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P1-38

Require quarterly fire door checks

Grenfell Tower Inquiry · Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report · Issued 30 October 2019 · Addressed to: UK Government

Government responseUK Government: Accepted in part (Jan 2020)

DeliveryHome Office says completed (Feb 2025)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation, 33.29b

The owner and manager of every residential building containing separate dwellings (whether or not they are high-rise buildings) be required by law to carry out checks at not less than three-monthly intervals to ensure that all fire doors are fitted with effective self-closing devices in working order.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report · 30 Oct 2019 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

The Home Office stated in February 2025 that implementation was complete, reporting that under regulations in force since January 2023, responsible persons for multi-occupied residential buildings 11 metres and above must carry out quarterly checks on fire doors in common parts and annual checks on flat entrance doors on a best endeavour basis (Home Office, Feb 2025). The department had previously explained in May 2022 that annual rather than quarterly checks were adopted for flat entrance doors because consultation feedback showed guaranteed access to individual flats was unrealistic (Home Office, May 2022).

Sources

Home Office, Feb 2025
Home Office, May 2022

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.

Government response

●UK Government · Accepted in part · 21 Jan 2020

Words of: HM Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report: Government Response, January 2020 (published on GOV.UK 21 January 2020)

The Home Office’s upcoming Fire Safety Bill will aim to clarify the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – the ‘Fire Safety Order’ – to put beyond doubt that building owners or managers of multi-occupied residential buildings of any height are required to consider fully and mitigate the fire safety risks of any external wall systems and front doors to individual flats. This will also affirm Fire and Rescue Services’ ability to enforce locally against building owners who have not remediated unsafe ACM cladding.

The Fire Safety Bill will create a firm foundation to enable the Government to lay regulations needed to deliver the legislative recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report. These recommendations include building owners or managers sharing information with fire and rescue services on external wall systems, and undertaking regular inspections of flat entrance doors. The Home Office plan to consult on these proposals in Spring 2020.

Extract from: Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report: Government Response

Site note: This is the government's response to the Phase 1 report (CP 209, 21 January 2020). It is organised by theme, not by recommendation, and states its position once, in its introduction: "the Government accepted in principle all these recommendations", meaning the recommendations "relevant to government". Where the row shows a passage from a themed section, that is the section on this recommendation's subject; where it shows the introduction, the response has no passage on this recommendation's subject. The status on a recommendation addressed to government is the introduction's. Where the recommendation is addressed to building owners, the emergency services or the National Police Air Service, the response describes work without stating acceptance, and the row is marked noted.

Site note: The source gives this passage once, for the section "Recommendations where changes are required by law". The same words are recorded on P1-1, P1-38 and P1-39.

Delivery

●Home Office says completed · 26 Feb 2025

Status: complete

In 2020 the then government consulted on its proposals to implement this recommendation in its Fire Safety Consultation and its response to the consultation was published in 2021 ).

The Fire Safety Act (FSA) achieved Royal Assent on 29 April 2021, which clarified the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Fire Safety Order) as including the external walls (including cladding and balconies) and flat entrance doors for buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises.

The Fire Safety Act commenced on 16 May 2022. This means new guidance has been published in support of the Fire Safety Act and the Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (FRAPT) has been launched.

This will now remove legal ambiguity and require responsible persons to update Fire Risk Assessments to take account of external walls and flat entrance doors. The FRAPT will help responsible persons identify which buildings should have their Fire Risk Assessments updated first.

Furthermore, on 18 May 2022 regulations were laid under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to implement the fire door checks element of this recommendation. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023.

Under the Regulations, the responsible person for all multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres and above must undertake quarterly checks on fire doors in common parts and annual checks, on a best endeavour basis, on all flat entrance doors.

Responsible persons must make a record of their attempts to check flat entrance doors. In the consultation, views were sought on proposals for a reasonable and practicable level of checks proportionate to the risk. In line with the Inquiry’s additional recommendation on fire doors, (recommendation 33.30), where unsafe cladding is incorporated into external walls. Under the Fire Safety Order, responsible persons have a duty to take general fire precautions, which include ensuring that fire doors in their building are in good order. Following commencement of the Fire Safety Act it is clear that this duty extends to flat entrance doors.

From: Progress against the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations, February 2025

Site note: This is the Home Office's thematic update on progress against the Phase 1 recommendations. Its introduction says it includes updates from the relevant government departments and assurances received from the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade and other emergency services on their progress. The status line and the passage are the Home Office's compilation of what those bodies reported to it; where the passage gives a status for fire and rescue services and a separate one for London Fire Brigade, both are shown as printed.

Site note: The source gives this passage once, for recommendations 33.29a, 33.29b and 33.30 together. The same words are recorded on P1-37, P1-38 and P1-39.

Earlier statements on delivery (0)

●Home Office · 16 Sep 2024

Status: Complete

In 2020 the then Government consulted on its proposals to implement this recommendation in its Fire Safety Consultation and its response to the consultation was published in 2021 ( link ).

