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The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into force on 1 October.
It is the most radical change to fire law for over 30 years. The old concept of a
fire certificate (and regulation by fire officers) is scrapped, and replaced by a
new system of self-assessment, with a regime of prescribed duties.
The new Order applies to all work places and non-domestic premises (it does
not apply to ‘premises occupied as a private dwelling’). The legal duty for compliance with the new regime lies with the ‘responsible person’. Typically,
this will be the employer in a work place, or the owner, occupier or manager
of a building. However, the test for deciding who is the ‘responsible person’
can be quite complex:
- work place premises: the duty holder will usually be the employer,
provided the work place is to any extent under the employer’s ‘control’.
Otherwise, it will be the person who has ‘control’ of the premises for the
purposes of carrying out a business or trade. If there is no such person
then liability will fall on the owner;
- non-work place premises: if there is any form of business being carried
on, then someone who has ‘control’ of the premises for those purposes
will be the ‘responsible person’. Failing that, then it will be the owner who
is liable.
The basic principles of the Order are straightforward, but the details can be
complex. The best introductory guide we have seen (which comes with four
useful flowcharts) is in [2006] 176 Property Law Journal 3
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October 2006 |
