The law does not give a specific time for how often to carry out a fire risk assessment (FRA). It simply says that the person responsible for the risk assessment in your building must review it ‘regularly’ to make sure it is up to date.
The responsible person must review the FRA if:
- there is reason to think it is no longer valid (for example, there has been a fire in the shared parts of the building)
- there have been significant changes since the assessment was done (for example, major building works or more people using the building)
The assessment itself might also include a recommendation on how often it should be reviewed or updated.
Reviewing an existing FRA can take less time and be done more frequently than carrying out a new one.
Guidance on timings
Guidance on fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats recommends that for low-rise buildings of up to 3 storeys above ground, built in the last 20 years, FRAs should be:
- reviewed every 2 years
- redone every 4 years
For blocks with higher risks – for example, because of the age of the building or those more than 3 storeys high – the guidance recommends that FRAs should be:
- reviewed every year
- redone every 3 years
In extreme cases – for the highest-risk buildings – the guidance recommends doing a new FRA once a year.
More information you might find useful
- Who is responsible for carrying out a fire risk assessment?
- Who can carry out a fire risk assessment?
- How do I get a copy of my building’s fire risk assessment?
- What is a fire risk assessment?
- Who enforces fire safety law?
- What are the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022?
- Fire safety risk assessment guidance: National Fire Chiefs Council
- More Frequently Asked Questions on fire safety
Still not found the answer?
Contact LEASE to have your enquiry dealt with by one of our experienced advisers.
