Residential Block Management

Routine fire door inspections – what we can do for you.

Since January 2023, it is a legal requirement to carry out routine inspections of fire doors in multi-occupied residentials over 11 metres in height. We at Cardan Fire can complete this task for you and remove the burden of an additional task to meet new legislation.

Surveys are carried out by trained and competent staff, with a full report for each door being produced after every visit. Evidence will be provided to illustrate that “best endeavours” have been taken to assess all accessible doors in order to meet the legal requirements.

Why this is beneficial to you.

Property and estate managers already have to deal with an ever demanding workload to meet many pieces of legislation in the UK and to ensure that the management of a property runs smoothly. This in turn ensures that you can dedicate valuable time to those that need it most – your customers – and the additional burden of fire door inspections can be handled by a professional and competent fire safety consultancy.

Why do you have to carry out these inspections?

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made it a legal requirement since 23 January 2023 for responsible persons of all multi-occupied residential buildings in England with storeys over 11 metres in height to:

• Undertake quarterly checks of all fire doors (including self-closing devices) in the common parts; and,
• Undertake – on a best endeavour basis – annual checks of all flat entrance doors (including self-closing devices) that lead onto a building’s common parts.
• The regulations also require responsible persons to provide to residents of all multi- occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises (that have common parts) information on the importance of fire doors to a building’s fire safety.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 has clarified that in any residential building which contains two or more sets of domestic premises are within the scope of the Fire Safety Order. Article 17 of the Fire Safety Order places an obligation on the "Responsible Person" to ensure fire doors are "subject to a suitable system of maintenance and are maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair". Given that the employer, building operator, building owner or possibly his agent has a legal duty to maintain fire doors in efficient working order, regular inspection will be necessary.

What does “best endeavours” mean?
It is for responsible persons to determine the best approach to engage with residents in order to get access to undertake the annual checks of flat entrance doors. This could include the responsible person agreeing with residents a date, so access can be granted. If access cannot be achieved, the responsible person should gather evidence of the steps they have taken to discharge this duty. This could include correspondence between the responsible person and resident seeking permission to gain access.