From October 2006 RMC’s will be in need of yet another willing and reliable volunteer!
Later this year the snappily titled Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order may not specifically apply to individual flats - but it does cover the common areas such as stairwells, lifts and corridors.
The legislation will require a designated “responsible person” from a Residential Management Company to carry out a risk assessment and take steps to reduce or remove the risk of fire, taking into account the effect a fire might have on anyone in or around their premises. The assessment will have to be reviewed at regular intervals. No paperwork need be completed unless five or more people are being employed on the premises, but whatever size, it is good practice to have evidence of completed assessments.
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The legislation is not onerous - it imposes a duty to keep a “watching brief” in very much the same way that any responsible management company will do as a matter of course, for example ensuring that fire exits are properly maintained and that inappropriate materials are not stored in common areas.
Guidance is available on www.odpm.gov.uk
Follow the link to ‘Fire and Resilience’ and then the further link to ‘Fire Safety Law’.
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