Fire doors are the most heavily regulated single component in a residential building and the most consistently defective. They are also the area where duty holders are most likely to be doing the wrong thing while believing they are compliant, usually because they have applied a British Standard recommendation and missed a statutory requirement or the reverse.
Here is what is actually required.
The statutory duty: Regulation 10
Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023. It creates two distinct sets of duties and the trigger for each is different.
For any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises with common parts through which residents would need to evacuate
The responsible person must provide residents with information about fire doors, specifically that:
- fire doors should be kept shut when not in use
- residents and their guests should not tamper with self-closing devices
- residents should report any faults or damage to doors immediately
This must be given to a new resident as soon as reasonably practicable after they move in and to all residents within each 12 month period.
Note the trigger. This duty has no height threshold. A two-storey converted house with a shared entrance hall is caught.
For any building containing two or more sets of domestic premises and above 11 metres in height
Two additional duties:
- Communal fire doors: checks at least every 3 months. Regulation 10(6).
- Flat entrance doors: "best endeavours" to check at least every 12 months. Regulation 10(4).
Regulation 10(7) requires that both sets of checks include ensuring that the self-closing devices for the doors are working.
Regulation 10(5) requires the responsible person to keep a record of the steps taken, including, where access to a flat was not granted in any 12 month period, the steps taken to try to gain access.
Height is measured to the top storey in accordance with regulation 3(2)(a).
The three things people get wrong
1. "Quarterly checks apply to every block." They do not. The quarterly communal door duty and the annual flat entrance door duty apply only above 11 metres. Below that, the information duty applies but the check intervals in regulation 10 do not.
That does not mean fire doors in a nine-metre block need no attention. It means the frequency is set by your fire risk assessment and by British Standard recommendations rather than by regulation 10. Both BS 9991:2024 and BS 9999:2017 recommend that all fire doors are inspected every six months and that fire doors and associated equipment receive an annual inspection and performance test by a competent person. An assessment that ignores fire doors in an eight-metre block because "the regulations do not apply" is a poor assessment.
2. "Best endeavours means we tried once." For flat entrance doors, the obligation is to use best endeavours, which is a demanding standard and the recording duty in regulation 10(5) is the enforcement mechanism. If access is refused, you must record what you did to try to obtain it. Repeated written attempts, varied appointment times, letters to leaseholders and, where the lease permits, escalation. One unanswered knock recorded as "no access" will not survive scrutiny.
3. "The regulation 10 check is a fire door inspection." It is not. Regulation 10 checks are routine visual checks of a defined kind, focused principally on self-closing devices and obvious defects. They are not the same as a full fire door survey by a competent inspector and neither replaces the other.
What actually fails
The following account for the overwhelming majority of defects we record.
Gaps
The maximum gap between the door leaf and the frame is 4 mm, as identified in the FRA National Practice Guide. Too small and the door binds and will not close, too large and it cannot seal against fire and smoke.
Threshold gaps are judged separately and depend on the door's tested configuration and whether it is a smoke control door. BS 8214:2026 updated its smoke control guidance in line with BS 9991, including best practice on sealing under-door gaps.
Seals
Intumescent strips expand under heat to seal the gap, cold smoke seals block smoke at ambient temperature. Common defects:
- Strips missing entirely, particularly on older doors
- Strips painted over repeatedly until they cannot function
- Strips damaged, shrunken or falling out of the groove
- Smoke seals torn, detached or worn away by the door dragging
- Incompatible replacement seals fitted during redecoration
BS 9792:2025 is measured about older doors. It notes that doors without intumescent strips might not achieve 30 minutes and that whether this materially affects fire risk is a matter of judgement for the assessor. It also warns against making generic recommendations to upgrade or replace doors to current standards without proper consideration of risk and cost benefit. In many cases doors that met the requirements applicable when the building was constructed will continue to afford adequate protection.
That is worth knowing. Blanket "replace all doors" recommendations across an entire block, with no analysis, are a marker of an assessor avoiding judgement and they cost duty holders a great deal of money.
Self-closing devices
The most common single defect. Closers that are missing, disconnected, adjusted so weakly the door does not latch or defeated by wedges, hooks and tied-back cords. Regulation 10(7) singles this out for a reason: a fire door that does not close is not a fire door.
Hinges
Fire doors normally require three hinges, CE or UKCA marked, of the correct grade, with all screws present and the right length. Two hinges, mixed hinges, missing screws and packing behind hinges are all frequent findings.
Alterations
- Letterplates cut in without evidence of a tested and compatible product
- Cat flaps, which are almost never acceptable in a fire door
- Glazing panels installed without matching tested evidence
- Air transfer grilles
- Excessive undercut after flooring changes
- Doors planed down to fit a distorted frame
Frame and installation
BS 8214:2026 strengthened installation guidance significantly, particularly section 9.4 and the interface between the frame and the surrounding structure. Common problems include gaps around the frame filled with expanding foam rather than a tested sealing detail, missing or incorrect fixings and frames fitted into oversized openings.
Missing evidence
This is now the defect that causes most difficulty. A fire door performs only in the configuration in which it was tested. Without documentary evidence of the doorset, its components and its installation, performance cannot be demonstrated.
What BS 8214:2026 changed
BS 8214:2026, Fire-resisting and smoke control doors: practical considerations concerning specification, design and performance in use, code of practice, was published on 20 March 2026 and came into force on 31 March 2026, replacing the withdrawn BS 8214:2016.
