FRA FAQ
A single private dwelling with no shared areas is outside the Fire Safety Order 2005, so no statutory fire risk assessment is needed. Any shared space changes that: stairs, lobbies, bin stores, plant rooms and shared parking all bring the common parts duty into play.
Where the line sits
Common parts include entrance halls, staircases, landings, corridors, lobbies, bin stores, plant and meter rooms, communal lofts and shared external escape routes. In blocks of flats the position goes further: the Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that the assessment must also cover the structure, the external walls including cladding and balconies, and the flat entrance doors, even though those doors open into private homes. Maisonettes with their own street doors are the classic edge case: where each home is entered directly from the street and nothing else is shared, the duty does not arise.
HMOs sit firmly inside the duty because shared kitchens, bathrooms and landings are common parts by definition, and HMO licensing layers its own fire safety conditions on top. Where the duty applies, it is normally discharged through a Type 1 fire risk assessment of the shared areas, commissioned by the responsible person for the building.
Beyond the statute
Insurers and mortgage lenders do not read the Order narrowly. Buildings insurance for small blocks and converted houses frequently asks for a current fire risk assessment, and lenders and their valuers increasingly expect to see one before advancing on a flat, which is why do I need a fire risk assessment to sell my flat has become such a common conveyancing question. Managing agents taking on a new instruction tend to ask for the current assessment on day one, and buyers of leasehold flats trigger the question far more often than buyers of freehold houses, because the block rather than the dwelling is what the lender is exposed to.
For genuine single dwellings there are still fire duties, though not this one. Landlords carry smoke and carbon monoxide alarm obligations, and fire and rescue services offer free home fire safety visits covering alarms and escape planning for the household. Those visits are advice for occupants, not the statutory assessment a responsible person must hold; the difference is explained in can I get a free fire safety check.
FAQ
Yes. The shared hallway is a common part, so the duty applies to it, and the Fire Safety Act 2021 pulls the structure, external walls and both flat entrance doors into scope. Small converted houses are exactly where enforcing officers most often find no assessment in place at all.
Shared parking serving multiple dwellings falls within the common parts, and enclosed parking such as undercrofts and integral garages matters most because vehicles and stored goods sit directly beneath homes. An open surface car park adds less fire risk on its own, but it still belongs in the assessment of the shared premises.
A formal FRA to housing methodology is rarely proportionate for one household. Working smoke alarms on every storey, a clear escape route and sensible kitchen and electrical habits deliver most of the benefit, and a free home visit from the local fire and rescue service covers the rest.
FRA Flow captures evidence for common areas, doors and walls on site and drafts the report for reviewer sign-off. Built for UK housing, free tier included.
