Fire door checks in residential blocks: what the 2022 Regulations require

What the Regulations require

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 placed new duties on responsible persons in multi-occupied residential buildings. Two thresholds matter.

Buildings over 11 metres in height:

• Quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts
• Annual checks, on a best endeavours basis, of flat entrance doors that lead onto a common part

All multi-occupied residential buildings, at any height:

• Provide residents with information about the importance of fire doors to fire safety in the building

High-rise residential buildings — 18 metres or at least seven storeys — carry further duties again, including providing external wall system information and building plans electronically to the local fire and rescue service, keeping hard copies in a secure information box, and reporting firefighting equipment that is out of service for more than 24 hours.

"Best endeavours" is not "if convenient"

The flat entrance door duty is qualified because a responsible person cannot force entry into someone's home. But best endeavours means a documented effort: written notice, more than one attempt, attempts at different times, and a record of what happened.

A file showing three attempted appointments and a letter is evidence of best endeavours. A file showing nothing is not, and "the resident wouldn't let us in" without any record of trying is the weakest position you can be in.

What a fire door check actually looks at

A fire door is tested and certificated as a complete assembly — leaf, frame, seals, hinges, closer, glazing and ironmongery together. Changing any part for an uncertificated alternative can invalidate the rating. A check should cover:

• Gaps around the leaf, top and sides, and the threshold gap
• Intumescent and smoke seals — present, continuous, undamaged and not painted over
• Hinges — correct number, correct type, all screws present and tight
• Self-closing device — closes the door fully onto the latch from any angle, including the last few degrees
• Leaf condition — no damage, no holes drilled through, no unauthorised alterations
• Glazing — correct type, intact beads and seals
• Signage where required
• Whether the door is being held or wedged open

That last one is the most common finding in almost every building, and it is also the cheapest to fix.

The recording is the deliverable

The duty is to carry out the checks. The evidence that you did is what you will be asked for. In practice that means:

1. A door schedule — every fire door in the building, located and numbered. Most buildings do not have one, and nothing else can be managed without it.
2. A check record per door, per quarter, with photographs.
3. A defect list with dates, and evidence when each defect is closed.

Where this fits with everything else

Since 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 has required responsible persons in England to record their fire risk assessment in full, regardless of the size of the premises. The pre-2023 exemption for premises with fewer than five employees is gone.

So for a typical residential block over 11 metres the position is: a recorded fire risk assessment, quarterly communal door checks, annual flat entrance door checks on best endeavours, resident information, and the ordinary servicing regimes for detection, emergency lighting and firefighting equipment. Keeping those on one calendar with one provider is not just administratively easier — it is the difference between being able to answer a question in an afternoon and spending a fortnight assembling a file.