Which fire and building safety duties apply to this block? Four questions to the list

Four sets of rules turn on the height of a block of flats in England, and each draws its line in a slightly different place: above 11 metres for fire door checks, at least 11 metres or five storeys for the leaseholder protections, at least 18 metres or seven storeys for registration with the Building Safety Regulator, and a mix of the two for residential evacuation plans. This questionnaire is for the managing agent or the responsible person. It asks where the block is, how many homes it holds, its height and its evacuation strategy, and gives the duties that apply, as we read the regulations and the government's pages on 2 October 2026.

Free tool

Fire and building safety: which duties apply

Answer each question. Some questions appear only when an earlier answer makes them relevant. Nothing you choose leaves this page.

1. Is the block in England, Wales, or Scotland or Northern Ireland?ChooseEnglandWalesScotland or Northern Ireland
2. Does the building contain two or more flats or other homes?ChooseYes, two or moreNo, a single home
3. How tall is the building, measured from ground level to the top storey, and how many storeys does it have?Choose18 metres or more, or 7 storeys or moreOver 11 metres, under 18 metres, and fewer than 7 storeysExactly 11 metres, or under 11 metres with 5 or 6 storeysUnder 11 metres, with 4 storeys or fewer
4. Is the evacuation strategy simultaneous, with everyone leaving at once, or stay put?ChooseSimultaneous: everyone leaves at onceStay put, or another strategy that is not simultaneous

Start again

The outcome is the rule as our guides and the sources named set it out, applied to the answers you gave. It is not advice on your own case.

Works in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this device.

The questions, and why each is asked

1. Is the block in England, Wales, or Scotland or Northern Ireland? The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply in England only (regulation 1(3)), and section 117 of the Building Safety Act 2022 defines a relevant building as one in England.

2. Does the building contain two or more flats or other homes? Every regime here starts at two: two or more sets of domestic premises in the 2022 and 2025 regulations, two residential units for registration, and two dwellings for the leaseholder protections. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

3. How tall is the building, measured from ground level to the top storey, and how many storeys does it have? The lines are 18 metres or seven storeys for higher-risk buildings, above 11 metres for fire door checks, and at least 11 metres or five storeys for the leaseholder protections. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

4. Is the evacuation strategy simultaneous, with everyone leaving at once, or stay put? Regulation 3 of the 2025 evacuation plan regulations brings in a block over 11 metres only if it has a simultaneous evacuation strategy, where the responsible person has decided everyone should leave immediately in a fire. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

Every outcome, and the rule behind it

Outside England: these rules do not reach the block

Reached when: "Is the block in England, Wales, or Scotland or Northern Ireland?" answered "Wales" or "Scotland or Northern Ireland".

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 extend to England and Wales but apply in England only, under regulation 1(3). The leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022 use section 117's relevant building, which is a building in England, and the registration service run by the Building Safety Regulator is for high-rise residential buildings in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own regime, so none of the English duties and dates in this questionnaire should be copied across.

• Check the fire safety and building safety rules of the nation where the block stands before writing to residents.
• Keep English templates and diary dates off this building's file.

Source: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/547), regulation 1(3); Building Safety Act 2022, section 117(2); GOV.UK, Register a high-rise residential building; all read 2 October 2026. The working is in The Building Safety Act for managing agents.

A single home: the block rules do not start

Reached when: "Does the building contain two or more flats or other homes?" answered "No, a single home".

Each regime in this questionnaire needs at least two homes. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply to buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, a higher-risk building must contain at least two residential units, and section 117 of the Building Safety Act 2022 defines a relevant building as one containing at least two dwellings. A building with one home has no fire door checks, resident fire information duty, registration with the Building Safety Regulator or leaseholder cost caps on these rules.

• Note on the file that the building holds one home, and run the questionnaire again if it is converted into flats.

Source: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulations 3, 9 and 10; Building Safety Act 2022, section 117(2); GOV.UK, Register a high-rise residential building; all read 2 October 2026. The working is in How often must fire doors be checked in a block of flats? The 11-metre rule, the access record and a check sheet.

Higher-risk building: registration, the full 2022 duties and evacuation plans

Reached when: "How tall is the building, measured from ground level to the top storey, and how many storeys does it have?" answered "18 metres or more, or 7 storeys or more".

A building of at least 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more homes is a higher-risk building and a high-rise residential building. The principal accountable person registers it with the Building Safety Regulator for £251, gives the key building information within 28 days, and keeps a safety case report and a resident engagement strategy. Regulations 4 to 11 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 all apply, and the 2025 residential evacuation plan regulations apply whatever the strategy. Unless the leaseholders own the freehold, the leaseholder cost caps apply too.

• Register with the Building Safety Regulator (£251 per building) and send the key building information within 28 days.
• Fit a secure information box, prepare floor plans and the external wall record, and send them to the fire and rescue authority.
• Check firefighting lifts and fire-fighting equipment monthly, communal fire doors every 3 months and flat entrance doors every 12.
• Offer each resident who could not leave unaided an assessment, and write the building evacuation plan.

