Every non-domestic premises, and the common parts of every block of flats, must have a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment (FRA) under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order). Because the duty is universal, the market for assessments is wide — and so is the range of prices, from figures that could not possibly cover a competent person's time to quotes with no visible relationship to the building.
The fee has honest drivers, and they are not complicated. This guide sets out what the assessment actually involves, what moves the price, what a proper quote should include, and the red flags that signal an assessment bought cheap and worth less.
What the assessment involves
A fire risk assessment is a structured examination of ignition sources, fuel, the people at risk and the measures protecting them, carried out to a recognised methodology: BS 9792:2025 for residential buildings, PAS 79-1:2020 for other premises. In practice the work runs in three stages: a pre-visit review of existing assessments, logbooks, maintenance records and any enforcement history; a systematic site inspection covering escape routes, compartment lines, detection and alarm, emergency lighting, fire-fighting equipment and — critically — the management arrangements; and a risk evaluation that turns findings into a prioritised action plan the responsible person can actually act on.
The fee buys assessor time and assessor judgment. A competent assessment of even a modest premises takes real hours on site and real hours writing findings that are specific to the building rather than pasted from a template. That floor on the time involved is why the cheapest advertised prices should prompt a simple question: what is being left out?
The biggest single driver: assessment type
For residential buildings, the largest cost variable is the assessment type. Types 1 to 4 differ by how far the assessor looks: Type 1 covers the common parts non-destructively; Type 2 adds destructive sampling in the common parts; Type 3 extends non-destructively into a sample of flats; Type 4 samples destructively in both. Our guide to choosing between the four types covers the decision in depth — the short version is that most purpose-built blocks need a Type 1, and going deeper should be justified by specific doubt, not habit.
The cost logic is straightforward. Destructive sampling adds survey time, reinstatement of what was opened, and coordination; entering flats adds access arrangements with residents and more time on site. A Type 3 or Type 4 is therefore a materially larger commission than a Type 1 of the same building — which is exactly why the type should be agreed, with reasons, before any fee is fixed.
The other honest drivers
Size comes first: floor area, number of storeys and the number of distinct areas to inspect set the site time. Use and complexity come next — mixed uses, complicated escape routes, and older construction with unknown elements all take longer to assess than a single-use building with a clean layout.
Sleeping risk raises the stakes and the assessment time. Premises where people sleep — residential blocks, care settings, hotels, student accommodation, boarding schools — carry a higher consequence of fire and demand a correspondingly more careful assessment than a daytime office of the same size.
The rest is records, access and scale. Good records (previous assessments, drawings, maintenance history) shorten the pre-visit stage; a building with no paperwork means the assessor establishes the picture from scratch. Awkward access — plant rooms, roof voids, locked risers, occupied areas needing appointments — adds time. And portfolio instructions cut the unit cost: a common methodology and report format across many buildings spreads the fixed effort and makes board-level reporting consistent.
How to get a real number
A fixed fee per building, quoted after a short scoping conversation, is the model to look for. It means the assessor has thought about the building before pricing it — and it protects both sides from the scope arguments that follow a price plucked from a rate card. The scoping questions are simple: what the building is, how it is used, whether people sleep in it, what records exist, and what assessment type the evidence points to.
That is why this guide gives you the drivers rather than a price list: a number quoted without those answers is a guess, whoever quotes it. Send us the building and we will scope the assessment — type, with reasons — and return a fixed fee. If the honest answer is that a competent in-house assessment would serve a simple premises perfectly well, we will say so.
What a proper quote includes — and the red flags
A quote worth accepting states: the assessment type and why that type suits the building; the scope — what is included, what is excluded, and whether flats or destructive sampling are involved; the methodology (BS 9792 for residential premises, PAS 79-1 otherwise); the deliverable — a prioritised, plain-English action plan with significant findings recorded, not a scored checklist; the named assessor and their competence evidence, such as third-party certification or professional registration; and a recommended review cycle matched to the building's risk.
The red flags are the mirror image. A price offered with no questions asked about the building is a template, not an assessment. A "drive-by" assessment — minimal time on site, no access to risers or plant rooms, a report that could describe any building — fails the suitable-and-sufficient test the Fire Safety Order actually sets. No named methodology, no named assessor, and no competence evidence are each disqualifying on their own. And an assessor whose business also sells installation or remediation has an interest in what the action plan says. Apex carries no installation or remediation arm, so the action plan reflects what the building needs: nothing more, and nothing less.
When you will pay again: review and reassessment
A fire risk assessment is not a one-off purchase, and the whole-life cost matters more than the first invoice. The Fire Safety Order requires review whenever there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid — after a material change to the building, its use or its occupancy, or after a fire or near-miss. Good practice, rather than the Order itself, adds a review when the period the assessor recommended expires. For residential buildings, an annual review of the significant findings is common practice, with the full reassessment running longer where the building and its management are stable.
This is where a well-written assessment earns its fee twice. A specific, prioritised report makes each review quick and cheap, because there is a clear baseline to review against. A vague one forces every review to start from scratch. When comparing quotes, ask what the review cycle will cost as well as the assessment itself — a good assessor will price both up front.
Common questions
Why do fire risk assessment quotes vary so much?
Because they price different amounts of work. Quotes vary legitimately with building size, assessment type, sleeping risk, records quality and portfolio scale — and illegitimately when one quote covers a genuine assessment and another covers an hour on site with a template. Compare scope, type, methodology and assessor competence before comparing prices.
How often does a fire risk assessment need to be reviewed?
The Fire Safety Order requires review whenever there is reason to suspect the assessment is no longer valid — after significant change to the building, its use or occupancy, or after a fire or near-miss. Good practice adds a review when the period the assessor recommended expires. For residential buildings, annual review of significant findings is common practice, with the full assessment renewed on a longer cycle where the building is stable.
Can I carry out my own fire risk assessment to save the fee?
The Fire Safety Order requires the assessment to be suitable and sufficient; it does not require an external consultant. For a small, simple premises, a capable responsible person using recognised guidance may be able to do it. For residential buildings, sleeping risk, or anything with construction unknowns, the competence bar is genuinely high — and an inadequate self-assessment leaves the responsible person carrying the legal exposure personally.
Is a cheap fire risk assessment still legally valid?
Validity turns on whether the assessment is suitable and sufficient, not on what it cost. But price and sufficiency are connected: an assessment priced below the time a competent inspection takes is unlikely to withstand scrutiny from a fire and rescue service audit — and if it fails, the responsible person, not the assessor, answers for it.