I live in a maisonette with a shop below. I have only one entrance/exit to my house. There is a communal walkway for access to my house along with a rear fire exit for the shop. The problem is when the shop open their fire exit it completely blocks the passageway making it impossible to get past. Surely from a h&s point of view this can't be legal. As if there was a fire we could potentially be blocked in our house. Thanks for any help Joe

If the door was open when you tried to escape, why can't you close the door to exit, it is not ideal but it is not going to prevent your escape? Is the walkway private or public, because somebody could be injured and the local council or owner could be held responsible for compensation. I am surprised the local building control allowed such a design but I do not see it as a fire safety matter.