Front door to flat in Victorian conversion - fire door?

[Guest Claire]

Hi there

I'm trying to establish whether the front doors to the 5 flats in our Victorian conversion block need to be fire doors in order to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  They all open out into the communal hallways.  I've seen online that front doors should be fire doors but I'm wondering if this applies only to new builds and whether the requirements in this case might be different?

Having recently acquired the freehold we are trying to work out whether we should take out buildings insurance that requires an inspection and any remedial works to be done, or pay extra for insurance which doesn't require compliance with this Order.  My only concern with the first option is if we are required to change our front doors, in which case we'd rather not have to do that immediately!

Would really appreciate any guidance on this as it seems impossible to find the answer to this online.

Many thanks in advance

Claire

[Mike North]

Communal spaces (which would include doors opening on to the space) are covered under the RRO and a fire risk assessment should be in place, as the lease holder you are probably responsible.

Any insurance company will ask to see the latest fire risk assessment before they payout following a fire

[AnthonyB]

On 26/07/2023 at 19:47, Guest Claire said:

Hi there

I'm trying to establish whether the front doors to the 5 flats in our Victorian conversion block need to be fire doors in order to comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  They all open out into the communal hallways.  I've seen online that front doors should be fire doors but I'm wondering if this applies only to new builds and whether the requirements in this case might be different?

Having recently acquired the freehold we are trying to work out whether we should take out buildings insurance that requires an inspection and any remedial works to be done, or pay extra for insurance which doesn't require compliance with this Order.  My only concern with the first option is if we are required to change our front doors, in which case we'd rather not have to do that immediately!

Would really appreciate any guidance on this as it seems impossible to find the answer to this online.

Many thanks in advance

Claire

Whilst only a site visit & FRA (which legally you must have) can say for sure there will be a need for front fire doors of some sort even if the block requires a simultaneous evacuate policy as there is a risk the escape stair could be blocked.

When was the conversion?