants of other flats are normally safe to remain within their own flats.

The guide is applicable to three-story blocks with not more than six flats, comprising a ground, first, and second floor.

The Home Office has released a guide titled "A Guide to Small Non-Domestic Premises Safe from Fire" in consultation with experts from the fire, business, and housing sectors. The purpose of this guide is to provide advice and suggestions to aid in complying with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended). It is important to note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with the legislation and seek legal advice if needed.

Download the Guide

A Guide to Making Your Small Non-Domestic Premises Safe from Fire has been published to assist persons responsible for fire safety in small non-domestic premises to comply with fire safety legislation and make their premises safe from fire.

The Home Office has released a guide titled "A Guide to Making Your Small Paying-Guest-Accommodation Safe" in consultation with experts from the fire, business, and housing sectors. The purpose of this guide is to provide advice and suggestions to aid in complying with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended). It is important to note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with the legislation and seek legal advice if needed.

Download the Guide

A Guide to Making Your Small Paying-Guest-Accommodation Safe aims at providing practical advice for persons responsible for fire safety in small premises that have simple layouts, limited fire risks and a small number of bedrooms designated as guest sleeping accommodation for short-term lets, such as small bed and breakfast, guest houses and self-catering accommodation.

The guidance applies to:

single premises of ground floor, or ground and first floor, providing sleeping accommodation for a maximum of 10 persons, with no more than four bedrooms on the first floor, such as houses, cottages, and chalets.
individual flats (whether within a purpose-built block of flats or a house that has been converted into flats), other than unusually large flats (e.g. as often found in mansion blocks in London).

The principles and recommendations in the guide can also be applied to smaller outdoor accommodations such as: holiday caravans, camping and glamping pods, bothies, lodges, shepherds’ huts, tents, tree houses and yurts.

The RRO is probably one of the most significant changes in fire safety legislation this country has ever seen.

Under the RRO, the responsibility for fire safety in premises now rests with the “responsible person” to ensure that there are adequate fire safety precautions in place.

Anyone who has control of the premises or anyone who has a degree of control over certain areas or systems may be a “responsible person“. For example, it could be:

An employer
A managing agent or owner of shared premises
The occupier such as self-employed persons or voluntary organisations
Any other person that has some control over part of the premises

The Regulatory Reform Order is a risk assessment-based regime.

The RRO applies to a much broader spectrum of premises including any premises where 5 or more persons are employed.

Failure to comply is an offence.

Any premises falling within the jurisdiction of the RRO could be liable to inspection at any time.

The fire safety officer from the inspecting Fire Authority will want to establish that the RRO is being complied with and in this respect will ask to see the following.

Your fire risk assessment
A copy of the emergency action plan for the premises
Evidence of staff training and fire drills
The most recent service certificate for the fire alarm system
The most recent service certificate for the emergency lighting system
The most recent service certificate for the fire fighting equipment
Records of alarm tests in the site Log Book
Records of emergency lighting tests in the site Log Book
Any other evidence which may support your compliance with the above-named Order

Fixfire® offers a single source of compliance. From an initial fire risk assessment right through to the implementation of improved fire precautions measures, Fixfire® will help you every step of the way.

The Government has categorised premises into 11 different types and produced a guide for each category to assist ‘responsible persons’ in understanding and fulfilling their responsibilities.

The premises types are detailed below.

Premises Guides. Which one applies to you?

Regulatory Reform Order 2005

Replacing the Fire Precautions Act 1971, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) was enacted in October 2006