Fire doors are governed by three separate things that people run together: Building Regulations, which decide where a door must be and what it must achieve when the building is built or altered; fire safety law, which requires the door to be maintained in working order once the building is in use; and, in higher blocks of flats, a specific set of recorded checking duties added in 2022.
Where fire doors are required
Building Regulations guidance sets out where fire resisting doors are needed: protecting escape routes and stairways, separating a garage from a house, in walls between flats and common parts, protecting a room that opens onto an escape route in some layouts, and around areas of higher risk. The requirement attaches to the construction of the building rather than to its occupier, which is why an existing building can lawfully differ from what would be required today.
Keeping them working
Once the building is occupied the Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to maintain the fire safety measures, which includes the doors, in efficient working order and good repair. That covers the door, the frame, the seals, the hinges, the closer and the glazing, and it is why a door wedged open or with a damaged seal is a live compliance issue rather than an aesthetic one.
The 2022 duties in blocks of flats
The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 added specific recorded duties in blocks of flats. In a building above 11 metres in height the responsible person must check any fire doors in communal areas at least every 3 months, and use best endeavours to check the fire doors at the entrances of individual flats at least every 12 months. Residents must also be given information about fire doors and their own responsibilities.
Different rules in the nations
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 covers England and Wales, and the 2022 Regulations apply in England. Scotland works from the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and its own regulations and technical handbooks, and Northern Ireland from its own order. The engineering is the same across the UK; the duty holder's obligations and the checking regimes are not, so advice written for England should not be applied to a Scottish building without checking.
Questions people ask about fire door regulations uk
Where are fire doors required in a UK home?
Most commonly between an integral garage and the house, and on rooms opening onto a stairway in houses of three or more storeys. The requirement comes from Building Regulations guidance at the time of construction or alteration.
How often must fire doors be checked in a block of flats?
In England, in a building above 11 metres, communal area fire doors at least every 3 months and flat entrance doors on a best endeavours basis at least every 12 months, under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
Do fire door rules apply to my existing building?
Building Regulations applied when the building was built or altered. Fire safety law applies continuously and requires the doors you have to be maintained, which is the duty most enforcement turns on.