Landlord vs Tenant — Who's Actually Responsible for the Fire Risk Assessment?

This is one of the most common questions we get asked, and it's rarely a straightforward one-line answer — because it genuinely depends on the setup.

The general principle

The law places responsibility on the "responsible person" — whoever has control over the premises. In a lot of cases that's more than one person at once. A landlord might control the shared areas of a building (stairwells, fire doors, communal corridors), while a tenant controls what happens inside their own unit. Both can have separate, overlapping duties.

This is exactly where things go wrong. Landlord assumes tenant has it covered. Tenant assumes it's the landlord's building, so it's the landlord's problem. Nobody actually does it, until an inspection or an incident forces the question.

Single-let commercial premises

If you're a tenant leasing an entire building or unit, responsibility for the Fire Risk Assessment of that space usually sits with you as the business operator — regardless of what your lease says about the building's structure being the landlord's responsibility. Fire safety of how the space is used, staffed, and operated is generally down to whoever's running the business.

Multi-let buildings

This is where it gets genuinely complicated. In a building split into multiple units — an office block, a converted mill with several small businesses, a high street building with retail below and offices above — you typically get:

• The landlord responsible for the assessment of common/shared areas (entrances, stairwells, shared fire exits, communal fire alarm systems)
• Each individual tenant responsible for the assessment within their own demise

The problem is these two assessments need to work together. A tenant's escape route often runs straight through the landlord's common areas — if the landlord's fire doors are propped open or the stairwell's cluttered with stock, the tenant's own assessment is compromised through no fault of their own.

HMOs and mixed residential-commercial buildings

Particularly relevant if you're operating serviced accommodation or managing an HMO above commercial premises: fire safety responsibility here can involve additional layers of regulation on top of the standard commercial rules, and it's an area we see landlords get caught out on more than almost any other.

What your lease says (and doesn't say)

Leases often reference fire safety obligations in general terms without clearly allocating who does the actual assessment. "Reasonable repair" and "compliance with statutory requirements" clauses are not the same as a clear statement of who commissions and pays for a Fire Risk Assessment. If your lease is vague on this, that's worth resolving directly with the other party rather than assuming.

The safest approach

If there's any doubt at all about who's responsible, the safest position is to get your own space assessed regardless of what you think the landlord or tenant on the other side of the arrangement is doing. An assessment covering only "your bit" is far better than no assessment because of a disagreement over whose job it was.

Fire Check Scotland works with landlords, tenants, and managing agents across Scotland, England, and Wales to get responsibility — and the assessment itself — sorted properly. Get in touch to talk through your specific setup.