Keep assessment type separate from the legal duty
The obligation is to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. The type labels come from the LGA purpose-built flats guide, rather than separate statutory classes. A report title does not prove that the legal duty has been met or that every relevant feature has been assessed.
Explain the premises when asking for fire risk assessments: whether the building was purpose-built, what has changed and what information is available. For a conversion, ask how the assessor will adapt their approach rather than assuming a framework for purpose-built blocks describes every construction detail. The flats assessment guide covers the management information to supply alongside the chosen scope.
The comparison below follows the LGA purpose-built flats framework. Read the scope descriptions together: extending into flats and opening up construction are separate decisions.
| Assessment scope | Areas and inspection method | Practical implication for commissioning |
|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | Common parts, non-destructive assessment. Flat entrance doors are considered, without extending to the full internal inspection of dwellings. | The normal starting point described by the LGA. Arrange communal access and relevant door inspection rather than assuming every dwelling interior is included. |
| Type 2 | Common parts with destructive inspection on a sampling basis, in addition to the assessment work. | Agree where construction may be opened, who will do the work and how findings will be recorded and made good. |
| Type 3 | Common parts and flats, non-destructive. Extends consideration to arrangements inside dwellings without opening up construction. | Resident access becomes an important part of the brief. Wider internal access does not establish what lies behind every lining. |
| Type 4 | Common parts and flats with destructive inspection on a sampling basis. | Plan both resident access and intrusive investigation. A more extensive scope still has sampling limits that must be explained. |
| Choosing between types | The distinction is scope, not a progression of pass marks. Each type addresses different access and evidence needs. | State the uncertainty you need resolved. Do not order type 4 simply because the highest number sounds more reassuring. |
(Source: LGA fire safety in purpose-built flats)
Use type 4 to answer a construction question
A useful intrusive investigation starts with a question. Perhaps records suggest a separating construction but later alterations leave its continuity uncertain. The assessor and relevant specialists need to decide what opening locations could provide meaningful evidence. Random holes can create disruption without answering the concern that justified the investigation.
Record why each sample location was selected and what it represents. A finding at one junction may support a conclusion about similar construction, but it should not silently become proof of every concealed junction in the building. Ask the report to distinguish inspected locations, inferred conditions and areas that remain unknown. Photographs need location references that someone else can understand.
The LGA's purpose-built flats guidance describes the destructive and non-destructive scope distinctions. Those distinctions do not make the assessment contractor automatically responsible for builders' work, hazardous-material investigations or reinstatement. Put those work packages into the appointment explicitly, including who coordinates them and who can approve changes on site.
Plan access and making good for intrusive assessment types
Resident communication should explain the proposed locations, purpose and likely disruption in plain language. Confirm permissions and access arrangements with the people who control the relevant areas. Avoid promising that the assessor will finish everything during one attendance when the opening-up contractor, specialist or resident arrangements have not been agreed.
Before disturbing building fabric, consider asbestos information and the proposed work area. The HSE guidance on arranging asbestos surveys explains choosing survey work suited to the task. An existing management record should not be assumed to cover concealed materials that intrusive work could disturb. Identify this issue while planning, rather than leaving it to the person holding the tools.
Specify how opened construction will be left safe and reinstated. Capture observations before closing the opening and retain records of the finished repair. Where an unexpected condition changes the investigation, pause for instruction rather than expanding destructive work informally. A clear change process protects both the evidence and the people occupying the building.
About our Fire Risk Assessments service
For the service itself, see Fire Risk Assessments.
Compare assessment quotations by scope and evidence
Ask each bidder to describe included areas, sampling assumptions, access dependencies and exclusions. Compare whether opening-up, specialist input and making good are included. A type label alone cannot tell you whether quotations cover equivalent work. Ask how further findings would be priced and authorised, without assuming an initial scope can predict every concealed condition.
If you are weighing an internal assessment against outside help, read whether you can assess fire risk yourself. For managed residential property, landlord support can help organise associated services. Send your building records and the question behind the proposed investigation when requesting fire risk assessment arrangements, so the appointment starts with a defined evidence need.