Fire Safety Responsibilities of Managing Agents

Managing Agents and Fire Safety Law

Managing agents occupy a critical position in the fire safety of residential buildings. As the day-to-day operators of the buildings they manage, they are often the primary point of contact between residents, freeholders, and the regulatory framework. Understanding the legal basis of managing agent fire safety duties — and the distinction between duties they hold directly and those they discharge on behalf of others — is essential for any managing agent operating in the residential sector.

The Responsible Person Under the RRO 2005

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) requires every non-domestic premises and the common parts of residential buildings to have a responsible person — the person on whom fire safety duties fall. For residential buildings, the responsible person is typically the person who has control of the premises, which may be:

• The freeholder, where they manage the building directly
• The managing agent, where they have been appointed to manage the common parts and hold sufficient control to be regarded as the person with control of those areas
• A residents' management company, where one exists

Where a managing agent is appointed and exercises day-to-day control of the common parts — including instructing maintenance, managing contractors, and controlling access — they are likely to be the responsible person under the RRO for those areas, regardless of whether the appointment contract explicitly acknowledges this.

Core RRO Duties for the Responsible Person

As responsible person, a managing agent must:

• Commission and maintain a fire risk assessment — a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment of the common parts must be carried out by a competent person, reviewed regularly, and acted upon. For higher-risk buildings, a more rigorous assessment is required.
• Implement fire safety measures — act on the findings of the fire risk assessment to reduce risk to an acceptable level, maintain fire safety equipment, ensure fire doors are maintained and not propped open, and keep escape routes clear
• Provide information to residents — residents must be informed about fire risks in the building and the actions they should take in the event of a fire
• Maintain fire safety equipment — fire detection systems, emergency lighting, fire doors, dry risers, and other fire safety installations must be maintained in working order and subject to regular inspection and testing
• Keep records — records of fire risk assessments, maintenance, testing, and training must be maintained and be available for inspection by the Fire and Rescue Service

Managing Agent Duties Under the Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced additional duties relevant to managing agents in higher-risk buildings. Where a managing agent holds a qualifying legal interest in the common parts of a higher-risk building — for example, where they hold the head lease — they may be an accountable person with statutory duties including cooperation with the principal accountable person and provision of information for the building safety case.

Even where the managing agent is not an accountable person, they will typically be responsible for implementing the day-to-day elements of the building safety case — maintaining the fire strategy, commissioning maintenance and testing, managing residents' safety concerns, and keeping records that form part of the golden thread of building information.

Common Fire Safety Failures by Managing Agents

The most common fire safety failures identified in residential buildings managed by third-party agents include: failure to commission or act on fire risk assessments; inadequate maintenance of fire doors (missing self-closers, defective seals, missing intumescent strips); failure to maintain fire alarm systems and emergency lighting; and absence of records. Each of these failures can result in enforcement action by the Fire and Rescue Service under the RRO, including prohibition notices preventing occupation.