Are you a resident that has had your flat entrance door condemned by a fire door inspection?

we understand that you might be feeling anxious about how to get this resolved. please read on for more information.

From 23rd January 2023, The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 made it a legal requirement for those responsible for multi-occupied buildings over 11  metres (around 4-5 storeys+) to carry out annual checks of all flat entrance doors that lead onto common parts of the building. Those in charge or fire safety of these building are legal required to use ‘best endeavours’ to undertake these inspections. They are not being unreasonable in requesting these.

Under section 10(32) of the Regulatory Reform (fire Safety) Order (RRO), that order makes it an offence for anyone to be responsible for a failure of applying the requirements within it. You may also have obligations in the form of a covenant on your leasehold property. alternatively – if you’re a tenant – you may be liable to to contribute to costs under section 10 of the Landlord and Tenant act 1985.

Basically, don’t ignore any request from the management of your building, government guidance specifically advises that landlord’s appointed persons should consider legal action against residents that refuse to take action. Croydon council has already successfully taken action against a resident to enforce the requirements of the ‘RRO’, and that was before more stringent regulations came into force.

This is all stems from the grenfell tower enquiry. It was found that sub-standard fire doors were responsible for internal fire spread and additional legislation was introduced to stop this happening again in the future.

Replacing the door might be the right thing to do for the safety of your neighbours.

However, it may be the case that the door does not need replacing at all or may simply require alteration to be compliant. Unfortunately, since the focus on fire doors following the Grenfell Tower fire, a lot of companies have tried to make a quick buck by sending out poorly trained contractors who have completed a one day course. These contractors may have no fire safety qualifications, no knowledge of historic building regulations, and may only be able to inspect a fire door on the basis of ticking boxes on a generic form that may not be relevant for every door.

Fire door consultants offer a free email consultation. Simply fill in the form below and and we will advise on whether the inspector’s assessment is likely to be valid. If, in our opinion the previous assessment is incorrect, we will then need to carry out a site inspection to confirm this at a cost of £300 fully inclusive. We will then provide you with a report and assist you in arguing your case with the management of your building.

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