I am in the process of buying a 2 bedroom leasehold flat in south London.

The block is a purpose-built 60s block of 4 stories/under 11 meters and not a relevant building under the Building Safety Act.

I have received the Fire Safety Assessment that was recently conducted and being a layman, understanding it, and if it's cause for concern, is not straightforward.

Overall the buildings rating is "moderate" with a series of recommendations. The majority of them look relatively easy/cheap; but I am concerned about the below recommendation around roof compartmentalisation - based on some research i found from 2021, roof compartmentalisation could be significantly expensive (https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5515/documents/54942/default/) 

Would the below be something that would be of concern for you / any ideas how I get more certainty around this issue?

"Comments: Compartmentation would not appear to be
adequate. It would appear that the entire roof void is not
compartmentalised and current guidance would
recommend for it to be compartmentalised to help
mitigate the risk of fire spread. It would appear that the
flooring within the roof is of concrete construction,
however this was not confirmed due to limited access.

Recommendations: Provide compartmentation within
the roof space as noted. The minimum period of fire
resistance required is 60 minutes (unless it can be
confirmed that the original concrete slab spans the
entire length and width of the roof with no penetrations
and is adequate to provide 60 minutes fire resistance
between the top floor flats and the roof space)."

Firstly I'd get a proper inspection of the roof space - it's clear they didn't get very far up there (but at least it seems they did go up there which is rare despite it being expected as standard).

If you have a proper slab floor that would explain the lack of partitioning and at worst you might only have some firestopping of any penetrations from below to deal with.

On 28/08/2024 at 19:52, AnthonyB said:

Firstly I'd get a proper inspection of the roof space - it's clear they didn't get very far up there (but at least it seems they did go up there which is rare despite it being expected as standard).

If you have a proper slab floor that would explain the lack of partitioning and at worst you might only have some firestopping of any penetrations from below to deal with.

 

Thanks for the reply! 

Am afraid I don't have the authority to get a proper inspection of the roof space - I have learnt that the block is a concrete frame structure, which based on my limited knowledge would suggest that any costly compartmentation is unlikely, surely? 

Only if the floors are slab as well or otherwise fully protected. Sub division is preferred as fire rated ceilings have limitations, but on small blocks a risk assessor may be pragmatic