How Much Does a Fire Risk Assessment Cost in the UK?
Updated September 2026 · Prices checked against 20 published UK price lists
Short answer: most small HMOs, flats and shops pay between £150 and £350 for a fire risk assessment. Larger commercial buildings, care homes and hotels usually run from £400 to £1,000 or more. The single biggest factor is how long the assessor has to spend inside the building, not the postcode.
Every responsible person in England and Wales needs a written fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. That part is not optional. What you pay for one varies a lot, and most price guides online quote a range so wide it tells you nothing.
So we did the boring bit. In September 2026 we went through the published price lists of 20 UK fire risk assessors and wrote down what they actually charge. Below is what we found, what pushes a quote up, and the costs that tend to arrive after the assessment, which is where most people get caught out.
What 20 UK assessors actually charge
We only counted prices printed on an assessor’s own website. Directory averages, “call for a quote” pages and our own sites were left out. Where a firm quoted before VAT, we added 20% so every figure is comparable.
Method: 20 UK firms that publish prices on their own websites, checked September 2026. Lowest published price per firm, VAT included (ex-VAT prices multiplied by 1.2; prices with no VAT statement taken as shown). Firms that publish prices tend to be the cheaper end of the market, because larger consultancies usually quote on request, so treat these as starting points rather than averages.
Three things the survey showed that price guides don’t tell you
- Size matters far less than you’d think. At one firm with a full published price ladder, a building 100 times bigger (under 100 m² up to 10,000 m²) cost only about three times as much: £210 against £660. You are paying mostly for the visit and the report, not the square metres.
- Storeys and bedrooms move the price in steps. Nobody we checked charges per bedroom. HMOs are priced in bands, usually a jump of £30 to £40 each time you move up a band, and roughly 20% more for each extra storey.
- There are really two markets. Landlord “certificate” websites advertise flats and HMOs from £74 to £199, usually with no named assessor or qualifications on the page. Fire safety consultancies start at roughly £295 to £420. Both can be legitimate. The difference is usually who turns up and how long they stay.
Typical fire risk assessment prices by property type
These ranges are built from the survey above and include VAT. They cover a standard Type 1 assessment (common parts, non-destructive), which is what most properties need. Your exact figure depends on the building, so use them to sense-check a quote rather than as a quote.
Type 3 and Type 4 assessments cost more. A Type 3 goes inside individual flats as well as the common parts, and the one firm in our survey that priced both charged about 1.7 times as much as for a Type 1. Type 4 involves opening up walls and ceilings, and nobody we checked publishes a price for it. Expect a site-specific quote.
What that looks like for real buildings
These are typical examples to show how the ranges above apply, not customer jobs.
A 5-bed student HMO in a two-storey terrace
One staircase, kitchen at the back, five lettable rooms. The assessor checks the escape route, detection, doors to the rooms and kitchen, and the lighting on the stairs. Expect £150–£300 and around 90 minutes on site.
A Victorian house converted into four flats
Shared hallway and stairs, one flat in the loft. A Type 1 of the communal areas is usually enough, unless there is doubt about the fire separation between flats. Expect £200–£400. If the assessor needs to check flat entrance doors from inside (Type 3), budget closer to 1.5 to 2 times that.
A 900 m² warehouse with a small office
Big floor area, but simple: open space, a few exits, one occupier. Because size barely moves the price, expect £300–£550, similar to a much smaller but busier building.
A 20-bed residential care home
Sleeping risk, residents who need help to evacuate, and a stay-put or phased evacuation strategy to test. This is where time on site climbs. Expect £550–£900, more if the building has had extensions.
The questions owners keep asking about cost
We read through landlord, leaseholder and small business forums to see what people are really worried about. These are real posts, linked so you can read the full threads.
“Everyone we have spoken to charges over £500 for the assessment and then recommends many thousands of pounds worth of work.”
Owner of a Victorian house converted into flats, Safelincs Fire Safety Forum, July 2023
This is the most common complaint we found, and it is fair to be wary. The assessment is usually the small bill. The action plan is what costs money, so the questions that matter are whether the recommended work is proportionate, and whether the person recommending it also sells it. More on that below.
“The £2k quote for the fire alarm specified – Grade A 3 zone conventional to satisfy system category LD2.”
Owner of a house converted into two flats, MoneySavingExpert forum, July 2023
The first reply asked the right question: was the quote from the same people who wrote the report? For small converted buildings, ask the assessor which guidance they assessed against. For converted houses and HMOs that is usually the LACORS housing fire safety guide, and for purpose-built blocks it is the government’s guide to fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats. If the recommendation goes beyond that guidance, they should be able to explain why.
“I can’t see anywhere online that says eg you need a fire risk assessment every X years”
Director of a small freehold company, Mumsnet Property, December 2024
They’re right that there’s no fixed interval in law. Government guidance says to review your assessment “regularly”, and again after any significant change. In practice that means yearly for anything with sleeping risk (HMOs, flats, care homes, hotels) and every one to three years for simple commercial premises. A review is usually cheaper than the first assessment. The one firm in our survey that published review pricing charged 50% to 70% of the original fee.
