Fire Door Regulations After the Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act 2022 received Royal Assent in April 2022 and has been rolling out in phases since. Born from the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, it fundamentally reshapes how buildings are designed, constructed, and managed throughout their lifecycle. For anyone who specifies, installs, or maintains fire doors, the implications are substantial — and ignorance is no longer a defensible position.

What Changed

The Act introduced the concept of the "Accountable Person" and the "Principal Accountable Person" for higher-risk buildings, defined as residential buildings at least 18 metres tall or with at least seven storeys. These individuals bear legal responsibility for assessing and managing building safety risks, including the condition and compliance of fire doors. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR), housed within the Health and Safety Executive, now oversees the safety of these buildings and has enforcement powers including the ability to issue compliance notices, impose fines, and in serious cases pursue criminal prosecution.

A key requirement is the "golden thread" of building information — a digital record that must be created and maintained throughout a building's lifecycle. For fire doors, this means keeping detailed records of every door installed: the manufacturer, product certification, date of installation, maintenance history, and any modifications. If a fire door is replaced or repaired, the golden thread must be updated. This level of traceability is unprecedented and applies retrospectively to existing higher-risk buildings, not just new builds.

Who Is Affected

While the Act's most stringent requirements target higher-risk residential buildings, its influence extends much further. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which complement the Act, require the Responsible Person for any multi-occupied residential building with two or more sets of domestic premises to carry out quarterly checks on all fire doors in communal areas. Flat entrance doors must be checked annually. These obligations apply regardless of building height, meaning landlords and managing agents of low-rise blocks are equally affected.

Beyond residential, the Act has raised the bar for all building work. Amendments to the Building Regulations mean that building control bodies are scrutinising fire door specifications more closely, and there is a growing expectation that fire doors in commercial, healthcare, and educational buildings will be subject to similar standards of documentation and maintenance. Contractors and specifiers who fail to keep pace with these changes risk non-compliance, project delays, and reputational damage.

Key Requirements for Compliance

To comply with the new regime, building owners and managers should ensure that all fire doors are third-party certified (look for Certifire, BWF-Certifire, or equivalent marks), that a complete record of each door's specification and installation is maintained, and that a routine inspection programme is in place. Any repairs or replacements must use components that are compatible with the door's original certification. The days of fitting a generic closer or replacing seals with an untested alternative are over — every component matters, and every change must be documented.