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P1-39

Require compliant flat entrance doors where unsafe cladding exists

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, 33.30

All those who have responsibility in whatever capacity for the condition of the entrance doors to individual flats in high-rise residential buildings, whose external walls incorporate unsafe cladding, be required by law to ensure that such doors comply with current standards.

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

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

The Home Office reported in February 2025 that action on the recommendation was complete, explaining that the Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that duties under the Fire Safety Order cover flat entrance doors and external walls, and that regulations in force since January 2023 require annual door checks in buildings over 11 metres on a best endeavour basis (Home Office, Feb 2025). HM Government had previously accepted the recommendation in principle in January 2020, setting out plans to legislate so that building managers must assess and mitigate fire safety risks from flat entrance doors (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government response, Jan 2020).

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.

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The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.