How the Fire Safety Act 2021 Reshapes Multi-Occupied Building Deals

The Fire Safety Act 2021 now applies to every multi-occupied building in England and Wales. Not just high-rise residential blocks. Not just buildings over 18 metres. Every building where two or more households share common areas.

If you manage a hotel, a student accommodation block, a build-to-rent scheme, or a mixed-use building with flats above shops, this regulation now sits on your desk. The extension came into force in October 2023, but enforcement is accelerating through 2024 and into 2025. Many operators are only now discovering what it means for their day-to-day operations.

What the Fire Safety Act 2021 Actually Changed

The Act amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. It did three things that matter to building operators:

• Extended scope. The Order now covers the building structure, external walls (including cladding, balconies, and windows), and common parts. Previously, responsibility stopped at the front door of each flat or room.
• Clarified responsibility. The Responsible Person (usually the building owner, managing agent, or facilities manager) must assess and manage fire risks for the entire building, not just the common areas.
• Required records. Fire risk assessments must be recorded in full, shared with residents, and reviewed regularly. Verbal handovers no longer count.

For a 180-room hotel in Manchester city centre, this means the fire risk assessment now covers the external cladding system, the roof void, and any shared plant rooms. For a student block in Birmingham, it means the managing agent must document fire doors, compartmentation, and evacuation routes in a way that can be inspected at any time.

Why This Hits Every Multi-Occupied Deal

Before the Act, many operators treated fire safety as a high-rise problem. If your building was under 18 metres, you might have relied on a basic fire risk assessment every three years and a few extinguishers in the corridors. That approach is now non-compliant.

The Act applies to any building with two or more sets of domestic premises. That includes:

• Purpose-built flats and maisonettes
• Converted houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)
• Hotels and serviced apartments
• Student accommodation
• Sheltered housing and care homes
• Mixed-use buildings with residential above commercial

If you manage a portfolio of 50 buildings across the UK, and 40 of them are under 18 metres, you now have 40 buildings that need updated fire risk assessments, documented management procedures, and evidence of ongoing compliance. The cost of getting this wrong is not just a fine. It is potential prosecution, invalidated insurance, and a building that cannot be sold or refinanced until the paperwork is in order.

What Compliance Looks Like in Practice

Compliance under the Fire Safety Act 2021 is not a one-off exercise. It is an ongoing process. Here is what the Responsible Person must do:

1. Commission a new fire risk assessment

The assessment must cover the building structure, external walls, and any common parts. It must be carried out by a competent person. For most buildings, this means hiring a fire risk assessor accredited by a UKAS-accredited certification body. The assessment must be reviewed regularly and updated whenever there is a material change.

2. Record and share the findings

The assessment must be recorded in full. A summary must be provided to residents. For hotels and student accommodation, this means displaying fire safety information in common areas and making it available on request. For build-to-rent schemes, it means including fire safety information in the tenant welcome pack.

3. Implement the recommendations

If the assessment identifies deficiencies — missing fire doors, inadequate compartmentation, combustible cladding — the Responsible Person must fix them. There is no grace period. The Act requires action within a reasonable timeframe, and what is reasonable depends on the severity of the risk.

4. Maintain a fire safety logbook

All fire safety activities must be recorded: testing of alarms and emergency lighting, inspection of fire doors, maintenance of extinguishers, training of staff. The logbook must be available for inspection by the local fire and rescue authority.

The Cost of Non-Compliance Is Rising

Local fire and rescue authorities are conducting more inspections. They have the power to issue prohibition notices, which can close a building until fire safety deficiencies are fixed. They can also prosecute, with unlimited fines for serious breaches.

Insurance companies are also paying attention. If your fire risk assessment is not compliant with the Fire Safety Act 2021, your insurer may refuse to pay out in the event of a fire. Some insurers are now asking for evidence of compliance before renewing policies.

For asset managers and building owners, the financial risk is clear. A building that cannot be insured cannot be let. A building that cannot be let generates no income. A building that generates no income loses value.

How Technology Can Help You Stay Compliant

Keeping a paper logbook in a binder in the plant room is no longer enough. The Act requires records that can be produced on demand, shared with residents, and reviewed regularly. Digital systems make this easier.

A building management platform like Herman can help you track fire safety inspections, log maintenance activities, and store fire risk assessments in a single place. When the fire officer arrives, you can pull up the logbook on a tablet. When the insurer asks for evidence, you can send a PDF. When the assessment needs reviewing, the system reminds you.

More importantly, Herman connects fire safety data to your building's other systems. If a fire door is reported as faulty by a housekeeper, the maintenance team gets a notification. If a smoke detector goes offline, the system flags it before the next inspection. If a tenant reports a blocked escape route, the issue is logged and tracked until it is resolved.

This is not about replacing the human judgment of a competent fire risk assessor. It is about making sure that the recommendations from that assessment are actually implemented, recorded, and maintained over time.

Where to Start

If you manage a multi-occupied building in England or Wales, start by checking whether your fire risk assessment covers the building structure and external walls. If it does not, commission a new one. If it does, check that the recommendations have been implemented and that you have a logbook to prove it.

For a practical walkthrough of how Herman can help you manage fire safety compliance alongside energy monitoring, maintenance tracking, and tenant comfort, talk to the HermanWa team.

— The HermanWa Team