Fire Risk Assessment in Hertfordshire: What You Must Do and What the Councils Expect

The duty, by the kind of building you run

The law is the same everywhere in the county. What an assessor spends the time on is not.

None of those is a template. We assess what is in the building on the day. If you are unsure whether the duty is yours, read who is the responsible person for fire safety.

HMO licensing in Hertfordshire: what the councils run

Every Hertfordshire council runs mandatory HMO licensing. We found no additional licensing scheme in the county.

Mandatory licensing applies to an HMO with five or more people in two or more households sharing facilities. A January 2026 Three Rivers council report said that no other Hertfordshire authority had introduced additional licensing for smaller HMOs, and Three Rivers itself decided not to progress it, with a review due in 12 months. Check your own council before you rely on that, because policies change.

• St Albans: says it only has mandatory licensing. Its HMO page lists automatic fire detection, emergency lighting and half-hour fire doors, and says every HMO must have a fire risk assessment kept under review by the responsible person.
• Watford: licenses HMOs with five or more people. Its conditions cover items such as fire alarms and fire doors, and breaches can be a criminal offence with an unlimited fine.
• Broxbourne: has licensed all HMOs of five or more people since 1 October 2018, whatever the number of storeys, and publishes a public register.
• Welwyn Hatfield: issues licences for up to five years after an inspection and fit-and-proper checks.
• Dacorum: runs the mandatory scheme for HMOs of five or more people.
• Three Rivers, Hertsmere, Stevenage, North Herts, East Herts: each runs the mandatory scheme. Ask the council housing team for the amenity standards it applies.

A licence condition about fire safety does not replace the assessment. They overlap, but the Fire Safety Order assessment covers the whole of the shared parts and your management of them. For the landlord side, see our HMO fire safety guide and fire doors for HMOs.

What to do after a fire service enforcement letter

Do not ignore it, and do not panic. Most letters start with a request, not a penalty.

1. 1Read which notice it is. An alterations notice asks you to tell the service before certain changes. An enforcement notice sets out what you must fix and by when. A prohibition notice restricts use of all or part of the premises where there is a serious risk.
2. 2Write the dates down. Notices carry a compliance date. You can appeal an enforcement or prohibition notice to the magistrates' court within 21 days of service.
3. 3Get a suitable and sufficient assessment done. If the letter says yours is missing, out of date or not suitable, that comes first. Send us the letter and any previous report.
4. 4Work through the action plan in order. We rank findings by risk so the items the officer is most concerned about are closed first.
5. 5Keep evidence. Dated photos, certificates and invoices go in the fire safety file. Send the officer the proof, not a promise.
6. 6Reply before the deadline. If one item needs more time, say so early and say why.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service says failure to comply with the Order can lead to fines and up to two years in prison. Notices can also be published on the National Enforcement Register, which is visible to tenants, lenders and insurers. See also what a failed fire risk assessment means.

How we run an assessment

The same method on every building.

Our assessments are written in the style of PAS 79-1 and led by Sebastian Grabowski, who holds the Level 4 Diploma in Fire Risk Assessment. We walk the building, record hazards, people at risk, escape routes, detection, lighting, doors and management, and write an action plan ranked by priority.

The price depends on floor area, number of floors, sleeping risk and how many separate occupiers share the building. We give a fixed price once we have the details. Types and review cycles are covered in types of fire risk assessment and how often to review.

A fire risk assessment does not cover your doors

They are two services.

An assessor can note that a door looks poor. A fire door inspection measures gaps, checks seals, hinges, closers and glazing and records each door with a photo. Our Hertfordshire fire door page covers that side. Where a building also has hidden gaps in fire walls and risers, a compartmentation survey is a third piece. The three sit side by side.

Sources

• Workplaces and businesses: business fire safety (Hertfordshire County Council)
• Houses in multiple occupation (St Albans City and District Council)
• Licensing houses in multiple occupation (Watford Borough Council)
• HMO licence (Broxbourne Borough Council)
• Review of HMO additional licensing, Policy and Resources Committee, 26 January 2026 (Three Rivers District Council)
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats (GOV.UK)

Updated October 2026 by Sebastian Grabowski, DC Fire & Security, 2 Winsdon Court, Luton LU1 5LZ.