“it’s in a two storey block with 18 purpose built flats” … “the report that came back is from 2015.”
Flat owner seven months into a sale, MoneySavingExpert forum, January 2021
An out-of-date fire risk assessment can hold up a flat sale, because buyers’ solicitors and lenders increasingly ask for it. If you manage a block, a £200 to £400 review is cheap compared with a stalled sale and an unhappy leaseholder.
Why the assessment is rarely the expensive part
A fire risk assessment ends with an action plan. That is the point of it. But it is also where costs can jump from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand, as the forum posts above show. Typical follow-on work includes:
- Fire doors. Replacing a door to a flat or a kitchen is the big one. One converted-flat owner on the same Safelincs thread was told to expect “around £2,800+VAT for each door”. Many doors can be upgraded or repaired rather than replaced, so ask.
- Fire alarm and detection. Anything from mains-linked smoke alarms to a full panel system. The right grade and category depend on the building and the guidance being followed.
- Emergency lighting and signage on escape routes.
- Fire stopping where pipes and cables pass through walls and ceilings between flats.
Three habits keep this under control. Ask for every recommendation to be prioritised and to state which guidance it is based on. Get remedial work quoted by someone who did not write the report. And keep the assessor independent: an assessor who also sells the doors or the alarm has a reason to find problems.
Is a £75 fire risk assessment good enough?
Sometimes. A studio flat or a very simple shop genuinely does not take long to assess, and a low price can be fair. The price alone won’t tell you. These will:
- Does anyone actually visit? A fire risk assessment needs a physical inspection. A form you fill in online is not one.
- Who is the assessor? Ask for their name and their professional body membership (for example the Institution of Fire Engineers or the Institute of Fire Safety Managers), then check it yourself. Since October 2023, government guidance says your written record should include the assessor’s name.
- Does the report name your building’s actual features? A generic template with your address pasted in won’t stand up if the fire service inspects.
- Is the time on site realistic? Use the table above. Twenty minutes in a three-storey HMO is not enough.
- Is there a prioritised action plan? “Consider upgrading doors” isn’t one. “Replace the kitchen door with an FD30S door with a self-closer, high priority” is.
What not having one has cost other owners
Failing to have a suitable fire risk assessment is a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is an unlimited fine and, in the Crown Court, up to two years in prison. These are real cases from fire and rescue services and councils.
Set against a few hundred pounds for the assessment, the numbers speak for themselves. Insurers increasingly ask for a current assessment too, and a claim after a fire can be harder to settle without one.
What you are legally paying for
- Who needs one: the “responsible person” for any non-domestic premises, and for the common parts of HMOs and blocks of flats. That is usually the employer, owner, landlord, freeholder or managing agent.
- It must be written down. Since 1 October 2023, the full assessment and your fire safety arrangements must be recorded in writing in all cases, not only when you have five or more employees.
- It must be kept up to date. There is no fixed legal interval, but it must be reviewed regularly and after any significant change to the building or how it is used.
- Who can do it: you can do it yourself if you are competent to, which can be realistic for a very simple, low-risk premises. For HMOs, flats, care homes, hotels and anything with sleeping risk, most owners use a professional, and insurers and licensing teams often expect one.
Fire risk assessment cost: quick answers
How much does a fire risk assessment cost for an HMO?
Usually £150 to £300 for a small HMO of up to six rooms over two or three storeys, and £250 to £450 for larger ones. The median published HMO price in our September 2026 survey was £205.
How much does a fire risk assessment cost for a block of flats?
For a Type 1 assessment of the communal areas, typically £150 to £400 depending on the number of floors and flats. A Type 3, which includes going inside flats, costs noticeably more.
Are fire risk assessment prices usually quoted with VAT?
Not always. Many firms quote before VAT, some sole traders are not VAT registered, and eight of the 20 firms we checked didn’t say either way. Ask for the price including VAT before you compare quotes.
How much does a fire risk assessment review cost?
Less than the first one, because the assessor is checking and updating an existing assessment. Where published, reviews cost around half to two thirds of the original fee.
Why do quotes for the same building vary so much?
Mostly because of who is doing it and how long they will spend. Certificate websites compete on price. Consultancies price in more time on site and a more detailed report. Ask each one how long they expect to be there and what the report will include.
Who pays for the fire risk assessment in a block of flats?
The responsible person, usually the freeholder, the residents’ management company or the managing agent, commissions it. The cost is normally recovered through the service charge where the lease allows.
Can I do my own fire risk assessment to save money?
The law allows it if you are competent to do it. That can work for a small, simple workplace. For HMOs, flats and anything where people sleep, a professional assessment is the safer choice, and it is what licensing officers, insurers and buyers’ solicitors will usually expect to see.
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