Fire risk assessments for communal areas
Two flats sharing a front door is enough to bring the Fire Safety Order into play. The shared route out is the thing being assessed, and usually the thing being obstructed.
Every shared space between the flat door and the street
Entrance halls and lobbies
The first thing checked, and where storage accumulates. Pushchairs, post, bikes and abandoned furniture all reduce escape width and add fuel to the one route everyone depends on.
Staircases and landings
The protected route. Doors onto it must be fire resisting and self-closing, and the enclosure has to be continuous, including where services pass through it.
Corridors
Travel distance to a place of safety is the governing measure. Dead-end corridors have much tighter limits, and are frequently created accidentally by later alterations.
Bin and cycle stores
A common ignition point, and often built into or directly against the escape route. Separation from the rest of the building matters more than the store itself.
Plant and meter cupboards
Electrical intake and meter cupboards need fire resisting enclosure and must not be used for storage. Open or missing cupboard doors are a routine finding.
Flat entrance doors
Confirmed as within scope by the Fire Safety Act 2021. They form the boundary of the compartment and are the single most important component in a stay put strategy.
Communal area questions
Do communal areas need a fire risk assessment?
Yes. Any building containing two or more dwellings has common parts that fall under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This includes a house converted into two flats sharing a front door and hallway.
What if it is just a shared hallway between two flats?
The duty still applies. The scale is smaller and the assessment is quicker, but a shared entrance and stair is a common part and requires a suitable and sufficient assessment.
Can residents store things in the hallway?
A sterile route is the safest position and the one most assessments recommend. Where a managed level of storage is tolerated it needs to be a deliberate decision recorded in the assessment, not something that happened by default.
Who pays for the assessment?
Normally the freeholder or management company, recovered through the service charge where the lease permits. The duty sits with whoever controls the common parts regardless of how the cost is apportioned.
Get a fixed price for your communal areas
Tell us the property type and roughly how many rooms or how much floor area. You will get a fixed price back the same working day, with no site visit needed to quote.
Mon to Fri, 8am to 6pm. Emergency callouts by arrangement.