If you run a business, let property or manage a building in Leicester, the law requires you to have a written fire risk assessment. Nobody is licensed to write one, so judging who is competent falls to you.
Leicester is unusual in one respect that matters here: its selective licensing scheme writes a specific fire safety condition into the licence. That is covered below, along with who enforces the law locally and how to check an assessor.
Who enforces fire safety law in Leicester
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service is the enforcing authority for most premises in the city. They can inspect without notice, serve enforcement and prohibition notices, and prosecute. A prohibition notice can close a building the same day it is served.
The first document asked for is the fire risk assessment. Being unable to produce one, or producing something that could describe any building anywhere, is where the problem starts.
Leicester selective licensing writes fire safety into the licence
Leicester runs selective licensing across parts of five wards, and the licence conditions go further on fire than most schemes do.
- The wards covered are Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields, Fosse, Westcotes, Stoneygate and Saffron. It is parts of these wards rather than all of them, so check the council map rather than assuming from the ward name.
- Fire detection and alarm systems must be linked and connected to the mains. Battery smoke alarms on their own do not satisfy the condition. This is a licence requirement, not just good practice.
- The property must be free of Category 1 Hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and fire is one of the hazards assessed under it.
- The fee is £1,290, split as £1,032 on application and £258 when the licence is issued.
- The scheme was introduced in October 2022 and is due for review in October 2027.
Check the council’s own map and current conditions before you rely on any of this, including ours. Schemes get reviewed, extended and redrawn, and Leicester City Council’s page is the version that counts.
What makes Leicester buildings different to assess
- A large student population around the two universities, concentrated in Clarendon Park, Stoneygate and the Narborough Road area, which means a heavy shared housing stock and sleeping accommodation to assess.
- A deep terraced and converted stock in the licensing wards, where fire stopping between properties and between floors is the common weakness.
- A significant textile and light manufacturing base, where the assessment turns on process risk, storage and how quickly a floor can be cleared.
- A dense city centre retail and hospitality trade, where occupancy numbers and evacuation at night matter more than anything structural.
The law is identical everywhere. What changes is who you should appoint, because an assessor who works entirely on small offices is the wrong choice for a licensed HMO or a factory floor.
Checking an assessor in Leicester
There is no register to check, so ask directly:
- What are your qualifications, and who awarded them? Time in the fire service is valuable but it is a different discipline to fire risk assessing.
- Are you third party certificated? If yes, take the number and verify it with the scheme rather than trusting a logo.
- What is your professional indemnity cover? Ask for the figure.
- How many buildings like mine have you assessed in Leicester? A licensed terrace, a factory and a city centre bar are three different jobs.
- Can I see a sample report? Client details removed. A refusal is an answer.
What it costs in Leicester
Price follows size, complexity and whether anyone sleeps in the building. A single storey unit and a licensed HMO are not comparable jobs and the quotes should not look alike.
Get more than one quote, in writing. Check each states whether a return visit is included, whether the action plan is part of the fee, and whether somebody will explain the findings. Those answers matter more than the headline figure, particularly if you need the assessment to satisfy a licence condition. For the national picture on pricing, see what a fire risk assessment should cost.
Areas we cover around Leicester
Assessors listed here work across the city and Leicestershire, including Clarendon Park, Stoneygate, Westcotes, Fosse, Saffron, Braunstone, Aylestone, Evington, Belgrave, Oadby, Wigston, Loughborough, Hinckley and Melton Mowbray.
Get quotes from Leicester assessors
Describe the premises and we will pass it to assessors covering Leicester. We pass it on and nothing else happens to it.
Not in Leicester? See all the areas we cover.