In law, there are no specific time periods for how often fire risk assessments must be done or reviewed. It states that the responsible person for assessments in your building must review it ‘regularly’ to make sure it’s up to date.
The responsible person must review the fire risk assessment if:
- there’s reason to think it’s no longer valid (for example, if there has been a fire in the shared parts of the building)
- there have been significant changes since the assessment was done (for example, major building works or more people using the building)
The assessment itself might also have a recommendation of how often it should be reviewed or updated. Reviewing an existing fire risk assessment can take less time than carrying out a new assessment. So, reviews can be done more frequently.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has guidance on fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats. For low-rise blocks of up to three storeys above ground, built in the last 20 years, fire risk assessments should be:
- reviewed every 2 years
- redone every 4 years
For blocks with higher risks (for example, because of the age of the building), or those more than 3 storeys high, fire risk assessments should be:
- reviewed every year
- redone every 3 years
In extreme cases (for the highest-risk buildings), the LGA advised a new fire risk assessment once a year.