There are no specific time periods in law for how often fire risk assessments must be done or reviewed.
The law simply says that the person responsible for the assessment in your building must review it ‘regularly’ to make sure it’s up to date.
They must review it if:
- there’s reason to think it’s no longer valid (for example, if there has been a fire in the shared parts of the building)
- there have been significant changes since the assessment was done (for example, major building works or more people using the building)
The assessment itself may include a recommendation of how often the person responsible for it should review it.
Reviewing an existing fire risk assessment can take less time than carrying out a full new assessment. So, reviews can be done more frequently.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has guidance on fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats. This recommends that for low-rise blocks of up to three storeys above ground, built in the last 20 years, fire risk assessments should be:
- reviewed every 2 years
- redone every 4 years
For blocks with higher risks (for example, because of the age of the building), or those more than 3 storeys high, the LGA recommends assessments should be:
- reviewed every year
- redone every 3 years
In extreme cases (for the highest-risk buildings), the LGA recommends doing a new fire risk assessmentonce a year.
Read the full article on Lease Advice