Keeping a building compliant involves much more than booking an annual inspection and filing away the certificate.
Facilities managers must coordinate multiple areas of safety, maintenance and record-keeping, often across several buildings and contractors. A missed inspection, unresolved defect or incomplete record can place building users at risk and leave an organisation unable to demonstrate that it has met its responsibilities.
The challenge is not simply knowing which regulations exist. It is understanding what they mean in practice, who is responsible and how compliance activity should be recorded.
This guide explores the main areas of statutory compliance that UK facilities managers, property managers and building owners should understand.
Statutory compliance means meeting the legal duties that apply to a building, its systems and the people who use it.
Depending on the property, these duties may include:
The exact requirements will vary according to the building’s type, age, use, occupancy and installed equipment. Responsibility may also be divided between the building owner, landlord, tenant, managing agent and facilities management provider.
For this reason, every organisation should clearly establish which duties apply and who is responsible for carrying them out.
A fire alarm may be tested every week, but that alone does not make a building fire-safe.
If escape routes are obstructed, fire doors are damaged or recorded faults remain unresolved, the overall fire-safety arrangements may still be inadequate.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the main fire-safety legislation covering workplaces and the communal areas of many residential buildings in England and Wales. It requires the person or organisation responsible for the premises to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of fire and protect occupants.
A facilities team may be responsible for coordinating:
Inspection frequencies should reflect the relevant legislation, risk assessment, applicable standards, manufacturer guidance and the needs of the building.
The important principle: Fire safety is an ongoing management process, not a once-a-year task.
A suitable fire risk assessment should also be reviewed following significant changes, such as refurbishment, a change in occupancy or alterations to the building layout.
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced a stronger framework for accountability throughout the design, construction and occupation of buildings.
It places particular duties on those responsible for higher-risk buildings, including certain tall residential properties.
One of the most important principles introduced by the legislation is the Golden Thread of building information.
This means maintaining accurate, accessible and up-to-date information throughout the life of a building. It should enable relevant people to understand how the building was designed, how it is being maintained and how major safety risks are being managed.
For facilities teams, this may involve:
The Golden Thread should not simply become another digital archive filled with documents that nobody can find.
Its purpose is to ensure that reliable information is available when it is needed and can be used to make safer decisions.
A common misconception is that every portable electrical appliance must automatically receive an annual PAT test.
In practice, electrical inspection and testing should be proportionate to risk.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems to be maintained, so far as reasonably practicable, to prevent danger. The appropriate inspection interval will depend on factors such as:
Electrical Installation Condition Reports are commonly completed on a five-year cycle in many commercial buildings, but the appropriate interval should be confirmed by a competent person.
Facilities managers should maintain clear records of:
Visual inspections are also important. Damaged plugs, exposed wiring and overloaded sockets should be reported immediately rather than left until the next planned test.
Gas safety duties differ depending on the type of property and how it is occupied.
Where landlord gas-safety responsibilities apply, relevant appliances and flues generally require an annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Commercial premises may have different arrangements, but gas systems must still be properly installed, operated and maintained.
A well-managed gas-safety programme should include:
Facilities managers should also make sure employees know how to report a suspected gas leak or unsafe appliance.
Any concern involving gas should be treated as an urgent safety issue.
Imagine a contractor arriving to replace ceiling tiles, drill into a wall or install new cabling.
Before intrusive work begins, they need to know whether asbestos-containing materials could be present.
This is why accurate asbestos information is so important.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 place a duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises and certain shared areas of residential buildings. Properties built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos-containing materials.
Effective asbestos management may involve:
The presence of asbestos does not always mean that it must be removed. In some circumstances, managing it safely in place may be the most appropriate approach.
The key is to understand where it is, what condition it is in and how the risk will be controlled.
A register is only useful when it is accurate, accessible and checked before work starts.
Legionella bacteria can develop in water systems where conditions allow them to grow.
The risk can increase where water is stored or recirculated, temperatures are poorly controlled or outlets are used infrequently.
A water-hygiene programme may include:
Rather than treating the risk assessment as a document that is updated automatically every few years, it should be reviewed when there is reason to believe it is no longer valid.
This may be necessary following:
The written risk assessment and the day-to-day control programme must support each other. One without the other is unlikely to provide effective protection.
A lift may receive regular servicing and still require a separate statutory examination.
This distinction is sometimes overlooked.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, commonly known as LOLER, require lifting equipment used at work to undergo thorough examination by a competent person at suitable intervals.
Passenger-carrying lifting equipment is commonly examined at least every six months. Other lifting equipment is commonly examined every twelve months, although a written examination scheme may set a different interval.
Facilities managers should understand the difference between:
Work carried out to keep equipment functioning safely and reliably.
A detailed and systematic assessment intended to identify defects that could create a safety risk.
When an examination identifies a defect, the report should be reviewed promptly and the required action tracked through to completion.
Simply filing the report is not enough.
CCTV, electronic access controls and visitor-management systems can improve security, but they also create responsibilities.
Because these systems process personal information, they must be managed in accordance with UK data-protection law.
Organisations should be able to explain:
Appropriate signage should be displayed, access to footage should be controlled and retention periods should be justified.
Security systems must also support fire and life safety.
For example, an electronic door-control system should not prevent occupants from leaving safely during an emergency. Security arrangements should therefore be considered alongside the building’s fire strategy rather than managed separately.
One of the biggest compliance risks arises after an inspection has taken place.
A report may identify damaged equipment, overdue repairs or safety concerns. If these actions are not assigned, monitored and completed, the inspection itself has achieved very little.
A complete compliance record should show:
A certificate proves that an inspection occurred. A complete audit trail demonstrates that the findings were properly managed.
This is why compliance management should bring together certificates, inspection dates, asset information, defects and remedial actions.
Storing certificates in individual email inboxes or disconnected folders makes oversight much more difficult.
Even organisations with established maintenance programmes can experience gaps.
Common issues include:
Renewal dates are missed because there is no central schedule or automated reminder system.
An inspection report is received, but recommended actions are not assigned or completed.
The landlord, tenant, managing agent and FM provider each assume another party is managing the requirement.
A contractor is appointed without confirming qualifications, registration, insurance or competency.
Risk assessments and registers are not updated after refurbishment, changes in occupancy or equipment replacement.
A standard annual or five-year cycle is followed without considering the actual equipment, environment or level of risk.
Important documents are spread across emails, contractor portals, spreadsheets and paper files.
These problems often arise because compliance is treated as a collection of individual tasks rather than one connected management system.
An effective compliance programme should provide a clear view of the building, its responsibilities and outstanding risks.
A practical starting point is to:
The system should make it easy to identify what is due, what has been completed and what still requires attention.
Managing compliance across a busy building or property portfolio can be challenging, particularly where multiple contractors, systems and renewal dates are involved.
The FM Company can help organisations bring these activities together through a structured facilities management approach.
By combining maintenance, documentation and risk management, organisations can move away from reactive compliance and towards a more controlled, transparent approach.
Speak to our team to discuss how we can support your facilities management, planned maintenance and building-compliance requirements.
This article provides general information and should not be treated as legal advice. Legal duties and inspection requirements vary according to the property, equipment, location and responsible duty holder. Appropriate professional advice should be obtained where necessary.
