LEGISLATION & STANDARDS
The Fire Safety Act 2021
A plain-English guide to the Fire Safety Act 2021 by Daniel Storr, Founder & Managing Director · Last reviewed 11 September 2026
The Fire Safety Act 2021 came into force on 16 May 2022. It amended the Fire Safety Order to put one point beyond doubt. In buildings with two or more flats, the responsible person’s fire risk assessment must cover the structure, the external walls (including cladding and balconies) and the flat entrance doors.
What the Fire Safety Act 2021 changed
The Act did not create a new fire safety regime. Instead, it clarified the reach of the existing Fire Safety Order 2005. After Grenfell, there was real uncertainty about whether a building’s structure, its external walls and its flat entrance doors fell within a fire risk assessment. The Act settled that question. In multi-occupied residential buildings, whatever their height, they do. The Act is short, and you can read it in full on legislation.gov.uk.
Flat entrance doors, specifically
For our work, the flat entrance door is the headline. The Act confirmed that the doors between individual flats and the common parts are firmly within scope. That is why their condition, and a proper record of it, matters so much. If you are weighing up what to do with an older door, our guides on certified, notional or nominal doors and repair or replace explain the options honestly. At The Orchard in Westbourne, for example, we inspected every flat entrance door, repaired what could be saved and replaced the rest.
How it fits with the rest
The Fire Safety Act 2021 works alongside two other changes. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add the practical, scheduled duties, including the fire door checks. Meanwhile, Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (from 1 October 2023) requires the fire risk assessment to be recorded in full. Together they clarified the scope, set the tasks and required the paperwork.
Fire Safety Act 2021: common questions
Does the Fire Safety Act 2021 apply to a house converted into flats?
Yes. The Act applies to any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises, whatever its height or age. A Victorian house split into three flats is covered in the same way as a purpose-built block.
Does it apply to the inside of my flat?
No. The Act covers the structure, the external walls and the flat entrance doors. Doors and walls inside a private flat remain outside the Fire Safety Order.
My fire risk assessment predates May 2022. Is it still valid?
Only if it already covered the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors. If it did not, it needs reviewing. A fire risk assessor should look at those elements, and a fire door inspection gives them the door-by-door evidence to rely on.