Source: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulations 3 to 11; Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, regulation 3; GOV.UK, Register a high-rise residential building (£251, 28 days); Building Safety Act 2022, section 117; all read 2 October 2026. The working is in The Building Safety Act for managing agents.

Over 11 metres on simultaneous evacuation: door checks and evacuation plans

Reached when: "Is the evacuation strategy simultaneous, with everyone leaving at once, or stay put?" answered "Simultaneous: everyone leaves at once".

A block over 11 metres with a simultaneous evacuation strategy is a specified residential building under regulation 3 of the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, in force since 6 April 2026. Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires communal fire doors to be checked every 3 months and flat entrance doors every 12 months on best endeavours. Below 18 metres and seven storeys it is not a higher-risk building, so there is no registration. Unless the leaseholders own the freehold, the leaseholder cost caps apply.

• Identify residents who could not leave unaided, offer each an assessment, and write the building evacuation plan.
• Diary communal fire door checks every 3 months and flat entrance door checks every 12, and log every failed access attempt.
• Give every resident the fire safety instructions and fire door information at least once in each 12 months.

Source: Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/797), regulation 3; Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulations 9 and 10; Building Safety Act 2022, section 117; all read 2 October 2026. The working is in Residential PEEPs.

Over 11 metres on stay put: fire door checks, no evacuation plans

Reached when: "How tall is the building, measured from ground level to the top storey, and how many storeys does it have?" answered "Over 11 metres, under 18 metres, and fewer than 7 storeys".

A block over 11 metres but under 18 metres and seven storeys, on stay put, has the fire door checks in regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: communal doors at least every 3 months and flat entrance doors at least every 12 months on best endeavours, with a record of each attempt to gain access. It is outside the 2025 residential evacuation plan regulations and is not a higher-risk building. As a relevant building of at least 11 metres, it carries the leaseholder cost caps unless the leaseholders own the freehold.

• Diary communal fire door checks every 3 months and flat entrance door checks every 12, including the self-closing devices.
• Give every resident the fire safety instructions and fire door information at least once in each 12 months.
• If the strategy ever changes to simultaneous evacuation, start the evacuation plan duties that day.

Source: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulations 9 and 10; Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, regulation 3; Building Safety Act 2022, section 117(2); all read 2 October 2026. The working is in How often must fire doors be checked in a block of flats? The 11-metre rule, the access record and a check sheet.

Five or six storeys, or exactly 11 metres: leaseholder protections, no fixed door checks

Reached when: "How tall is the building, measured from ground level to the top storey, and how many storeys does it have?" answered "Exactly 11 metres, or under 11 metres with 5 or 6 storeys".

Section 117 of the Building Safety Act 2022 makes a building with at least two dwellings a relevant building if it is at least 11 metres high or has at least five storeys, so the cladding protection and the non-cladding cost caps for qualifying leaseholders apply, unless the leaseholders own the freehold or it is commonhold. The fixed fire door checks in regulation 10 of the 2022 regulations start only above 11 metres, so they do not apply. The fire safety instructions and fire door information still go to every resident each 12 months.

• Exchange the leaseholder deed of certificate and the landlord's certificate before any remediation cost is demanded.
• Give every resident the fire safety instructions and fire door information at least once in each 12 months.

Source: Building Safety Act 2022, section 117(2) and (3); Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulations 9 and 10; both read 2 October 2026. The working is in The Building Safety Act for managing agents.

Under 11 metres and four storeys or fewer: the yearly resident information

Reached when: any other set of answers.

A block under 11 metres with four storeys or fewer is outside the fixed fire door checks, the 2025 evacuation plan regulations, registration with the Building Safety Regulator and the leaseholder protections. Where two or more homes share common parts that residents would use to escape, regulations 9 and 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 still apply: display fire safety instructions, and give them and the fire door information to each new resident and to every resident within each 12 months counted from 23 January 2023.

• Display the fire safety instructions in a conspicuous place in the common parts.
• Send the instructions and the fire door information to every resident before 22 January each year, and to each new resident on arrival.
• Keep the fire doors in working order as part of the general fire precautions, even with no fixed interval.

Source: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulations 1, 9 and 10; Building Safety Act 2022, section 117(2); both read 2 October 2026. The working is in How often must fire doors be checked in a block of flats? The 11-metre rule, the access record and a check sheet.

How to use the result

Measure the height before you answer: the 2022 regulations count to the top floor surface of the top storey, from ground level, and an estimate from the number of floors is not the same thing. Put the result on the building's compliance file with its date and the height used. Each duty with a clock, such as quarterly door checks or the yearly resident information, then goes into the diary. Run it again if the evacuation strategy changes, because a block between 11 and 18 metres that moves off stay put comes into the evacuation plan rules that day.

The outcome applies the rule to the answers given; it cannot see the facts behind them. Where an answer is a judgement, or the facts are unusual, the outcome may not fit. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft sets up AI assistants for block and property managers: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. None of these outcomes depends on them.