The Fire Safety Bill becomes law

On 29 April the Fire Safety Bill received Royal Assent and became law in England and Wales. 

The Act amends the RRO (Fire Safety Order) 2005 to clarify that the order applies to the building’s structure, external walls and common parts and all doors between domestic premises and common parts. It also clarifies that references to external walls includes doors, windows, balconies or anything else attached to the exterior.

The Act also gives powers to the Secretary of State to make further changes through secondary legislation – for example by extending the scope of the Act to include other types of buildings. It is also expected that regulations affecting Approved Inspectors to include plan certificates will also be amended.

The Act will come into force at a date decided by the Secretary of State through a statutory instrument.

The Fire Safety Act is an important step in a number of proposed changes to improve building safety and it will soon be followed by the Building Safety Bill which was announced as part of the government’s legislative programme in the Queen’s Speech on 11 May.