Every business, every block of flats with shared parts and every let HMO in Warrington needs a fire risk assessment that is suitable and sufficient under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the person responsible for the premises has to keep it in writing. This page sets out where Warrington Borough Council’s HMO licence ends and that duty begins, how Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and the council enforce, what the assessment and the report should include, and what to put to an assessor before you book.
Warrington’s HMO licence and the assessment it asks for
Warrington Borough Council licenses the larger HMOs that fall within the national mandatory scheme: a house or flat let to five or more people who form more than one household and share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Its HMO licensing pages describe that mandatory scheme only and list no additional or selective scheme, so a three or four person share does not need a licence here. The council points out that the rules on management, amenities and fire standards apply to every HMO whatever its size, and it names itself as the enforcing authority for fire safety standards in all HMOs in the borough. The guidance, the application and the fees are on Warrington Borough Council’s HMO licensing pages.
Excluding VAT, a new licence costs £492.09, or £442.87 for a member of the Cheshire Landlord Accreditation Scheme, the voluntary scheme Warrington runs with Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester, and £246.04 for a charity. The application has to include a written fire risk assessment, together with a gas safety certificate, an electrical installation condition report, a fire alarm commissioning or annual servicing certificate, and portable appliance test results for electrical items supplied over 12 months old. A licence normally lasts up to five years and cannot be transferred, and its conditions include a smoke alarm on each storey used as living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. Letting without a licence can bring a civil penalty of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution, and breaking a licence condition a fine of up to £5,000. Appeals go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in Manchester, normally within 28 days.
Whether or not a licence is needed, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 covers the common parts of any HMO, the shared parts of a block of flats and every business premises, and since 1 October 2023 every non-domestic premises has had to keep a written record of its fire risk assessment. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service says the risk of fire breaking out in an HMO is greater than in a single family home.
How Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and the council share enforcement
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is the enforcing authority for the Fire Safety Order across Cheshire, including Warrington, and its Protection team has offices in Chester, Crewe and Warrington. It regularly audits business premises to check they comply. For houses in multiple occupation, Warrington Borough Council also enforces fire safety standards under housing law, so a shared house can be inspected by the council for its licence and audited by the fire service under the Order.
An inspector may enter premises at any reasonable time and ask to see any record the Order requires, the written assessment among them. Where the service finds that a serious risk is going unmanaged, it can serve an enforcement notice that gives at least 28 days to put things right, or a prohibition notice that restricts or stops use of the premises straight away, and before it serves a prohibition notice on an HMO it notifies the council where practicable. A notice can be appealed to the magistrates’ court within 21 days. Under gov.uk’s summary, a minor penalty can be as much as £5,000, and a major one an unlimited fine with up to 2 years in prison. Cheshire’s fire safety officers may be able to offer advice, but the assessment itself is for you or the assessor you appoint.
Shared houses, blocks and business premises in Warrington
The 2021 Census found 15.2% of Warrington households renting privately, up from 11.2% in 2011, in a borough of around 211,000 people. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service treats a house or flat as an HMO once three or more unrelated people forming more than one household share facilities, so a share can have common parts the Order covers well below the licence threshold of five. The service’s HMO guidance, which points landlords to the LACORS Housing Fire Safety guide, says a house built or converted to the Building Regulations 1991 or later usually needs no extra fire measures unless its use has changed, risks have been added, or it has deteriorated or been altered. It also asks landlords to keep e-bikes and e-scooters off escape routes and out of communal areas, and to fit internal thumb-turn locks so final exit doors open from inside without a removable key.
Business premises need their own assessment, and the government publishes separate guides for offices and shops, factories and warehouses, schools and other educational premises, residential care, places of assembly and sleeping accommodation. In a warehouse or factory the assessment has to cover any dangerous substances stored there as well as the escape routes, the alarms and the firefighting equipment. Purpose-built blocks of flats have a guide of their own, with another for the common parts of small blocks of up to 3 storeys. In a block taller than 11 metres, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 call for the communal fire doors to be checked at least every 3 months and for the responsible person to use best endeavours to check every flat’s entrance door no less than once in 12 months. Our fire door regulations page goes through those checks.
If your landlord is Warrington Borough Council or a housing association, report any concern about the shared parts to them, because the fire duty for those parts is theirs.
The fire duty applies below the licence threshold
A three or four person share in Warrington needs no licence, but if it is let as an HMO its common parts still need a fire risk assessment, and the council itself says fire standards apply to all HMOs. The same goes for the shared parts of a converted house let as flats and for every shop, office and warehouse, none of which the licence reaches.
