The Fire Safety Act 2021

The Fire Safety Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 19 March 2020, received Royal Accent on 29 April 2021 becoming the Fire Safety Act 2021 (the Act).

The Act applies to England and Wales and makes amendments to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the FSO) to clarify that, for any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises, the FSO applies to the building’s structure and external walls, and any common parts, including the front doors of residential areas. It also clarifies that references to external walls in the FSO include “doors or windows in those walls” and “anything attached to the exterior of those walls (including balconies).”

The aim of the Act is to increase enforcement action in these areas, particularly where remediation of aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding is not taking place.

Following the introduction of the Act any guidance relating to the implementation of the FSO will need to be updated and the Secretary of State must ensure that such guidance is only amended following an appropriate, consultation process. The BWF will work to ensure that this guidance calls for suitable performance requirements for external doors and windows, and internal apartment entrance doors, that ensure an appropriate level of fire safety.

Find out more in the following links:

The Fire Safety Act

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/24/enacted/data.pdf

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (legislation.gov.uk)

The parliamentary report on the progress of the Bill (up to 23 April 2021)

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8782/CBP-8782.pdf