Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure leaseholders are able to access information about fire safety.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, there is a requirement on responsible persons (those responsible for fire safety such as a building owner, landlord or managing agent) to undertake and record a fire risk assessment for their premises. Article 21A also makes clear that the responsible person must communicate the risks identified in the fire risk assessment to residents (including whenever this is updated). They are not required to share the whole assessment as there is an expectation that they summarise the risks given the potentially technical nature of the assessment.

Fire and rescue services are not in a position to compel responsible persons to share the whole fire risk assessment and the Government does not hold data on enforcement or breaches of Article 21A. If the risks highlighted in the assessment are not being shared with residents they should request this from their responsible person, and if they continue to not receive this information then they could report this to their fire and rescue service.

In guidance we publish on these requirements, titled Check your fire safety responsibilities under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022, we advise that those responsible for fire safety communicate this information alongside the instructions to residents on what to do in the event of a fire which they are required to provide on an annual basis. This advice is repeated in the statutory guidance on fire safety in blocks of flats which we aim to publish in the first half of 2026.

There is a regulatory power under Article 21A (4) allowing the Government to mandate the frequency of this information. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the legislation to identify if such a mandate is necessary.

In addition, on 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services which can be found on gov.uk here. This included proposals to give leaseholders the right to access specific information relating to the condition of their building, including on fire safety. The consultation closed on 26 September 2025, and we are analysing responses.