Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: What Small Blocks Must Do

Of all the fire safety law that has arrived since Grenfell, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 are the set most likely to apply to your block, whatever its size. Most of what is written about them is aimed at 18-metre towers. This article is the opposite: what these regulations actually require of an ordinary small block, what kicks in as the building gets taller, and what you can safely set aside.

They came into force on 23 January 2023 and they are not optional. They sit underneath the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and place specific, named operational duties on the "Responsible Person" - which, in a self-managed block, is usually the RMC or RTM directors acting as a board. Unlike a Fire Risk Assessment, which asks you to assess and decide, these regulations tell you to do particular things on a particular schedule.

The trick to reading them is height. The duties are tiered into three bands, and most small blocks sit firmly in the first one.

Find your height band first

Almost every question about these regulations is really a question about how tall your building is. There are three bands, and each one adds to the one below it.

Your building

What applies

Any block with 2+ flats

Regulation 9 (fire safety instructions to residents) and the resident-information part of Regulation 10 (fire doors). Every block of flats is in this band.

Above 11 metres tall

Adds the fire-door checking duties in Regulation 10: communal doors every 3 months, flat entrance doors at least every 12 months.

18m+ or 7+ storeys (high-rise)

Adds Regulations 4 to 8: secure information box, external wall information, floor plans, monthly checks of lifts and firefighting equipment, and wayfinding signage.

"High-rise residential building" is defined in Regulation 3 as one that is at least 18 metres tall, or has at least 7 storeys, and contains two or more sets of domestic premises. The 18 metres is measured from ground level to the floor surface of the top occupied storey.

If your block is a typical two, three or four-storey conversion or low-rise, you are almost certainly in band one. The duties are real, but light: tell your residents the right things, and keep the evidence that you did.

What every block must do

1. Give residents fire safety instructions (Regulation 9)

On move-in, then at least every 12 months

Regulation 9 applies to every multi-occupied residential building with two or more sets of domestic premises. You must give residents clear instructions on what to do if there is a fire: how to report it, who to call, and the building's evacuation strategy (for most small blocks that is either "stay put" or "simultaneous evacuation", as set by your Fire Risk Assessment). The instructions must reach each new resident as soon as reasonably practicable after they move in, and all residents at least once in every 12-month period.

Reference: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 9.

What good looks like A short written fire action notice displayed in the common parts and issued to every leaseholder and tenant, stating the evacuation strategy, how to raise the alarm, and the escape route. A dated record showing it was reissued to all residents within the last 12 months, and given to anyone who has moved in since.

2. Tell residents how fire doors protect them (Regulation 10)

On move-in, then at least every 12 months

Alongside the inspection duties below, Regulation 10 requires the Responsible Person of any building with two or more sets of domestic premises to give residents information about fire doors: that they should be kept shut when not in use, that self-closing devices must not be disabled or tampered with, and that any fault or damage should be reported to you straight away. This is the cheapest, highest-leverage fire safety action a small block can take, because the most common real-world failure is a propped-open or broken communal fire door.

Reference: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10.

What good looks like The three fire-door messages included in the same resident communication as your fire safety instructions, with a simple, named route for residents to report a damaged or non-closing door.

What changes above 11 metres

3. Check the fire doors (Regulation 10)

Communal doors every 3 months; flat entrance doors at least every 12 months

Once a building is above 11 metres in height, Regulation 10 adds an active checking duty. You must check any fire doors in the communal areas at least every three months, and use best endeavours to check the fire doors at the entrance to individual flats at least every 12 months. "Best endeavours" on flat entrance doors recognises that you cannot force entry; it means making a genuine, recorded attempt to gain access. These are routine visual condition checks, not a replacement for the competent fire door inspection your Fire Risk Assessment may separately call for.

Reference: regulation 10; gov.uk fire door guidance.

What good looks like A logged quarterly check of every communal fire door (gaps, seals, self-closer, glazing, condition), plus a dated record of annual attempts to check each flat entrance door, including the letters or notices sent where access could not be obtained.

What changes at 18 metres - and why it probably does not apply to you

If your block is not a high-rise residential building under Regulation 3 (18 metres or 7 storeys), you can stop here: the remaining regulations do not bite. If it is, you have crossed into the higher-risk regime and the following apply on top of everything above:

Regulation 4 - install and maintain a secure information box on site for the fire and rescue service.
Regulation 5 - give the fire service information about the design and materials of the building's external walls.
Regulation 6 - provide up-to-date floor plans and a single-page building plan to the fire service, and keep a copy in the information box.
Regulation 7 - carry out monthly checks of lifts intended for use by firefighters and other essential firefighting equipment, and report a fault you cannot fix within 24 hours to the fire service.
Regulation 8 - install wayfinding signage, visible in low light, marking floor and flat numbers.

Most blocks that reach 18 metres or seven storeys also fall within the Building Safety Act 2022 higher-risk regime, with a separate and much larger set of duties owed to the Building Safety Regulator. That is a different article. If you are not certain which side of the threshold your block sits on, measure it before you assume.

These regulations are not your Fire Risk Assessment

This is the most common confusion we see. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 sit on top of, and do not replace, your duty to have a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The FRA is where you assess your particular building and decide what is needed. These regulations are a fixed list of things you must do regardless of what the assessment says. You need both, and they need to agree with each other. If your FRA and your regulation 9 and 10 records all point at the same evacuation strategy and the same doors, you have a coherent file. If they contradict each other, that is the first thing a fire officer will notice.

One reassurance for small blocks while we are here: a proportionate FRA for a low-rise block is often shorter and cheaper than directors fear. Current government guidance does not, for example, require fire extinguishers in the communal escape routes of most small blocks, despite older advice that suggested it. If an assessor is specifying costly kit for a two or three-storey block, it is worth asking which current standard they are relying on.

The record a fire officer would actually ask for

Enforcement of these regulations sits with your local fire and rescue authority. If they visit, what they want to see is not a binder of policies but evidence of action. For a small block, that means:

A dated copy of the fire safety instructions you gave residents, and proof they went out in the last 12 months and to anyone who has moved in.
The fire-door information you provided to residents.
If you are above 11 metres: your quarterly communal fire-door check log, and your record of annual attempts to check each flat entrance door.
Your current Fire Risk Assessment, and evidence that its actions are being closed out.

"If it is not written down, it did not happen" is the working assumption of every fire officer and every buyer's solicitor. On a small block these duties are not hard to meet. They are easy to forget, because nothing prompts you until something goes wrong.

Take the next step

Not sure your fire safety records would stand up?

The free Modbury Remote Compliance Score covers fire safety alongside the other core obligations for your block. A 15-question quiz, a personal score, a list of gaps with statute references, and an estimated cost to close them. No payment, no sales call.

Start the free quiz → Or skip to the full audit

If you want a properly bespoke review, the Block Compliance Check goes deeper, with a video walkthrough or site visit by TPI and RICS qualified members of the team, a full compliance register for your block, and a templates pack covering fire safety records, Section 20 notices, AGM agendas and the rest. From £149. And if you would rather just hand the whole administrative layer over, that is what the core Modbury Remote service is for.

This article is general guidance for directors of self-managed blocks, not legal or fire safety advice, and it summarises the position in England only. The duties on your specific building depend on its height, layout and Fire Risk Assessment. If in doubt, take advice from a competent fire risk assessor or your local fire and rescue service, and read the regulations in full at legislation.gov.uk.