Fire Safety Legislation Changes Impacting All Businesses Set To Come Into Force On 1st October

From October 1st, no matter how many people you employ or the size and type of your business, you must have a full, written record of your fire risk assessment. 

Many premises will be affected by the changes including small shops, take-aways, holiday lets and small blocks of flats.

Businesses and other properties covered must be fully compliant with fire safety legislation – in the new section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 which come into force this Sunday, 1st October 2023.

The Building Safety Bill received Royal Assent in April 2022 and became the Building Safety Act 2022.

The requirements apply to all non-domestic premises, such as where people work, visit or stay, including workplaces, and the non-domestic parts of multi-occupied residential buildings such as communal corridors, stairways, plant rooms. The requirements do not apply within individual domestic premises.

Local fire and rescue authorities are the primary enforcing body for the Fire Safety Order, including the new additional requirements and those who fail to comply could risk stiff penalties if enforcement action is taken against them.

Section 156 of the Building Safety Act has increased the level of fine for offences including failure to comply such as by not providing a copy of the fire risk assessment when requested, and failure by those on whom duties are imposed by the Fire Safety Order to comply with requirements could face potentially unlimited fines from the 1st October 2023.

The main changes businesses need to have in place from Sunday are that all businesses will need to record a fire risk assessment and fire safety arrangements in full, regardless of the number of employees, and size or type of business.

The new legislation also places an increased requirements for cooperation and coordination between Responsible Persons in multi occupied buildings or those where the occupier and owner are not the same person.

In residential buildings with two or more domestic premises residents must be provided with information on the risks from fire and the fire safety measures provided to keep them safe.

A 5 step fire risk assessment checklist for business and those required to comply with the new fire safety legislation is available via: https://goto.penrith.town/fire-safety-risk-assessment-5-step-checklist