Four changes matter to duty holders.
1. It is no longer timber only. The 2016 edition covered timber-based assemblies. The 2026 edition covers pedestrian fire-resisting and smoke control doors of all common materials, including timber, steel, aluminium, glazed metal and composite, with material-specific annexes. For the first time there is a recognised code of practice covering metal and composite fire doors. If you manage commercial or industrial property, doors that previously sat outside the standard are now within it.
2. A door is a system, not a product. The standard treats the door as a complete coordinated system however it reaches site, whether as a doorset, an assembly or a kit. Leaf, frame, seals, glazing, hinges, closer and fixing method must work together and match the tested evidence.
3. Evidence sits at the centre. The standard is less prescriptive than its predecessor and instead focuses on what supporting evidence is needed. If you alter hardware, seals, glazing, dimensions or installation method, that is a design decision and it must be supported by evidence.
4. Supply chain responsibilities are set out. A new section covers the roles of specifier, door provider, manufacturer, installer and duty holder.
Do existing doors have to be replaced? No. A door correctly installed to the previous standard does not become non-compliant on 31 March 2026. But new installations, replacements and upgrades should reference the 2026 edition and maintenance regimes still citing BS 8214:2016 should be reviewed, particularly on sealing, hardware evidence and maintenance frequencies.
Note also that BS 8214 is a code of practice, not law. Legal duties flow from the Fire Safety Order, the Fire Safety Act 2021, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the Building Safety Act 2022. The standard is the benchmark against which "maintained in efficient working order" is judged.
Doors in the fire risk assessment
BS 9792:2025 sets out what an assessor does with doors and it is worth understanding the limits.
For flats, sheltered and extra care housing, the standard acknowledges that it is normally impracticable in the course of an assessment to access all flats to check flat entrance doors. Common custom and practice is for assessors to check around 10% of dwelling entrance doors, with a minimum of two.
The duty holder is expected to have arrangements for periodic routine checks confirming that flat entrance doors remain self-closing and free from damage. That is your regulation 10 regime or an equivalent risk-based regime below 11 metres.
For doors in protected lobbies and stairways, there is normally no impediment to access so all of them are checked by the assessor and they should also be subject to routine periodic inspection by the duty holder. Doors to service risers and other ancillary spaces are checked where possible.
When you need a full fire door survey
The sampling approach in a fire risk assessment is proportionate for risk assessment purposes. It does not give you a defect schedule for every door. Commission a full survey when:
- The assessment's sample identified defects suggesting a systemic problem
- You need a costed remediation programme rather than a general recommendation
- Doors are of unknown provenance and you need to establish what you have
- Works are planned and you need a specification
- The building is above 11 metres and you need a defensible baseline for your regulation 10 regime
- You are buying, selling or refinancing and need due diligence
- An enforcing authority has raised fire doors
- You have inherited a building with no records
A survey inspects every door, records each against a defined criteria set with photographs and produces a prioritised schedule identifying what can be repaired and what must be replaced. That distinction alone usually pays for the survey because the repair-versus-replace split is rarely what people assume.
A practical regime
Above 11 metres:
- Communal fire doors: quarterly checks, recorded
- Flat entrance doors: annual checks using best endeavours, with access attempts recorded
- Resident information: on move-in and at least every 12 months
- Full survey: at a frequency set by the assessment, commonly every 3 to 5 years or on change of management
Below 11 metres:
- Resident information: on move-in and at least every 12 months, statutory
- Door inspection frequency: set by the fire risk assessment, with BS 9991 and BS 9999 recommending six-monthly inspection and annual competent-person testing as the benchmark
- Full survey: as indicated by the assessment
Commercial premises:
- Frequency set by the fire risk assessment. BS 9999 recommends six-monthly inspection of all fire doors and monthly testing of hold-open devices, with annual inspection and testing by a competent person
- Note that steel, aluminium and composite doors are now expressly within BS 8214:2026
In all cases: keep records. The check is worth very little without evidence that it happened.
Frequently asked questions
How often do fire doors need to be checked by law? In buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises above 11 metres: communal doors at least every three months, flat entrance doors at least every 12 months using best endeavours. Below 11 metres, regulation 10 imposes the information duty but not those intervals, frequency is then set by your fire risk assessment, with British Standards recommending six-monthly inspection.
What is the maximum gap on a fire door? 4 mm between the leaf and the frame. Threshold gaps depend on the tested configuration and whether the door is a smoke control door.
Who can carry out the quarterly fire door checks? The regulations do not prescribe a qualification. The checks must be effective, which means the person carrying them out needs to know what they are looking at. Many managing agents train site staff for routine checks and use a specialist inspector for periodic full surveys.
What if a leaseholder refuses access to check their flat entrance door? Use best endeavours and record every attempt. Regulation 10(5) expressly requires you to record the steps taken to try to gain access where it was not granted. Check the lease for access provisions.
Do I have to replace fire doors that have no intumescent strips? Not necessarily. BS 9792:2025 states that whether the absence of strips materially affects fire risk is a matter for the assessor's judgement and warns against generic upgrade recommendations without consideration of risk and cost benefit.
Does BS 8214:2026 mean my existing fire doors are now non-compliant? No. Doors correctly installed to the previous standard do not become non-compliant. New installations, replacements and upgrades should reference the 2026 edition.
