More Duties Added For The Responsible Person Under The Fire Safety Order

The government has issued new guidance regarding the enhanced responsibilities of responsible persons under amendments made to the Fire Safety Order by the Building Safety Act 2022. These amendments apply to all non-domestic premises, including places of work or visitation, as well as the non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings like communal areas.

The key changes include:

1. Responsible persons must record their complete fire risk assessment, including the identity of the assessor and their organisation.
2. They must outline their fire safety arrangements to demonstrate how fire safety is managed.
3. They must maintain contact information and share it with other responsible persons and multi-occupied residential premises residents.
4. Responsible persons should identify and communicate with other responsible persons sharing duties in the same premises.
5. Outgoing responsible persons must share relevant fire safety information with incoming responsible persons.
6. Responsible persons of multi-occupied buildings must provide residents with easily understood fire safety information.
7. A requirement for fire risk assessors to be competent (to be enforced later), with interim guidance suggesting they should have adequate training and experience.

It remains the responsibility of the responsible person to ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is conducted. Additionally, they must record the assessment in full, including the name of the assessor and collaborate with other responsible persons in the building to ensure a holistic approach to fire safety. Responsible persons for higher-risk residential buildings must also identify accountable persons and cooperate with them.

For buildings with multiple domestic premises, responsible persons must share specific information with residents, including identified risks, fire safety measures, contact details, and relevant personnel.

The Building Safety Act increases fines for certain offenses, aligning them with other Fire Safety Order violations, and reinforces the importance of complying with Article 50 guidance in court proceedings to establish whether a breach of the Fire Safety Order has occurred.

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