If you live in a block of flats or rent out rooms in a converted house, you have probably noticed that fire safety gets talked about far more than it used to. Letters arrive about fire doors. Notices appear in the hallway. Surveyors turn up with ladders and torches and spend an hour in the loft. For many residents and small landlords, it can be hard to tell what is a legal duty, what is good practice and what it all means for them.
This guide explains the main ideas in plain English. It covers why the rules have tightened, how fire is meant to be kept in one place inside a building, what a compartmentation survey is, and what residents and landlords can do to help. It is general information rather than legal advice, so always check your own situation with a qualified professional or your local fire service.
Why the rules changed
The Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017 led to a long look at how buildings are designed, built and managed in England. Since then, new laws have been brought in, including the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022, along with new fire safety regulations for blocks of flats.
The details are complicated, but the main message is simple. The people responsible for a building now have clearer duties to understand the fire risks, keep records, share safety information with residents and fix problems. Taller buildings face the strictest rules, but the general duties apply to many smaller blocks and converted houses too.
In most cases, the person in charge of fire safety in the shared parts of a building is called the responsible person. That might be a freeholder, a managing agent, a residents management company or a landlord. If you own a converted house split into flats and you control the hallway and stairs, it may well be you.
How fire is meant to stay in one place
Most blocks of flats are designed around an idea called compartmentation. Each flat is treated as a sealed box. The walls, floors and ceilings between flats, and between flats and the shared hallway, are built to hold back fire and smoke for a set period of time.
This is what makes the familiar stay put advice possible in many purpose built blocks. If a fire starts in one flat, the walls and doors around it should keep it there long enough for the fire service to arrive and deal with it, while people in other flats stay safe. Your building’s own fire strategy will say what residents should do, and that advice can differ between buildings, so it is worth knowing what yours says.
Compartmentation only works if the boxes stay sealed. That is where problems often creep in. Over the years, buildings get altered. A plumber drills a hole for a new pipe. An electrician runs cables through a ceiling. Someone fits a new extractor fan or a satellite cable. If these gaps are not properly sealed with fire rated materials, smoke and flames can travel through them far faster than the building was designed to allow.
Converted buildings can be even trickier. An old Victorian or Edwardian house turned into flats was never built with compartments in mind. Floors might be simple timber boards, and the space under the roof might run across the whole building. Good conversions add fire protection, but older or poorly done work may not meet the standards expected today.
What a compartmentation survey is
A fire compartmentation survey is a detailed inspection of the parts of a building that are meant to stop fire and smoke spreading. It goes further than a standard fire risk assessment, which looks at the building more broadly. A survey looks behind ceilings, into risers and service cupboards, and up into roof spaces to check whether the fire separation is still intact.
The surveyor will usually look for gaps around pipes and cables, missing fire stopping, damaged fire boards, holes in walls above ceiling level, and problems with cavity barriers. They will also note where earlier repairs have used the wrong materials, such as ordinary expanding foam where a fire rated product was needed.
The result is usually a report with photographs, a plan showing where each problem is, and a list of recommended repairs ranked by how serious they are. That gives the responsible person a clear picture of what needs fixing and in what order.
A survey is often recommended after a fire risk assessment flags concerns, after building work, when a building changes hands, or when there are no reliable records showing the fire protection was installed properly in the first place.
What residents can do
Residents play a bigger part in fire safety than many people realise. Simple habits make a real difference.
Keep your flat front door in good order. In most blocks it is a fire door, which means it should close by itself and shut fully into the frame. Do not remove the self closing device, wedge it open or swap it for an ordinary door. If it does not close properly, tell whoever manages the building.
Keep the shared hallways and stairs clear. Bikes, prams, rubbish bags and furniture can block an escape route and can also catch fire.
Ask before drilling. If you are having work done that goes through a wall, floor or ceiling, check with your landlord or managing agent first and make sure any gaps are sealed properly afterwards.
Read the fire safety information you are given, and make sure you know what the plan is for your building if the alarm goes off.
What small landlords should think about
If you own a converted house or a small block, the first step is to understand your duties. Make sure there is a current fire risk assessment, carried out by someone competent, and that you act on what it says.
Keep records of everything. That includes the fire risk assessment, any survey reports, the work done to fix problems, and the checks you carry out on fire doors and alarms. Good records help show you are meeting your duties and make life easier if you sell the building or change managing agent.
Choose contractors carefully. Fire stopping is specialist work, and using the right materials in the right way matters as much as doing the job at all. Ask what products will be used and whether the work will be recorded with photographs.
Finally, talk to your tenants. Explain why surveyors are visiting, why doors must not be propped open and what to do in an emergency. People are much more likely to follow the rules when they understand the reason for them.
Conclusion
Fire safety in flats and converted buildings has moved up the agenda for good reason. The idea behind it is simple. Keep a fire in the place where it starts, and give everyone else time to stay safe. That only works if the hidden walls, floors and seals are in good shape, which is exactly what a proper survey checks. Whether you are a resident or a landlord, a little understanding and a few good habits go a long way towards keeping your building and your neighbours safe.