Block management compliance fundamentals: fire, hazard, electrical, lift

Written FRA mandatory for every block common part under the Fire Safety Order 2005 (as amended). Responsible Person identified; significant findings recorded; action plan with dates. Methodology: BS 8674:2025 (current CoP) or PAS 79-1. Cadence: Review within 12 months; full re-assessment every 2-5 years or on material change. Penalty: Unlimited fine, imprisonment on indictment for serious breaches. See the full Fire Doors guide for the ironmongery detail.

For residential buildings over 11 metres: quarterly inspection of flat entrance doors, annual inspection of common-parts fire doors. Methodology: BS 8214:2026. Records retained. 18 m+ buildings additionally require wayfinding signage and secure information boxes for firefighters. The 11 m threshold is per FS(E)R 2022 Regulation 10 as now amended. For the portfolio-delivery side of the same duty, multi-site inspection programmes, centralised reporting, cadence management, our sister team has written up how fire-door compliance is run at scale across housing association stock.

Block common-parts fire-alarm system under BS 5839-1 (non-domestic / Grade A) typically where required by the FRA. Weekly user test, 6-monthly service, annual verification. Four-certificate pack (design / install / commission / verify) on hand. For individual flats, the Grade D1 LD2 domestic spec applies per the BS 5839 guide.

BS 5266-1:2025 (design) and BS EN 1838 (photometric performance). Required on all escape routes and in plant rooms. Monthly function test, annual full 3-hour discharge test. Log book held on site.

Section 156 Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order from 1 October 2023. Five new Responsible Person duties apply to every block regardless of height: (1) write the FRA for every premises, (2) record the fire-safety arrangements, (3) identify and co-operate with co-Responsible Persons, (4) share information with incoming RPs, (5) provide residents with fire-safety info in an understandable form. Full detail: BSA s.156 guide.

For 18 m+ or 7-storey+ buildings with 2+ residential units: Accountable Person identified, Safety Case Report prepared, Building Assessment Certificate obtained from the Building Safety Regulator, Golden Thread maintained. PEEP (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan) provisions for vulnerable residents were strengthened by the 2024 regulations on Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing. Full HRB walk-through in the s.156 guide.

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System applies to residential premises including the common parts of blocks. 29 recognised hazards; Category 1 compels council action under s.5. Enforcer: Local authority housing team. Penalty: Improvement notice, prohibition order, civil penalty up to £30,000 per offence under HPA 2016 s.126, Works in Default chargeable back to the duty-holder. The Awaab's Law PRS extension (once the final SI lands) sits inside this framework, see the 14-day SOP guide.

Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 Regulation 4 (duty to manage) applies to the common parts of every non-domestic building, including the common parts of residential blocks. For pre-2000 buildings the duty is universal. Required: Management Survey Report with asbestos register; Refurbishment/Demolition survey before any intrusive works. Penalty: Unlimited fine; up to 2 years' imprisonment on indictment.

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.3(2); COSHH 2002; HSE Approved Code of Practice L8. Written Legionella Risk Assessment for any common-parts hot or cold water system with storage. Most London blocks have at least a cold-water tank or a communal heating system in scope. Cadence: LRA reviewed every two years or on material change; temperature checks on the schedule set by the LRA.

Not all blocks; but required where the FRA or an insurer's risk assessment specifies lightning protection. BS EN 62305 covers the design standard. Cadence: Visual inspection every 12 months; full test every 2-5 years depending on risk class. Common omission: systems installed on conversion but never maintained.

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Thorough examination by a competent person (independent of the maintenance contractor) every 6 months. Lift register maintained. Defects rectified promptly; lift out of service immediately if a defect poses danger. For 18 m+ HRBs, firefighting lifts additionally maintained under Lifts Regulations 2016 and BS EN 81-72.

Electrical Installation Condition Report for landlord circuits in common parts (hallway lighting, door entry, lift motor rooms, bin-store lighting, external lighting). Standard BS 7671 current edition. Cadence: 5 years. C1 and C2 observations remedied within 28 days. Individual flat electrical compliance sits with the leaseholder for the demised parts.

Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 for any communal gas plant, boiler rooms, district heating, communal cookers. Gas Safe-registered engineer; annual certification; immediate shutdown on unsafe findings. Penalty: Unlimited fine, imprisonment for serious breaches.

Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 and the Heat Networks Regulations 2021. Communal heating systems (heat-network) must be metered where cost-effective and billed per the consumer-protection rules under Ofgem. Heat interface units require planned maintenance per the manufacturer's schedule and the emerging Consumer Protection Act 2025 provisions (commencement phased).

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies a repairing covenant on any lease under seven years: structure and exterior, sanitary installations, utilities. Long leases typically have express repairing covenants that go further. Most block-management disputes turn on the interaction between express lease terms, s.11 implied terms, and service-charge recoverability.

Section 20 L&T Act 1985 and Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 require a statutory consultation with leaseholders before (a) qualifying works over £250 per leaseholder or (b) qualifying long-term agreements over 12 months costing more than £100 per leaseholder per year. Three-stage process: notice of intention, notice of estimates, notice of award. Failure caps leaseholder contribution at £250.

Sections 19 (reasonableness), 20B (18-month demand limit), 21 (summary of relevant costs), and 42 (service-charge accounts held on trust) form the consumer-protection core of leasehold service-charge law. Leaseholder challenges go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). Managing agents must hold service-charge monies in designated trust accounts under s.42.

Part 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022 introduced remediation orders and remediation contribution orders targeted at historical fire-safety defects. Courts can compel named parties (including associated companies and developers) to fund or carry out remedial works. Leaseholder protections cap recoverable costs for cladding and certain non-cladding defects. A live and developing area of law.