Failed a Fire Door Inspection? What Happens Next and What Repairs Cost

What does it mean when a fire door fails inspection?

It means the door has at least one defect that could stop it holding back fire or smoke. It does not usually mean the door has to be replaced.

Failing is normal. Across 470 doors on first visits, 72% needed at least one repair (339 doors, Sept 2025 to Oct 2026). A failed door had 1.5 repair actions on average. The most common faults were gaps and alignment (39%), seals missing, damaged or painted over (35%) and thresholds or drop seals (16%). See our fire door inspection statistics.

Replacement is the minority outcome. Only about 8% of doors were recommended for replacement, and across three finished programmes 95% of failed doors were repaired.

How do I read a fire door inspection report?

A good report grades every door separately as a pass, a repair with the exact task, or a replacement with the reason, and puts a priority on each.

If your report only gives an overall pass or fail, ask for door-by-door grading before you spend anything. You cannot price or plan repairs without it. Our demo inspection report shows what a per-door report looks like.

How quickly do failed fire doors need to be fixed?

There is no fixed legal deadline. The government's 2025 guidance says repairs should be carried out by a competent contractor as soon as reasonably practicable, and escape route doors should come first.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person to keep fire doors in efficient working order and good repair. A sensible timeline is set out below. Buildings can almost always stay in use while the work is done, as long as the high-risk items are dealt with quickly and you keep records.

What do failed fire door repairs cost?

Repairs usually cost £150 to £900 a door + VAT, depending on the fault and how many doors are done on one visit. Replacement costs more, from about £1,000 + VAT for a basic certified FD30S doorset fitted.

Doing several doors on one visit brings the cost per door down. See fire door remedial costs and fire door cost, supply and fit for more detail.

Can I be fined if my fire doors fail?

A failed report on its own is not an offence. Failing to act on it can be: under the Fire Safety Order, fines on conviction are unlimited, and the fire authority can serve an enforcement notice with a deadline.

Fire and rescue services usually start with advice. If defects are not dealt with, they can serve an enforcement notice setting out what must be fixed and by when. A prohibition notice that restricts use of a building is kept for serious risk. Insurers may also ask to see inspection reports and evidence that the repairs were done.

For HMOs, the council can also act under the Housing Act 2004 and the HMO licence conditions. See our HMO landlord fire safety guide.

Who pays to fix failed fire doors in a block of flats?

It depends on who owns the door under the lease. LEASE says communal doors are usually paid for through the service charge, while a flat entrance door often belongs to the leaseholder.

If the lease makes the flat entrance door part of the leaseholder's flat, the leaseholder usually pays for its repair or replacement. If the freeholder keeps it, the cost usually goes through the service charge. For larger works, the landlord must consult leaseholders under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 if any one leaseholder would pay more than £250. Our guide on who is responsible for fire doors in flats covers this in detail.

How do I close off a failed inspection properly?

Have every repaired door re-inspected against the original defect, then update the door schedule so the next check starts from an accurate record.

Keep photos, the repair notes and the re-inspection result for each door. Inspection and repair can be bought separately, so you can use any competent contractor for the work. Inspection costs from about £250 + VAT for a small building, typically £20 to £30 a door on larger ones. See fire door inspections.

We inspect and repair fire doors across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, London, the Thames Valley and the East Midlands.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, fire door guidance (updated 8 August 2025)
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
• LEASE: Who pays for the replacement or upgrade of an existing fire door?
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 20
• BS 8214 code of practice for fire doors (2026 edition, replacing the 2016 version), FPA report
• DC Fire & Security: fire door inspection statistics

Updated October 2026 by Sebastian Grabowski, DC Fire & Security. We inspect and repair fire doors across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, London, the Thames Valley and the East Midlands. Our own figures: fire door inspection statistics 2026.