Converting retail space into homes: Fire Safety must be front and centre

Its expansion of permitted development rights will allow buildings in a variety of commercial uses to be converted into homes without requiring local authority planning permission.

This will include empty shops, offices and other disused buildings.

The policy is designed to help boost the supply of affordable new homes and increase the opportunities for young people to buy a property.

Repurposing empty retail space alone could create hundreds of thousands of homes, especially if they are converted into flats. Certainly, there are plenty of vacant shops all over the country.

As the number of conversions gathers pace, it’s vital to recognise that underpinning any scheme will be legal requirements which put safety at the heart of any building conversion, with fire safety especially important.

The requirements of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 apply to any conversion.

Upon completion, all buildings must under the 2005 Order have a fire risk assessment.

A Type 1 fire risk assessment for the common parts of a building will highlight any risks to occupants, visitors and the building itself, and will include the following aspects:

• Electrical installations
• Electric scooters or batteries left to charge in communal areas
• Fire doors and compartmentation, to assess the risk of internal and external spread of flames. These should be functioning and safe
• The escape routes, which should be safe and accessible. They should be free of combustible, flammable and obstructive items and there should be the correct number of them for the building
• The management of fire safety to include whether the appropriate evacuation strategy for occupants is displayed in the block
• What fire and smoke detection is installed in the block, and whether this provision is appropriate 
• Whether sufficient and appropriate lighting is installed in the escape routes
• Whether clear and correct fire safety signage is displayed along the escape routes and on fire doors
• Assessing the risk that smoking and arson pose to the building
• Assessing the risk of ignition in the common parts
• Safe storage of dangerous substances
• Compliance with building regulations
• Whether facilities are provided for the fire and rescue service

In addition, it is recommended that The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 statutory requirements by building height are upheld. If the building is over 18m or seven floors, it is recommended that building information is entered on to the government’s high-rise residential register.

It is important that a fire risk assessment is carried out by an accredited and suitably qualified person on the Tiered Fire Risk Assessor Register for the building being inspected.

Failure to do so means breaking the law and the risk of prosecution leading to punishments such as a fine, an enforcement notice and/or fine and, in severe cases, a prohibition order or even imprisonment.

But the consequences of not having a fire risk assessment, or failing to act on the issues raised by the inspection, can have much bigger consequences than falling foul of the law.

It can literally mean the difference between life and death.

The shadow of the Grenfell tragedy looms large over fire safety in buildings, and rightly so.

We recommend buildings undergo an annual survey to assess what risk a fire may post to residents and the building itself. Seemingly small issues can lead to catastrophe. However, by acting on issues raised in a thorough fire risk assessment, the damage to a building and the danger to its inhabitants in the event of a fire can be minimised by reducing the chance of it spreading.

Every building is different, and a fire risk assessment should not be merely a box-ticking exercise.

Paul Christopher is a specialist fire risk assessor for Scanlans, a property management and surveying practice. He is a member of the Institute of Fire Safety Managers and holds industry qualifications from numerous bodies.

Scanlans, which operates nationwide from offices in Manchester, Birmingham and London, has a property management portfolio of more than 20,000 units across over 300 residential sites, from listed apartment blocks to new-build housing developments.

Paul Christopher, specialist fire risk assessor at Scanlans