摘要
The Fire Safety Act 2021 was the first legislative response to the Grenfell Tower fire, passed to put beyond doubt the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 ('the Fire Safety Order') in multi-occupied residential buildings. It amends the Order to make clear that, where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises, the 'responsible person' must assess and manage the fire risks of the building's structure and external walls — including cladding, balconies, and windows — and of the individual flat entrance doors that open onto common parts. The Act thereby brought these features expressly within fire risk assessments and the enforcement regime, and laid the groundwork for the more detailed duties later imposed by the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
要点
- Clarifies that the Fire Safety Order 2005 covers a building's structure, external walls, and flat entrance doors (s.1)
- External walls expressly include cladding, balconies, and windows
- Responsible persons must assess and manage these features in fire risk assessments
- First Grenfell-response Act; complemented by the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022