Glossary
Responsible person (fire safety)
Also called: RP, responsible person under the Fire Safety Order
The person or organisation in control of a building's common parts in connection with a business or undertaking, who is legally responsible for fire safety there under the Fire Safety Order.
In a block of flats the responsible person is usually whoever manages the common parts: the freeholder, a residents' management company or, after the acquisition date, an RTM company. "Undertaking" includes not-for-profit ones, so a volunteer-run company counts.
What the responsible person must do
- Carry out and record a fire risk assessmentFire risk assessmentA written assessment, which the law requires for the common parts of a block of flats, of the risk of fire and what is needed to keep people safe, kept under regular review., and act on it.
- Give residents fire safety information, including fire safety instructions and information about fire doors (Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022).
- Co-operate with any other responsible persons for the same building, and with residents.
- When responsibility passes to someone new, the outgoing responsible person must hand over the relevant fire safety information (art 22A).
There can be more than one responsible person, each for the parts they control. For taller buildings there are extra duties, and a separate "accountable person" regime under the Building Safety Act 2022 for higher-risk buildings.
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