The Responsible Person is whoever the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 holds accountable for fire safety in a building in England and Wales. In a workplace, it is the employer, to the extent the workplace is under their control. Elsewhere, it is the person who controls the premises in connection with a business or other undertaking, or the owner.
How the law defines the role
Article 3 of the Fire Safety Order sets out who the Responsible Person is:
- In a workplace, the employer, if the workplace is to any extent under their control
- In any other premises, the person who has control of the premises in connection with carrying on a trade, business or other undertaking, whether for profit or not
- Otherwise, the owner, where the person in control does not have it in connection with a business or undertaking
The Responsible Person is usually an organisation rather than an individual, such as a company, a landlord, a residents' management company or a charity's trustees. Someone within that organisation will normally be given day-to-day responsibility, but the legal duty stays with the organisation.
Other people can share the duties too. Anyone who has control of the premises to some extent, or who has taken on responsibility for maintenance, repair or safety by contract or tenancy, must comply with the Order as far as matters within their control. A managing agent or a facilities contractor can therefore have duties of their own.
Who it usually is
| Building | Usually the Responsible Person |
|---|---|
| An office, shop or factory you occupy | The employer, normally the company |
| A multi-let office building | Each employer for the area it controls, and the landlord or managing agent for the common parts |
| A block of flats | The freeholder, landlord, or residents' or right to manage company, for the common parts, structure, external walls and flat entrance doors |
| A house in multiple occupation | The landlord, or the managing agent if they control the building, for the common parts |
| A pub, restaurant or hotel | The business that operates it |
| A holiday let or bed and breakfast | The owner or operator |
| A place of worship or community hall | The trustees or management committee |
These are typical arrangements, not rules. Leases, management agreements and tenancy agreements can change who controls which parts of a building, so check the documents for your building.
You can delegate tasks, not the responsibility
A Responsible Person can, and often should, appoint competent people to help. Article 18 of the Order requires them to appoint one or more competent persons to assist with fire safety measures. That might be a fire risk assessor, a fire alarm engineer, or a trained member of staff who carries out weekly tests.
What they cannot do is hand over the legal responsibility. If you appoint a managing agent, you remain accountable for making sure the work is done properly, and you should check that the people you appoint are competent and that the arrangements are recorded.
What the Responsible Person must do
The Order sets out a series of duties. The main ones are to:
- Carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and review it regularly (article 9)
- Put in place general fire precautions, such as fire detection and warning, escape routes and exits, emergency lighting and firefighting equipment
- Make and record fire safety arrangements: how fire safety is planned, organised, controlled, monitored and reviewed
- Set up procedures for serious and imminent danger, including evacuation
- Keep fire safety equipment and facilities maintained in efficient working order and good repair (article 17)
- Give employees clear information about the risks and the precautions
- Provide adequate fire safety training for staff (article 21)
- Cooperate and coordinate with any other Responsible Persons in the same building (article 22)
If you are not sure where to start, the first step is usually the assessment. Read do I need a fire risk assessment?
What changed in October 2023
Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 added to the Responsible Person's duties in England from 1 October 2023. Every Responsible Person must now:
- Record the whole fire risk assessment in writing, regardless of the number of employees
- Record the name of the person or organisation who carried out the assessment, if they appointed someone
- Record their fire safety arrangements
- Take reasonable steps to find out whether there are other Responsible Persons for the building, and cooperate and share information with them
- In buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, provide residents with relevant fire safety information in a form they can understand
- When they stop being the Responsible Person, pass on the relevant fire safety information to whoever takes over
In higher-risk residential buildings, there are also Accountable Persons under the Building Safety Act, who are responsible for managing building safety risks. The Responsible Person must cooperate with them.
Extra duties in blocks of flats
The Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that, in buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, the Responsible Person's duties extend to the structure, the external walls (including windows and balconies) and the entrance doors to individual flats.
In England, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add specific duties for these buildings. They include giving residents fire safety instructions and information about fire doors, and, in buildings over 11 metres, regular checks of communal and flat entrance fire doors. Buildings over 18 metres have further duties. Our guide to fire door inspections in blocks of flats sets these out.
When several people share a building
Many buildings have more than one Responsible Person. A shop with offices above might have one for each business and another, the landlord, for the shared stairs. A block of flats with a commercial unit on the ground floor is similar.
Each Responsible Person is responsible for the parts under their control, and article 22 requires them to cooperate and coordinate. In practice that means sharing fire risk assessments, agreeing how the fire alarm and escape routes are managed, and making sure an evacuation in one part works for everyone in the building.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The Fire Safety Order applies in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legislation and terms.
In Scotland, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 place the duties on the duty holder, who is broadly the employer or the person in control of the premises.
In Northern Ireland, the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 place them on the appropriate person.
If you have just become the Responsible Person
If you have taken over a building, start by finding out what is already in place:
- Ask the previous Responsible Person or managing agent for the current fire risk assessment, fire safety arrangements and maintenance records
- Check when the assessment was last reviewed and whether its actions were completed
- Check the certificates and log books for the fire alarm, emergency lighting and any other fire safety equipment
- Find out whether anyone else is a Responsible Person for part of the building
If the assessment is missing, out of date or no longer reflects the building, arrange a new fire risk assessment. FireBid checks each firm's certification and insurance before it can quote, and you can see how we vet firms. If your staff need to understand their part in an evacuation, fire safety training can cover fire marshal and warden duties.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements depend on your building, and they differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Last updated 21 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.