{"id":179130,"date":"2023-01-13T04:03:52","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T04:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/?p=179130"},"modified":"2026-10-21T01:06:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T00:06:27","slug":"fire-responsible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/commercial-lease-property\/fire-responsible\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Responsible for Fire Safety?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Landlords and tenants often treat fire safety as a point to settle in the lease, alongside repairs and insurance. It does not work that way. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005<\/em> attaches the duty to whoever has control of the premises, and a fire authority prosecutes that person regardless of what the lease says about who pays. A tenant who occupies the whole building is almost always a responsible person. A landlord who retains the common parts is almost always one too, at the same time. The lease still matters, because it decides who bears the cost and who has the right to enter and inspect. It simply does not decide who goes to court. This article explains who counts as a responsible person for fire safety in a commercial lease, what that person must do, and how landlord and tenant share the duty where both have control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsible Person<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anyone with control of the commercial premises has responsibility for fire safety. Fire safety responsibility lies with the person in control, and hence the \u2018responsible person\u2019.  A responsible person can include, for example, a:<\/p>\n\n\n\n