Does a flat entrance door have to be a fire door?

What the rules say

This page is about flats in a building with shared common parts in England. The door between the flat and the corridor or stair is the one that matters, because it is what stops a fire in one flat reaching the escape route.

Approved Document B, Appendix C, Table C1 lists a door that separates a flat from a space in common use as FD30S (E 30 Sa). Paragraph C5 adds that fire doorsets to flat entrances should have a self-closing device. Doors inside a flat are not covered in the same way.

Government guidance on the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 treats flat entrance doors as part of the common parts for door checks. The Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that they fall under the Fire Safety Order, so the person responsible for the building has duties for them even though the resident lives behind them.

What has to be checked

In buildings above 11 metres, regulation 10 requires the responsible person to check communal fire doors at least every 3 months. Flat entrance doors must be checked at least every 12 months, on a best endeavours basis, and the checks include the self-closing devices. If a resident refuses access, the responsible person keeps a record of the steps taken to get in.

In any block with two or more sets of domestic premises and common parts, residents have to be told to keep fire doors shut, not to tamper with self-closers and to report faults straight away. This applies below 11 metres too.

Older doors and missing labels

Government guidance is realistic here. A door that met the standard when the block was built, or when the door was made, generally stays adequate if it is undamaged and the gaps are not too large. Missing intumescent strips, smoke seals or a label do not by themselves make a door unfit. They do mean the doorset needs a proper look, and where there is real doubt about the door, the fire risk assessment drives what happens next.

In practice we see the same problems on flat entrance doors again and again: worn or painted-over seals, closers that have been removed or disconnected, gaps over 4mm, doors swapped by residents for ordinary doors, and letterboxes jammed open or fitted without fire protection.

When a resident has replaced the door

Government guidance says a resident who has fitted a new door should be able to confirm it is fire resisting, that a competent person fitted it and give you the technical information. If they cannot, treat it as an unknown and have it inspected. A panelled or hollow internal door fitted at the front of a flat does not have a fire rating, and panelled doors lose theirs because the thin panels do not hold. The usual fix is a plain certified doorset.

What to do next

Start with a list of every flat entrance door and which ones you have seen. An inspection gives each door a record, with photographs and a defect list. See fire door inspections for what that involves, who is responsible for fire doors in flats and the flat entrance fire door replacement page if a door has to be replaced.

Sources

• Approved Document B Volume 1, Appendix C and Table C1 (GOV.UK)
• Fact sheet: fire doors, regulation 10 (GOV.UK)
• Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022: fire door guidance (GOV.UK)
• The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10