West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service

1 Overview

The Fire Safety Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021 and commenced on 16 May 2022. The Act amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order).

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service welcomes the commencement of the Fire Safety Act 2021 in England and Wales, and the regulations in England, as important steps forward in strengthening the Fire Safety Order and improving fire safety.

The Act clarifies that responsible persons for multi-occupied residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fire for the structure and external walls of the building, including cladding, balconies and windows, and entrance doors to individual flats that open into common parts.

Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (GOV.UK) have been introduced as an important step towards implementing the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report. The Regulations that apply to England only are being introduced under Article 24 of the Fire Safety Order and will come into force on 23 January 2023.

2 How the regulations apply

These regulations apply to all buildings in England that comprise two or more domestic premises (including the residential parts of mixed-use buildings). These buildings are principally blocks of flats, whether purpose-built or converted from another type of building, such as a house or office building but also include blocks used for student accommodation.

The regulations apply regardless of whether the flats are subject to a long lease (99 years or more) or are rented, and regardless of whether the flats are used to accommodate the general public or a particular group of people, such as sheltered housing for older people.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations impose duties on you if you are the Responsible Person for any building which contains the following:

• two or more sets of domestic premises
• common parts through which residents would need to evacuate in the case of an emergency.

The regulations apply to:

• parts of the building that are used in common by the residents of two or more domestic premises, for example communal corridors and stairways
• flat entrance doors
• the walls and floors that separate any domestic premises from other domestic premises, such as plant rooms or from parts of the building that are used in common by the occupants of two or more domestic premises
• plant rooms and other non-domestic areas of the building, such as tenant halls, offices, laundries, gymnasia and commercial premises
• external walls of the building, including doors or windows within an external wall, and attachments to an external wall, for example balconies.

The regulations do not apply within individual flats, other than in respect of measures installed within flats for the safety of other residents of the building, such as sprinklers or smoke detectors connected to a communal fire alarm system.

Enforcement of the regulations is the responsibility of the same enforcing authority as enforces the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In the case of a block of flats, this is virtually always the local fire and rescue authority.

• Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 - Frequently asked questions

3 Share and report

High-rise residential buildings only

From January 2023, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 will make it a requirement in law for responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings to provide information to fire and rescue services to assist them in planning for and responding to a fire in their building.

A high-rise residential building is defined as a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises that is at least 18 metres tall or has at least seven storeys.

From 23 January 2023 responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings should use the following links to share and report the required information.

Floor and building plans

• Submit plans via email in PDF format making sure that the name and address of the building that the plans relate to is clearly identified.
• Store hard copies in the secure information box on site.
• Plans must show the location of specific fire safety equipment and building features as defined in Regulation 6.

Send your floor and building plans to firesafety@westsussex.gov.uk.

External wall report

• To be completed by the 'responsible person' for the building.
• Regulation 5 details that the responsible person must prepare a record of the materials used in the construction of the external wall of the building as well as the level of risk of fire-spread they may pose, and any steps taken to reduce these risks.
• You can view the Template: external wall information for Fire and Rescue Service document so you can prepare the information to be shared. Please select the button below to complete and submit an online version of the template to WSFRS.

Report faults and repairs of essential firefighting equipment

• Regulation 7 states that responsible persons must undertake monthly routine checks of specific fire safety equipment.
• If faults are identified, the responsible person must take steps to rectify them.
• If the fault cannot be rectified within 24 hours it must be reported to the Fire and Rescue Service. A fault reference number will be issued to you. This reference number should be used to update the Fire and Rescue Service once the fault has been rectified.
• Fault forms should only be completed by the responsible person or those in an authorised capacity on behalf of the responsible person.

If you are a resident and/or leaseholder who has identified concerns with your building, in the first instance you should contact the responsible person for your building.

If you want to report a fire safety complaint, please contact us.

4 Further information

The Home Office has published the official guidance document 'Check your fire safety responsibilities under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022' and accompanying guidance 'Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: fire door guidance' to assist responsible persons to comply with the regulations.

The following suite of Fact Sheets are also available:

• Overview Fact Sheet
• Secure Information Box Fact Sheet
• Design and Materials of External Walls Fact Sheet
• Floor Plans and Building Plan Fact Sheet
• Lifts and Essential Fire-fighting Equipment Fact Sheet
• Wayfinding Signage Face Sheet
• Information to Residents Fact Sheet
• Fire Doors Fact Sheet

Visit the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) for further information to help you prepare for the regulations.

Visit legislation.gov for information on the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.