FRA FAQ
Whoever the block's responsible person appoints, provided that person is competent for residential buildings; in practice that usually means a specialist assessor. Flat-block competence covers construction, compartmentation, fire doors, the evacuation strategy and the profile of the residents.
Competence for blocks
A competent block assessor reads the whole building rather than individual rooms: how the flats are separated, whether the compartmentation a stay put strategy depends on is likely to be intact, what the risers and voids do to smoke spread, and whether flat entrance doors are fire doors in substance or only in appearance. They can also judge when the evidence no longer supports stay put and a move to simultaneous evacuation needs considering.
Residents are the other half of the judgement. Age, mobility, care arrangements and tenancy churn all change the risk picture, and in some cases individual person-centred assessments are the right response for specific residents. The blocks of flats guide walks the whole discipline; the point here is that every element of it is particular to residential buildings, which is why office or retail experience transfers poorly.
Choosing and checking
Third-party accreditation is the strongest evidence a responsible person can ask for: BAFE SP205 registration for assessment organisations, the Institution of Fire Engineers registers for individuals, and FRACS certification. None is legally compulsory, but each involves independent scrutiny of real work rather than self-declaration, and the new British standard for fire risk assessors now gives these schemes a common competence benchmark to certify against.
Leaseholders do not usually commission the block assessment, but they are not spectators either. Responsible persons must share relevant fire safety information with residents, so asking to see the current assessment is reasonable and normal, and flagging defects like damaged doors or blocked routes feeds the next review. When a flat is sold, the buyer's solicitor will often ask for the block FRA too, which do I need a fire risk assessment to sell my flat covers from the seller's side.
FAQ
Only if someone there is genuinely competent for residential fire risk assessment, which is a specialism rather than a property management skill. Many agents commission external assessors precisely to keep the judgement independent of the maintenance budget. Either way the appointment should be a considered decision, because accountability for the quality of the result does not move.
Residents are entitled to relevant fire safety information from the responsible person, and since the Building Safety Act 2022 the expectation of openness with residents is explicit. Ask in writing; a refusal with no reasons given is worth raising with the local fire and rescue authority, which enforces these duties.
The law is the same for a converted house of three flats as for a purpose-built tower, and conversions often have the worst separation between flats. The size of the building reduces the fee, not the competence required. Can I do a fire risk assessment myself weighs the self-assessment temptation honestly.
FRA Flow is BS 9792-native: capture evidence in the block, draft the report with AI and sign it off as the reviewer. Free tier, no card.
