Who is responsible for fire safety in a leasehold block?

The Responsible Person under the Fire Safety Order. Usually the freeholder, or the RTM company if Right to Manage is in place. The managing agent acts on their behalf but does not carry the legal liability.

How often should a Fire Risk Assessment be reviewed?

Annually as a working standard, and immediately after any significant change to the building, occupancy or use. For higher-risk buildings the FRA forms part of the safety case and is reviewed continuously.

Do flat entrance doors need to be inspected?

In blocks over 11 metres, flat entrance doors must be inspected at least every 12 months, and common parts fire doors at least every 3 months. Records must be kept.

What is the Building Safety Regulator?

A regulator established under the Building Safety Act 2022, sitting within the Health and Safety Executive. It regulates higher-risk buildings (over 18m or 7 storeys with 2+ residential units).

Fire Safety Responsibilities in East London Apartment Blocks

Key takeaway

In East London blocks the responsible person for fire safety is whoever controls the common parts, usually the freeholder, RMC or RTM company. The core duties are a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, acting on its findings, maintaining fire doors, alarms, escape routes and emergency lighting, and keeping records that prove it. Many older conversions across Newham, Redbridge and Havering have compartmentation and fire door issues that only surface on a proper assessment. Appointing a managing agent delegates the work but never the legal responsibility, so directors should see the evidence.

Fire safety responsibility in residential blocks looks straightforward on paper and is much messier in practice. In East London - with its mix of converted Victorian houses, 1960s council-built blocks, 2000s conversions and modern high-rise towers - the rules apply differently depending on the building.

This guide explains who is legally responsible, what has to be on file, and the practical things RTM directors and freeholders should be doing now.

1. Who is the Responsible Person?

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, every residential block must have a Responsible Person. In a freeholder-managed block that is usually the freeholder. In an RTM block it is the RTM company. The Responsible Person carries the legal duty; the managing agent acts on their behalf but does not transfer the liability.

2. What the Fire Safety Act 2021 added

The Act confirmed that the external walls (including cladding, balconies and attachments) and entrance doors to individual flats are within the scope of the Fire Risk Assessment. For East London blocks built or refurbished between 2005 and 2018, this is the part that has driven the most remediation work.

3. What the Building Safety Act 2022 added for higher-risk buildings

If your block is over 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more residential units, it is a higher-risk building. The Principal Accountable Person must register the building with the Building Safety Regulator, maintain a safety case report and keep a golden thread of building information. This applies to many blocks in Stratford, Canary Wharf, the Royal Docks and parts of Ilford and Barking.

4. What every East London block should have on file

A current Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) carried out by a competent person
A tracked FRA action plan with dates, owners and evidence of completion
Records of fire door inspections (quarterly for flat entrance doors in blocks over 11m)
Records of communal fire alarm, emergency lighting and smoke vent testing
Up-to-date building plans showing means of escape and compartmentation
Resident fire safety instructions (stay put or simultaneous evacuation, as confirmed by the FRA)

5. Common East London compliance gaps we see

Older converted blocks

Converted Victorian houses in Romford, Walthamstow and Forest Gate often lack proper compartmentation between flats. The FRA usually flags it; the action then sits open for years because no-one wants to commission the works.

1960s-1980s purpose-built blocks

Older purpose-built blocks across Barking, East Ham and Ilford frequently have ageing emergency lighting, original riser doors that are not fire-rated, and incomplete records of past remediation.

Modern high-rise

Newer towers in Stratford and the Royal Docks often have the documentation, but the safety case report and golden thread requirements catch them out. Registration with the BSR is a hard deadline, not an aspiration.

If you are not sure where your block stands

We do free block reviews for buildings in Romford and East London. We will check what is in place, what is missing, and give you a one-page summary of the compliance position. No obligation to instruct us afterwards.

Speak to our team about your block

We manage residential blocks and estates across Romford and East London. If this article raised a question about your specific situation, send it across - we will give you a straightforward, plain-English answer.

Request a free block review Speak to our team

This article is general guidance. Fire safety obligations depend on the specific building. Always rely on a competent Fire Risk Assessor and, where appropriate, formal legal advice.

Related services & guides

Building Safety Act Registration Leasehold Management in East London Block Management in Hornchurch Block Management in Dagenham Full block management service Free Block Review

When to seek professional advice

Most questions on this topic are management questions rather than legal ones, and the two are worth separating. A managing agent can tell you how something works day to day and what it will cost. A solicitor tells you what your rights are and how a Tribunal is likely to view them.

Speak to a managing agent when

You need a fire risk assessment commissioned and its actions tracked to completion.
You want a compliance schedule showing what is due, when, and who is responsible.
You need contractor procurement and evidence packs kept in order for the building.

Request a free block review

Take specialist legal advice when

You have received an enforcement notice from the fire authority or the regulator.
There is a dispute over who the responsible person or accountable person is.
Remediation costs and who bears them under the lease are contested.

East Valley Properties provides management expertise, not legal advice. Where a matter turns on the wording of your lease or on formal proceedings, we will say so and work alongside your solicitor.

Primary sources

The official material behind this guide. We summarise it in plain English rather than reproducing it.