The Fire Safety Act (FSA) achieved Royal Assent on 29 April 2021, which clarified the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Fire Safety Order) as including the external walls (including cladding and balconies) and flat entrance doors for buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises.

The Fire Safety Act commenced on 16 May 2022. This means new guidance has been published in support of the Fire Safety Act and the Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (FRAPT) has been launched.

This will now remove legal ambiguity and require responsible persons to update Fire Risk Assessments to take account of external walls and flat entrance doors. The FRAPT will help responsible persons identify which buildings should have their Fire Risk Assessments updated first.

Furthermore, on 18 May 2022 regulations were laid under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to implement the fire door checks element of this recommendation. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023.

Under the Regulations, the responsible person for all multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres and above must undertake quarterly checks on fire doors in common parts and annual checks, on a best endeavour basis, on all flat entrance doors.

Responsible persons must make a record of their attempts to check flat entrance doors. In the consultation, views were sought on proposals for a reasonable and practicable level of checks proportionate to the risk. In line with the Inquiry’s additional recommendation on fire doors, (recommendation 33.30), where unsafe cladding is incorporated into external walls. Under the Fire Safety Order, responsible persons have a duty to take general fire precautions, which include ensuring that fire doors in their building are in good order. Following commencement of the Fire Safety Act it is clear that this duty extends to flat entrance doors.

From: Progress against the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations, September 2024

Site note: This is the Home Office's thematic update on progress against the Phase 1 recommendations. Its introduction says it includes updates from the relevant government departments and assurances received from the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade and other emergency services on their progress. The status line and the passage are the Home Office's compilation of what those bodies reported to it; where the passage gives a status for fire and rescue services and a separate one for London Fire Brigade, both are shown as printed.

Site note: The source gives this passage once, for recommendations 33.29a, 33.29b and 33.30 together. The same words are recorded on P1-37, P1-38 and P1-39.

●Home Office · 5 Feb 2024

Status: Complete

The Government consulted on its proposals to implement this recommendation in its Fire Safety Consultation (carried out in 2020). The Government responded to the consultation in 2021 ( link ).

The Fire Safety Act (FSA) achieved Royal Assent on 29 April 2021, which clarified the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Fire Safety Order) as including the external walls (including cladding and balconies) and flat entrance doors for buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises.

The Government commenced the Fire Safety Act on 16 May 2022. This means we have published new guidance in support of the Fire Safety Act and launched the Fire Risk Assessment Prioritisation Tool (FRAPT).

This will now remove legal ambiguity and require responsible persons to update Fire Risk Assessments to take account of external walls and flat entrance doors. The FRAPT will help responsible persons identify which buildings should have their Fire Risk Assessments updated first.

Furthermore, on 18 May 2022 the Government laid regulations under Article 24 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to implement the fire door checks element of this recommendation. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023.

Under the Regulations, the responsible person for all multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres and above must undertake quarterly checks on fire doors in common parts and annual checks, on a best endeavour basis, on all flat entrance doors.

Responsible persons must make a record of their attempts to check flat entrance doors.

In its consultation, the Government sought views on proposals for a reasonable and practicable level of checks proportionate to the risk. In line with the Inquiry’s additional recommendation on fire doors, (recommendation 33.30), where unsafe cladding is incorporated into external walls. Under the Fire Safety Order, responsible persons have a duty to take general fire precautions, which include ensuring that fire doors in their building are in good order. Following commencement of the Fire Safety Act it is clear that this duty extends to flat entrance doors.

From: Progress against the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations, February 2024

Site note: This is the Home Office's thematic update on progress against the Phase 1 recommendations. Its introduction says it includes updates from the relevant government departments and assurances received from the National Fire Chiefs Council, London Fire Brigade and other emergency services on their progress. The status line and the passage are the Home Office's compilation of what those bodies reported to it; where the passage gives a status for fire and rescue services and a separate one for London Fire Brigade, both are shown as printed.

Site note: The source gives this passage once, for recommendations 33.29a, 33.29b and 33.30 together. The same words are recorded on P1-37, P1-38 and P1-39.

●Home Office · 18 May 2022

10.4 The Fire Safety Consultation included proposals regarding checks on all fire doors, however 20% of responses said quarterly checks of flat entrance doors were unrealistic due to there being no guarantee that RPs would be able to access individual flats. To enable the Instrument to be realistically implemented the regulations create a duty on RPs to use best endeavours to undertake annual inspections of flat entrance doors. There is also a duty on the RP to undertake quarterly inspections of communal fire doors, in relevant buildings. RPs will also be required to provide information to residents on the importance of fire doors. This goes beyond the Inquiry’s recommendation.

From: Explanatory Memorandum to the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (2022 No. 547)

Site note: This is the Home Office's explanatory memorandum to the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, laid before Parliament on 18 May 2022. The regulations came into force on 23 January 2023.

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