Fire door inspection requirements for blocks of flats

Regulation 10 applies to buildings in England that contain 2 or more sets of domestic premises and have common parts used to evacuate. The duties depend on height, measured to the floor of the top storey.

GOV.UK's fire door guidance notes that buildings over 11 metres typically have more than 4 storeys.

Every block with 2 or more flats and common parts must give residents information that:

• Fire doors should be kept shut when not in use
• Residents must not tamper with self-closing devices on fire doors
• Residents should report any fault or damage to fire doors straight away

The information goes to new residents when they move in and to all residents at least every 12 months, alongside the fire safety instructions required by regulation 9.

The regulations do not list the checks. GOV.UK's fire door guidance, last updated in August 2025, describes simple visual checks that need no tools:

• Communal doors: damage or defects that could weaken fire resistance, damaged intumescent strips or smoke seals, large gaps, and whether the self-closer works. Hinges, ironmongery, glazing and ventilation grilles are checked too.
• Flat entrance doors: whether a resident has fitted a door that is not fire-resisting, whether the letterbox closes, damage to the door, frame or surrounding wall, and whether seals are present, undamaged and not painted over.
• Gaps: the guidance gives about 4mm as the limit around a door, other than at the threshold.
• Self-closers: the door should close fully into its frame from wide open and from about 15 degrees.

The GOV.UK guidance says routine checks do not need a specialist. A caretaker, managing agent, housing officer or maintenance contractor can carry them out with proper instruction. Repairs and replacements are different: the guidance says they must be done by a competent contractor as soon as reasonably practicable.

Some responsible persons use an independent inspector to set a baseline before routine checks start, to cover a portfolio on a fixed schedule, or to get a door-by-door record to show the fire and rescue service. Garrison FM's fire door inspections cost £30 per door ex VAT, with a £250 minimum per visit.

For flat entrance doors in buildings over 11 metres, the responsible person must record the steps taken to check them in each 12-month period, including flats where access was refused. The GOV.UK guidance suggests a pre-planned checklist and accepts electronic records. Where a resident persistently refuses access, it says legal action may need to be considered.

For communal doors, a dated record of each quarterly check, the faults found and the date each was fixed is the simplest way to show the duty has been met.

Since the Fire Safety Act 2021, the Fire Safety Order covers the doors between flats and common parts, so the fire risk assessment must consider flat entrance doors. A Type 1 assessment under BS 9792:2025 includes a representative sample of flat entrance doors. Regulation 10 checks are the routine follow-up between assessments. In buildings of 11 metres or under, the fire risk assessment should set how often doors are checked.