Fire Door Regulations for Flats: What the 2022 Rules Require

Exactly what the 2022 regulations require

• Buildings over 11m (roughly 5+ storeys): quarterly checks of fire doors in communal areas
• Same buildings: annual checks of flat entrance doors — with 'best endeavours' to gain access, recorded where access fails
• All multi-occupied residential buildings (any height): provide residents with information on fire doors — keep them shut, don't tamper with closers, report damage
• Checks must be recorded: door, date, findings, action — this is what fire authorities ask to see
• The duty sits with the responsible person: freeholder, RMC/RTM, or managing agent in practice

What a compliant check involves

The regulation-driven checks follow the recognisable five-step pattern: closing action against the closer, gaps within tolerance, seals intact, hinges sound, glazing and the door leaf undamaged, plus signage ('Fire door keep shut') present. They are checks, not certifications — their job is to spot deterioration and trigger remedials. Flat entrance doors are the recurring battleground: leaseholder-replaced front doors (uPVC specials, internet purchases) are how compliant blocks quietly become non-compliant, which the annual check exists to catch.

Beyond the checks: when doors must be replaced

Flat entrance doors should be FD30S (30 minutes, with smoke seals) and self-closing. Where checks find non-compliant doors — no certification, failed construction, missing closers — the fire risk assessment drives remediation: repair where the leaf is sound (seals, closers, gaps are all repairable), replace where it isn't. Post-Grenfell guidance and the building safety regime have pushed wholesale flat-door replacement programmes in many blocks; for individual leaseholders, lease terms decide who pays, but the responsible person cannot leave a known non-compliant door indefinitely.