An assessment describes the building on the day. Buildings change. The law asks you to keep it under review, and the fire service asks to see that you did.
The Fire Safety Order requires the responsible person to review the assessment regularly and whenever there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change. It does not name an interval. Guidance and practice have settled on an annual review for most premises, and sooner after any change. Since October 2023 the review, like the assessment, must be recorded.
A review is not a fresh assessment from a blank page. We walk the building against the last report: are the actions done, has anything changed, do the alarm and lighting test records exist, are the doors still closing, has anything new arrived. Where nothing material has changed, the review confirms that and re-dates the document. Where something has, that part is reassessed. The output is a short review record appended to the assessment, which is what an inspecting officer expects to see.
Holiday lets, B&Bs, pubs with rooms, HMOs, care homes and caravan parks are where the fire service looks first, where the risk is highest and where a stale assessment does most damage in a claim. For these we recommend an annual review as a fixed diary item, and a pre-season review for seasonal businesses. For a shop or office with no sleeping risk and no change, annual is still the norm but the review is brief.
Reviewing an assessment we wrote is charged at a reduced rate, because the groundwork is done and we know the building. Reviewing someone else's is possible but we may recommend a fresh assessment if the original is not suitable and sufficient — we will tell you before starting, not after.
Related: How often you need an assessment · What it costs · If you have had a notice
No. There is no legal expiry date. The duty is to keep it under review and to revisit it after any significant change. Annual review is the accepted practice, and for sleeping accommodation we would not stretch it.
You can, if you are competent and nothing has changed — a dated note confirming the walk-round and the test records is a valid review. Where anything material has changed, or the premises has sleeping risk, an independent review is the safer course and the one an inspector will take more seriously.
Less than the original assessment, and less again if we wrote the original. You get a fixed figure on the phone.
A review of the affected parts is usually enough, unless the work has changed the escape routes, the compartmentation or the use of the building, in which case the affected areas are reassessed and the document updated.
Tell us the building and we will give you a fixed price on the phone. Most assessments are booked within the week.