Fire risk assessments for landlords and managing agents in Greater Manchester.

A fire risk assessment in Manchester is a legal duty for the responsible person of any HMO, block of flats or commercial premises. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — strengthened by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 — you must carry out and keep up to date a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, record it in writing, and act on what it finds.

An FRA is a structured review of a building to identify fire hazards, the people at risk, and the measures needed to keep them safe — followed by a written report and a prioritised action plan. It is the foundation of fire safety compliance: nearly every other duty (alarms, emergency lighting, fire doors, evacuation strategy) flows from what the FRA finds. A Fire Sure assessment covers:

• The building and its construction — layout, compartmentation and how fire and smoke could spread.
• Means of escape — escape routes, exits, travel distances and signage.
• Fire detection and warning — the alarm system against BS 5839.
• Emergency lighting — coverage of escape routes against BS 5266.
• Fire doors and compartmentation — condition and effectiveness of communal and flat entrance doors.
• Firefighting equipment — extinguishers and their siting.
• Management and recordkeeping — testing regimes, logbooks, evacuation strategy and resident information.

The report sets out the significant findings, rates the risk, and gives you an action plan with clear priorities and timescales.

The duty falls on the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 — usually the landlord, freeholder, managing agent or, for commercial premises, the employer or occupier. As a rule:

• HMOs — multi-occupied, so they require an FRA — including a three-storey shared house. HMO licensing conditions reinforce it.
• Blocks of flats — the common parts (stairs, corridors, plant rooms) require an FRA carried out by the responsible person.
• Commercial premises — offices, shops, industrial and mixed-use buildings all require one.
• Single self-contained dwellings — a home let to one household is generally outside the Fire Safety Order — but the moment it is shared or sits within a building with common parts, an FRA is required.

There is no fixed legal interval, but the FRA must be reviewed regularly and kept up to date. In practice an annual review with a full reassessment every one to two years is the accepted standard — and you must reassess sooner if anything changes: a refurbishment, a change of use, new tenants, an alteration to the layout, or a fire-related incident.

In force since January 2023, the 2022 Regulations placed new duties on the responsible persons of multi-occupied residential buildings, scaled by building height:

Since the Fire Safety Act 2021, the assessment must also consider the building’s structure, external walls and flat entrance doors.

We work methodically and around occupants and tenants. A typical assessment runs like this:

1. 1Review — we look at the building’s history, any previous FRA, alarm and emergency lighting records and your management arrangements.
2. 2Survey — a full walk-through — escape routes, detection, emergency lighting, fire doors, compartmentation, signage and firefighting equipment.
3. 3Risk evaluation — we identify the hazards, who is at risk and how serious each issue is.
4. 4The report and action plan — every significant finding documented and photographed, with a plain-English explanation, a risk rating and a prioritised action plan with timescales.
5. 5Walk-through — we talk you through the findings so you know exactly what is required and in what order.

The time on site depends on the building — a single HMO is quicker than a large block of flats. Tenants do not need to be present, but we need access to communal areas and, where relevant, to flats and rooms.

You receive the written report and action plan first — that is the deliverable, and it is yours to act on however you choose. We never leave you with a list of problems and no route to fixing them.

Every action is documented and photographed with a plain-English explanation, so you can see exactly what was found and why it matters. Where the action plan calls for fire safety works — upgrading or servicing the alarm system, or installing or testing emergency lighting — we provide a clear quote, and nothing is carried out without your approval. As an electrical and fire-safety firm we can complete that work ourselves once you give the go-ahead, so one firm takes you from assessment through to a compliant building.

We are a family-run, Greater Manchester based fire safety and electrical compliance firm. Fire risk assessment is core competence, not a sideline.

• NFRAR — National Fire Risk Assessors Register.
• IFSM — Institution of Fire Safety Managers membership.
• FPA — Fire Protection Association membership.
• NICEIC registered — for the electrical and fire safety works that follow.
• Public liability insurance.
• Over 20 years in the rental market — working with Greater Manchester landlords, letting agents, HMO operators and managing agents.
• One firm from assessment to compliant building — we assess, report and carry out the works the FRA identifies — once you approve them.