Apex London Spec

Fire Safety Compliance Works

When a fire risk assessment lands on a landlord or letting agent’s desk, the action plan is ours to deliver. Apex carries out fire risk assessment remedial works across London — compartmentation, fire-stopping, door upgrades and signage — with every item photographed, certificated and closed out for licensing and insurance.

Written Guarantee: 5 Years

Average Timeline Range: 2 days - 4 weeks

From FRA Action Plan to Signed-Off Works

Most landlords do not struggle to get a fire risk assessment — they struggle to get the actions done. Assessors identify the defects but do not fix them, and the typical action plan mixes a dozen trades: fire-stopping, joinery, electrics, signage and decoration. We take the FRA document itself as our brief, price each action line by line, and deliver the lot as one programme. We work for private landlords, letting agents and block managers across London, in occupied HMOs, converted flats and communal areas. Works are sequenced around tenants with proper notice given, and every completed item is photographed against its FRA reference so the assessor, the council or the freeholder can see exactly what was done, where and when.

Compartmentation and Fire-Stopping

Compartmentation is the principle that holds a building’s fire strategy together: walls, floors and ceilings that contain fire and smoke long enough for people to escape. In London’s converted Victorian stock it is routinely compromised — holes drilled for pipes and cables, missing ceiling sections above cupboards, lofts open across the building line. Our teams survey and reinstate compartment lines using tested materials: intumescent sealants and collars around service penetrations, fire-rated boarding to ceilings and protected stairways, fire barriers and batt in voids, and 30- or 60-minute upgrades to walls between lettings. Every seal and upgrade is logged with location photographs and product data sheets, building the evidence file that inspections increasingly demand.

Landlord Duties Under the Fire Safety Order

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes the “responsible person” — usually the landlord or managing agent — legally accountable for fire safety in the common parts of HMOs and buildings containing flats. Since the Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified its scope, that duty explicitly covers the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors. Enforcement is real: London fire authorities issue enforcement notices, and unlimited fines sit at the top of the scale. Alongside the Order, HMO licensing conditions under the Housing Act 2004 impose their own fire precautions. We work to both regimes daily, so the works we deliver satisfy the fire authority and the council’s HMO officer at the same time — not one at the expense of the other.

Documentation That Survives an Inspection

Compliance work that is not documented may as well not exist. Every Apex fire safety project closes with a handover pack: the original FRA action plan annotated item by item, dated photographs of each completed work, product certification for fire-stopping materials and doorsets, and electrical certificates where alarm or emergency lighting circuits were touched. Letting agents tell us this pack is the difference between a smooth licence renewal and a second inspection. It also matters when something goes wrong elsewhere in a building: being able to show the works were done, by whom and with what materials is precisely what insurers and investigators ask for first. We keep digital copies of every pack, so a replacement is one email away.

Certified Technology & Material Specifications

To maintain our Renowise prestige guarantee levels, our regional surveyor vans carry specialized heavy-duty diagnostic rigs and certified premium hardware.

PREMIUM COPPER CORE JOINTS, UL-CERTIFIED CIRCUIT RELAYS, INDUSTRIAL GRADE SEALENTS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who is legally responsible for fire safety in a rented property?

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the “responsible person” — normally the landlord, or the managing agent where duties are delegated — is accountable for fire safety in common parts. HMO licence conditions under the Housing Act 2004 add further duties inside the lettings. We carry out the physical works those duties require and document them for both regimes.

How much do fire risk assessment remedial works cost?

It depends entirely on the action plan. Sealing service penetrations costs from around £40–£80 per penetration; upgrading a ceiling to 30-minute fire resistance typically £600–£1,500 per room; a full remedial package for a converted London HMO commonly lands between £3,000 and £15,000. We price each FRA action line by line so you can see and phase the spend.

Can you do the works with tenants in place?

Yes — most of our compliance work is in occupied HMOs and blocks. We give proper written notice through you or your agent, work room by room, and keep escape routes clear and alarms live at the end of every working day.

Will your work satisfy the council’s HMO licensing inspection?

That is the point of the handover pack: annotated action plan, dated photographs, product certification and electrical certificates. London borough HMO officers see hundreds of inspections a year — clear evidence of completed works, referenced back to the FRA, is what closes files quickly.