The Government is consulting on regulating the fire risk assessor (FRA) profession by mandating competence, accreditation and oversight to improve trust, consistency and safety.

Published: 5 May 2026
Author: Rubina Zaidi

What matters

On 26 March 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published an open consultation seeking views on proposals to regulate the FRA profession in England. The proposals include mandatory competency standards, clearer professional definition and statutory oversight.

What matters next

The consultation closes on 18 June 2026. It forms part of the Government’s wider programme of professional, institutional and legislative reform in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (the Inquiry).

FRAs, responsible persons (RP), managing agents, building owners and others with fire safety duties should consider responding, as the proposals are intended to form the basis for future legislation regulating the FRAprofession.

Purpose of the consultation

FRAs play a critical role in identifying fire hazards and ensuring appropriate fire safety precautions are in place across almost all non‑domestic premises, including the common parts of residential buildings. Despite the importance of this role, FRAs are not currently members of a regulated profession. There is no single professional body for FRAs, no consistent definition of competence, and no mandatory qualification, certification or registration.

The consultation responds directly to long‑standing concerns about inconsistency in the quality of fire risk assessments and to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 recommendation that the Government establish a system of mandatory accreditation for FRAs.

The current legal framework

Fire safety in non‑domestic premises, including the common parts of blocks of flats (and the building's structure and external walls and doors between the domestic premises and common parts), is primarily governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). Article 9 of the FSO places a duty on the RP to make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, identifying the general fire precautions required.

RPs may carry out the assessment themselves or appoint a competent person to assist them. Current Home Office guidance recommends that, where an RP lacks the necessary expertise, particularly in more complex premises, expert assistance should be sought. However, there is no mandatory mechanism by which RPs can verify the competence of FRAs beyond the requirement to ensure their competence and the guidance advice to use assessors certificated as competent to carry out Fire Risk Assessments under a recognised (voluntary) certification scheme or those registered as such by a professional body.

The Building Safety Act 2022 has increased the focus on competence across the built environment, particularly for higher‑risk buildings, but it does not regulate FRAs. The consultation and proposed regulation of FRAs seek to address this gap.

The case for reform

Concerns about fire risk assessment practice pre‑date Grenfell, with earlier tragedies such as the Lakanal House fire exposing weaknesses in risk assessment quality and competence. Dame Judith Hackitt’s 2018 Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety referred to the review hearing that fire risk assessments were sometimes being reduced to “tick‑box exercises” completed by individuals “without demonstrable competence of fire safety….”.

The Inquiry’s Phase 2 report found that fire risk assessments commissioned for Grenfell Tower were inadequate, including failures to identify critical fire safety hazards and failure to identify whether risks previously identified had been remediated, and were relied upon by those responsible for the building without effective scrutiny. The Inquiry concluded that these failings reflected systemic weaknesses in competence assurance and recommended mandatory accreditation to ensure professional standards across the FRA profession.

Survey data published by the Government in September 2024 also highlights the scale of the issue: only 46% of respondents undertaking fire risk assessments belonged to a certification or registration scheme, and around half reported undertaking no formal, regular refresher training.

Proposals under consultation

The consultation envisages a formally recognised, consistently competent and effectively regulated FRA profession, supported by statutory powers. Key areas under consideration include:

Defining the role of FRAs

The consultation proposes legal definition of the role of FRAs and its scope, to support consistency and improve standards and accountability across the sector.

The RP’s ability to conduct their own assessments

The Government is considering if RPs should be professionally registered to undertake fire risk assessments on their own premises at least for higher-risk buildings¹.

Competency frameworks and standards

The Government proposes mandatory competency requirements for FRAs, aligned with recognised frameworks covering skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours, building on work undertaken by industry, including publication of BS 8674:2025. This sets out a structured competence framework for FRAs across three levels-Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced.

Accreditation, certification and career pathways

The consultation explores options for mandatory accreditation and certification, alongside clearer career pathways, including transitional routes, opportunities to demonstrate competence for existing practitioners and measures to attract new entrants to the profession through access to training and apprenticeships.

Regulatory oversight and enforcement

The Government seeks views on what regulatory powers, offences and sanctions would be required to ensure effective oversight of the FRA profession, with the intention that such regulation should sit within the emerging integrated regulatory framework for the built environment, as outlined in the Single Construction Regulator Prospectus published in December 2025.

Implementation and transition

Recognising the need to expand the FRA profession, the consultation asks if and how competency requirements and regulation should be phased in, taking account of current capacity and the need to maintain enough competent FRAs.

Relationship with wider professional reform

The proposals for regulating FRAs form part of a broader reform agenda affecting built‑environment professions. The Government has signalled its intention to create a coherent regulatory framework for fire engineers and other safety‑critical roles in addition to FRAs, with oversight potentially consolidated under a single construction regulator in future legislation.

What this means in practice

If implemented, the proposals would represent a fundamental shift for FRAs and those who rely on fire risk assessments. RPs, building owners and managing agents would gain greater assurance as to assessor competence, but would also need to ensure that the FRAs they appoint meet mandatory requirements once these are in force.

For FRAs, the proposed regulation should bring clearer professional recognition and improved structure, including accreditation, to their career, along with new compliance obligations, continuing professional development and regulatory oversight.

Responding to the consultation

Responses to the consultation will inform the Government’s impact assessment and future legislative proposals, with the Government intending to legislate when parliamentary time allows.

Given the potential significance of the proposals, stakeholders across fire safety, property management, construction and housing should consider engaging with the consultation to help shape the future development and regulation of this critical fire safety profession.

Respondents can complete the online survey or email their responses to:

FireSafetyUnitconsultations@communities.gov.uk

Written responses can be sent to:

Fire Risk Assessor Consultation
Attn: National Resilience and Fire Safety Division,
Fry Building,
2 Marsham Street,
Westminster,
London,
SW1P 4DF

And finally...

We will continue supporting stakeholders by publishing further articles or LinkedIn posts as the consultation, responses and regulatory reforms progress.

¹The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced a definition of a higher-risk building (for residential premises), covering buildings of at least 18 metres or 7 storeys in height and containing at least two residential units.