Fire Safety Law & Standards Explained

The key fire safety laws and standards that apply in England and Wales, in plain English, each with a link to the official source.

The law and standards, in plain English

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The main fire safety law in England and Wales. It places duties on the responsible person for non-domestic premises and the communal parts of residential buildings to carry out a fire risk assessment, act on it and keep it up to date. Read on legislation.gov.uk →
Fire Safety Act 2021
Clarified that the Fire Safety Order covers a building’s structure, external walls and flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings. Read on legislation.gov.uk →
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
Set specific duties for responsible persons of multi-occupied residential buildings, including regular fire door checks and resident information in higher-rise buildings. Read on legislation.gov.uk →
Building Safety Act 2022
Introduced a new regime for higher-risk buildings and, from October 2023, removed the old threshold so all responsible persons must record their fire risk assessment in full. Read on legislation.gov.uk →
PAS 79-1:2020 (BSI, 2020)
A recognised code of practice and methodology for carrying out and recording fire risk assessments in non-domestic premises. View on bsigroup.com →
BS 9792:2025 (BSI, 2025)
The British Standard code of practice for fire risk assessment of housing. It replaced the withdrawn PAS 79-2. View on bsigroup.com →
BS 8674:2025 (BSI, 2025)
A framework for the competence of individual fire risk assessors. View on bsigroup.com →
PAS 9980:2022 (BSI, 2022)
The methodology for fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing blocks of flats (an FRAEW). View on bsigroup.com →

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References

  • British Standards Institution (2020) PAS 79-1:2020 Fire risk assessment. Premises other than housing. Code of practice. London: BSI. Available at: knowledge.bsigroup.com (Accessed: 27 June 2026).
  • British Standards Institution (2022) PAS 9980:2022 Fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing blocks of flats. Code of practice. London: BSI. Available at: knowledge.bsigroup.com (Accessed: 27 June 2026).
  • British Standards Institution (2025) BS 8674:2025 Built environment. Framework for competence of individual fire risk assessors. Code of practice. London: BSI. Available at: knowledge.bsigroup.com (Accessed: 27 June 2026).
  • British Standards Institution (2025) BS 9792:2025 Fire risk assessment of housing. Code of practice. London: BSI. Available at: knowledge.bsigroup.com (Accessed: 27 June 2026).
  • Building Safety Act 2022, c. 30. Available at: legislation.gov.uk (Accessed: 27 June 2026).
  • The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/547). Available at: legislation.gov.uk (Accessed: 27 June 2026).
  • Fire Safety Act 2021, c. 24. Available at: legislation.gov.uk (Accessed: 27 June 2026).
  • Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541). Available at: legislation.gov.uk (Accessed: 27 June 2026).