Responsible Person Quick-Start
Plain-English guide for building owners, managers and landlords. What you are legally on the hook for, how often fire doors must be inspected, what records you must keep, and when to call a competent person.
Are you the Responsible Person?
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Responsible Person (RP) is whoever has control of premises that are not a single private dwelling. If any of these describe you, this guide is for you.
Employer
If you employ people, you are the RP for your workplace — including any fire doors protecting escape routes inside it.
Owner or Occupier
If you own or occupy non-domestic premises (offices, retail, hospitality, schools, care homes), you are the RP for that building.
Freeholder / Managing Agent
For blocks of flats, the RP duty applies to common parts — staircases, corridors, lobbies. Flat entrance fire doors are also covered for buildings over 11m.
Liability sits with the RP
Failure to comply with the Fire Safety Order is a criminal offence. Penalties range from fines to unlimited fines and imprisonment for serious breaches. The duty cannot be delegated away by hiring a contractor — you remain legally responsible for ensuring the work is done.
What you must do — fire doors
Identify the fire doors in your building
Common-parts doors and any door protecting an escape route or compartment. If you don't know which ones are fire doors, get a fire risk assessment.
Inspect them on a defined frequency
Quarterly for common-parts fire doors in residential buildings over 11m. Annually for flat entrance doors. Workplaces: as your fire risk assessment requires.
Keep records — indefinitely
The Building Safety Act 2022 requires the "golden thread" of fire safety records to be retained for the life of the building. Date, inspector, condition, defects, remedial actions.
Remediate defects
Non-compliant fire doors must be repaired or replaced by a competent person within a reasonable timeframe. "We're getting around to it" is not a defence.
Inform residents (where applicable)
In residential buildings over 11m, residents must be given fire safety information including the importance of fire doors and the need to report damage.
Inspection frequency reference
| Door Location / Building Type | Minimum Frequency |
|---|---|
| Common-parts fire doors, residential >11m | Every 3 months (quarterly) |
| Flat entrance fire doors, residential >11m | Every 12 months (annually) |
| Common-parts fire doors, residential <11m | Best practice: annually |
| Workplaces / commercial premises | As per fire risk assessment |
| HMOs and care homes | Per FRA, typically quarterly |
These are minimum frequencies. Your fire risk assessment may require more frequent checks if conditions warrant — high traffic, history of damage, vulnerable occupants, etc.
Quick self-check between inspections
The detailed inspection should be done by a competent person. As the RP you can spot obvious issues between formal inspections by walking the building and looking for these signs:
When to call a competent person
If you spot any defect on the self-check above, or if a fire door has been altered, damaged, or replaced — book a formal inspection. Do not attempt repairs yourself unless qualified. Records of who inspected, what they found, and what was done must be kept.
Download the full quick-start
3-page printable PDF, plain English, all the duties on one document. Useful for handover to a property manager or as a reference for your fire risk assessment file.
Get your records right — first time
IgnisTrack gives competent persons a fast way to inspect, photograph and record every door. You get back searchable PDF reports with photo evidence that satisfy BSA 2022 golden-thread requirements.
See how it worksReferences: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 | Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 | Building Safety Act 2022 | BS 8214:2026 — Code of practice for fire door assemblies
This resource is reference material to help Responsible Persons understand their duties. It is not legal advice. Always verify against current versions of the regulations and consult a competent person for inspections and remedial work.