Fire safety for holiday lets in England and Wales

Status: IN FORCE Last checked: 28 July 2026 Primary source: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Which law applies, and where

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 ("the Fire Safety Order", or FSO) is the governing legislation. Article 1(4) states: "This Order extends to England and Wales only." The remaining provisions came into force on 1 October 2006.

Welsh Government guidance describes its reach: the Fire Safety Order "is the legislation that controls fire safety in all premises in Wales and England that provide accommodation for paying guests", and it "applies if anyone pays to stay in your premises or in a room within your premises, other than to live there permanently."

The duty sits with the "responsible person", defined in article 3 of the Order. The England small-premises guide describes who this is in practice for holiday lets: "the owner, letting agents, or other persons who have control of the premises as defined under the Fire Safety Order." Welsh Government guidance states the Responsible Person "must carry out an assessment of the fire risks to people who are or may be lawfully on the premises or within its vicinity."

Which official guide applies to your property

GOV.UK's holiday-home guidance for England (published 25 March 2026, last updated 15 May 2026) splits operators between two documents by premises size. It directs readers to:

1. "guidance on making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire" — for "accommodation with no more than 10 people or 2 floors"
2. "national sleeping accommodation fire safety guidance" — for "larger or more complex properties"

The small-premises guide. Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire was "published by the Secretary of State under Article 50 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO)". It was published 30 March 2023 and last updated 20 January 2025. Its own scope statement is more precise than the summary on the holiday-home page:

"single premises of ground floor, or ground and first floor, providing sleeping accommodation for a maximum of 10 persons, with no more than four bedrooms on the first floor, such as houses, cottages, and chalets"

It also covers "individual flats (whether within a purpose-built block of flats or a house that has been converted into flats)", and — the part that matters to the unique-stay market and is rarely mentioned — "holiday caravans, camping and glamping pods, bothies, lodges, shepherds' huts, tents, tree houses and yurts."

The guide states it is not appropriate if "your premises fall outside the scope described above; or the design of fire safety measures in your premises differs materially from those discussed and recommended in this Guide."

The larger-premises guide. Fire safety risk assessment: sleeping accommodation is also issued under Article 50 of the FSO. It covers "bed and breakfasts, guest houses, holiday chalets, holiday flat complexes, camping, caravan and holiday parks" among other premises. Published 5 June 2006, last updated 12 September 2023.

A jurisdiction point that is easy to miss. The England small-premises guide states it "applies only to England" and is "not intended for use in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where different (albeit similar) fire safety legislation applies." The Welsh Government publishes its own equivalent, A guide to making your guest accommodation safe from fire (2023). The law is shared across England and Wales; the official guidance documents are not.

Section 156, Building Safety Act 2022 — the record-keeping change

This is the change most often stated without a date attached, so both governments' wording is set out here.

GOV.UK's guidance states that responsible persons must record "the fire risk assessment in full (including all the findings) and the fire safety arrangements for your premises in all circumstances", and that section 156 "removes the previous limitations on the circumstances within which you are required to record both the risk assessment and the fire safety arrangements." The new requirements came into force on 1 October 2023.

Welsh Government guidance (published 11 September 2023) gives the same commencement date of 1 October 2023 and states that Responsible Persons must "record their completed fire risk assessment, and their fire safety arrangements, in full", where previously only significant findings required recording. It confirms this replaces earlier limitations based on having five or more employees or on licensing status.

GOV.UK also states: "If you employ a fire risk assessor to assist you in completing a fire risk assessment, you should record their name, and where applicable, their organisation name."

Section 156 additionally raised the maximum fine from Level 3 to Level 5 (unlimited) for a defined set of offences — GOV.UK lists "intentionally deceptive impersonation of a [fire] inspector, failure to comply (without reasonable excuse) with specific requirements imposed by a [fire] inspector...and failure by those on whom duties are imposed by the Fire Safety Order to comply with requirements relating to the installation of luminous tube signs".

The practical consequence for a two-bedroom cottage let to paying guests: the recording duty no longer depends on how small the operation is. Verification status: confirmed against GOV.UK and gov.wales, 28 July 2026.

Gas and electrical safety sit alongside this

GOV.UK's holiday-home guidance directs operators to HSE guidance on "gas safety for landlords and letting agents", "landlords' responsibility for gas safety" and "smoke and carbon monoxide safety for landlords and tenants", and for electrical safety to "HSE guidance on electrical safety" and "guidance on electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors."

Scotland and Northern Ireland — different statutes

Do not treat any of the above as UK-wide.

Scotland operates under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 (Part 3) and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The Scottish Government's Practical fire safety guidance for existing premises with sleeping accommodation covers holiday lets, and states that fire safety law applies "regardless of how they are marketed", and that "HMOs, holiday lets and bed and breakfast type accommodation do not fall within the definition of a private dwelling" for Part 3 purposes. Scotland uses the term "dutyholders" rather than "responsible person".

Northern Ireland operates under the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service publishes a dedicated Practical Fire Safety Guide for Small Self-Catering Premises.

Each nation has its own page here.

Software that helps

From our directory categories: Compliance & licensing tools (recorded fire risk assessment storage and review-date reminders alongside gas, electrical and insurance expiry); Cleaning, housekeeping & maintenance (dated, recorded inspection evidence between stays); Smart access & property monitoring (occupancy and alarm-status signals — a noise sensor is not a fire detection system and no directory listing here claims otherwise); Holiday let insurance (UK) where cover conditions require current fire safety evidence.

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This page summarises published government guidance and legislation and is not legal or tax advice. Last checked 28 July 2026.