Fire safety certificates for landlords
There is no such thing as a fire safety certificate any more. Knowing what replaced it saves you buying the wrong document, which happens more often than you would think.
Four documents, frequently confused
Fire risk assessment
The document the law actually requires. Records significant findings and an action plan. This is what a licensing officer or fire officer asks for, and what most people mean when they say certificate.
Electrical installation condition report
Required every five years for rented property in England. Separate legal duty, commonly confused with fire safety because the two are usually requested together.
Gas safety record
Annual, required where there are gas appliances. Again a separate regime, but it appears on the same checklist for most licence applications.
Alarm and emergency lighting certificates
Issued by the contractor who installed or serviced the system. These evidence that the equipment works. They do not assess whether the right equipment is fitted, which is the assessment’s job.
Certificate questions
Is there such a thing as a fire safety certificate?
Not as a single legal document. Fire certificates were abolished when the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force. What replaced them is the duty to carry out and maintain a fire risk assessment.
What do I give my letting agent then?
The written fire risk assessment, plus any installation or servicing certificates for the alarm and emergency lighting. That combination is what agents and licensing officers are actually looking for.
My council asked for a fire safety certificate. What do they mean?
In practice they mean the fire risk assessment, usually alongside alarm commissioning paperwork. Ask which specific documents they need, because requirements vary between authorities.
Does the assessment expire?
It has no fixed expiry. The legal test is whether it remains current. Review annually and immediately after any change to the building, its use or its occupancy.
How much is it?
From £195 for a single let and £245 for an HMO, quoted as a fixed fee before any visit.
Get the document you actually need
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.