What the assessment covers and what a Warrington report should include
The assessment follows five steps set out by the government. You pick out the fire hazards and everyone they could put at risk, decide how serious each risk is and remove or reduce it, write up the findings with an emergency plan and training, then come back to the assessment regularly. The written record has to show what the assessment found, what has been done or will be done about it, and any group especially at risk. Look at it again regularly, and especially when there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or something significant has changed.
For a Warrington share the report should say whether the house was built or converted to the 1991 Building Regulations standard, where the alarm on each storey is, how the final exit door opens, and where bikes and scooters are kept. For a warehouse it should cover the storage, the distance to the exits and the fire strategy for the building. A report that could describe any building in the borough is unlikely to be suitable and sufficient.
Who is responsible for the assessment
In a workplace the Order makes the employer the responsible person. Elsewhere it is whoever controls the premises in connection with a trade or business, or else the owner, and for common parts gov.uk points to the landlord, freeholder or managing agent. The assessment can be done by you or with someone appointed to help, but the Order as amended says the responsible person must not appoint anyone who is not competent, and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service stresses that you stay responsible in law for meeting its requirements.
Finding a competent assessor for Warrington premises
The Order defines a competent person as someone with sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to help properly with the assessment. No national register exists that an assessor has to join, and the Phase 2 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry called for the government to bring in mandatory accreditation. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service points to the Guide to Choosing a Competent Fire Risk Assessor, published by the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council, which lists the bodies that certificate assessors. When you speak to an assessor, ask for:
- Proof of competence: their qualifications and the professional body or certification scheme that has checked their work.
- Relevant work: examples of assessments on premises like yours, whether that is an HMO, a block or a warehouse.
- Cover: the amount of professional indemnity insurance behind the report.
- A sample: an anonymised report, so you can judge the detail.
- Turnaround: the time on site, the date the report will arrive, and whether help putting the recommendations in place is included.
Fire risk assessment prices in Warrington
Quotes depend on what the building is, how big it is and how it is used, whatever the postcode. One named reference point is the national firm UK Fire Risk Assessments, which advertises prices from £245 plus VAT. Typical ranges by type of premises, and what pushes a quote up or down, are in our fire risk assessment cost guide. Ask each assessor for a fixed price against the same written description of the premises, with VAT shown, so the quotes can be compared directly.
Manchester and Liverpool are the nearest cities on this site: fire risk assessments in Manchester and fire risk assessments in Liverpool.
Fire risk assessment Warrington: questions and answers
My house has four sharers. Do I need a licence?
No. Warrington licenses HMOs of five or more people from two or more households, so a four person share has no licence to apply for. It still needs a fire risk assessment for its common parts if it is let as an HMO.
Where is the HMO register?
The public register is kept at the council offices at Times Square and can be seen by appointment only. Book through the Housing Standards and Assistance team on 01925 443888.
Does a warehouse need a fire risk assessment?
Yes. Every business premises needs one under the Fire Safety Order, and since 1 October 2023 it must be recorded in writing. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service audits business premises and can ask for the assessment and its action plan.
Do the communal areas of a building need an assessment?
Yes. The Order covers the common areas of shared houses and blocks of flats, such as stairs, landings and entrance halls, and the landlord, freeholder or managing agent is responsible for them, according to gov.uk.
What happens during the assessment?
The assessor goes through the premises identifying fire hazards and the people at risk, then checks the escape routes and exits, the detection and warning system, the firefighting equipment and any dangerous substances. Ask how long they expect to be on site, and make sure every part of the building can be opened up for them.
What paperwork should I have ready?
For a shared house, have the documents the council asks for with a licence application: the gas safety certificate, the electrical installation condition report, the fire alarm commissioning or servicing certificate and the appliance test results, along with any previous assessment. A business should add its fire alarm and emergency lighting test records.
How often should it be reviewed?
Regularly, under the Order, and particularly if you suspect the assessment is out of date or the premises or their use have changed significantly. No number of months is written into the law, so set a review date with the assessor when the report is done.
What if the fire service has already been in touch?
Look at the dates on any notice first. Enforcement notices allow a minimum of 28 days to comply, and any appeal must reach the magistrates’ court within 21 days, so mention the notice and send a copy when you ask for quotes.
How do I compare quotes for premises in Warrington?
Use the form below to tell us the postcode, the kind of premises and roughly how big it is, whether it is a share, a licensed HMO, a block or a commercial unit, and whether anyone sleeps there. We pass it to fire risk assessors covering Warrington, so you can weigh their quotes against each other.
Not in Warrington? Pick your town or county from our fire risk assessment near me page.