Fire safety regulations 2022: duties for flats

The fire safety regulations 2022 flats duties set specific obligations for anyone who owns or manages a block in Sutton. Those rules split buildings into groups based on height, and every block with two or more dwellings sharing common parts must have a valid [fire risk assessment](/fire-safety/fire-risk-assessment-sutton).

Which of the 2022 duties apply to your block depends entirely on its height. For any building over eleven metres, the responsible person must inspect flat entrance doors once a year and communal fire doors every three months. These 11 metre building fire duties catch many owners out when they assume only high-rise towers face extra rules. A converted house with four flats in Sutton falls under these requirements if its top floor sits above eleven metres from ground level.

Buildings over eighteen metres add more layers. The secure information box requirement applies here, along with monthly checks on lifts intended for use by firefighters. Wayfinding signage blocks need includes floor identification so crews can locate specific doors quickly. Specialist firms install this wayfinding signage to meet the exact specifications set out in the legislation.

Under the flat entrance door checks rules, the responsible person must make best endeavours to check every door that separates a flat from a communal corridor or stairwell. For buildings over eleven metres, this happens at least once every twelve months. Communal fire doors need checking every three months regardless of whether the building reaches that height threshold.

A check looks at the self-closing device, the gaps around the frame, the condition of intumescent seals and whether the hinges hold the leaf firmly. Read more about what is examined during a typical inspection on the page covering <a href="/duties/fire-doors-what-gets-checked">what gets checked on a fire door</a>. The specialist firm carrying out the work records each door individually, noting defects and assigning a priority for repair.

Fire door checks record keeping matters because an inspector from the local authority or fire service will ask for proof. A spreadsheet listing doors without individual condition notes rarely satisfies them. Proper records include photographs of defects, dates of inspection and the name of the person who looked at each door. Suttonfire takes enquiries from block owners across the borough who need this documentation compiled correctly, passing the work to firms experienced in multi-occupied residential buildings.

Every responsible person must provide resident fire safety information to occupants. This covers how the building's evacuation strategy works, where the assembly point is and what residents should do if they discover a fire. For blocks following a stay-put policy, the instructions must explain why remaining inside a unaffected flat is safer than entering smoke-filled corridors.

This information goes out when someone moves in and again at least once every twelve months. It does not need to be a lengthy document. A single sheet posted through each letterbox or handed over at the start of a tenancy meets the requirement, provided it names the responsible person and explains the escape routes clearly. More detail on planning those routes is available in the <a href="/fire-safety/fire-evacuation-plans-sutton">fire evacuation plans for Sutton</a> section.

If the building has changed its strategy, perhaps after a compartmentation survey revealed weaknesses, the updated instructions must go out promptly rather than waiting for the annual cycle. Managing agents in Sutton often handle this distribution alongside routine correspondence, but the legal duty remains with the responsible person even when an agent acts on their behalf.

The secure information box requirement applies to residential buildings over eighteen metres. It holds floor plans, details of firefighting equipment and contact numbers for the responsible person. Fire crews access it using a key they carry. The box must sit within reach of the main entrance, protected from weather and vandalism.

Wayfinding signage blocks need follows a similar height rule. Any residential building over eleven metres requires signs visible in low light or smoke that tell firefighters which floor they are on and which flat numbers sit behind each door. The signs use a standard format so crews from any station read them instantly.

Installing these signs falls to the responsible person or their appointed contractor. A specialist firm surveys the stairwells and landings, determines fixing positions and fits plates that meet the regulatory specification. In Sutton, older purpose-built blocks sometimes lack obvious mounting points, so the installer may need to drill into concrete cores. Suttonfire accepts enquiries about both the box and the signage, directing the physical installation to separate firms who carry out the work.