There is no standard price for a fire risk assessment because the law requires an assessment that is suitable and sufficient for the specific building, not a fixed product. Cost is driven by floor area, storeys and buildings, occupancy risk, assessment type (Type 1 to 4 for flats), destructive inspection and assessor competence. A credible quote itemises site time, report writing, travel and follow-up, and states the methodology.
Why there is no standard price
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a fire risk assessment that is suitable and sufficient for the premises. That legal test is why there is no list price. The assessor sells time and judgement: time on site to inspect, time at the desk to evaluate and write, and judgement proportionate to the risk. A small ground-floor shop and a 120-bed care home are both "a fire risk assessment" but they are not the same product, and any supplier who prices them the same is under-scoping one of them.
This guide does not quote average prices. We have not found a published, independently sourced UK price survey for fire risk assessments, and the figures circulating on supplier websites are marketing claims. What follows is the set of drivers that determine the price, so that you can judge whether a quote is scoped properly and compare like with like. For the underlying legal duty and who holds it, see our fire risk assessment requirements guide.
The cost drivers
Drivers of fire risk assessment cost and their effect
| Driver | Effect on cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Floor area and number of storeys | Rises with size, though not linearly | Site time scales with area to walk and rooms to open; report length follows |
| Number of separate buildings or blocks | Rises per building | Each building needs its own escape analysis and, usually, its own report or section |
| Occupancy risk profile | Sleeping risk and vulnerable occupants cost more | Care homes, hotels, hospitals and student accommodation need evacuation strategy analysis and night-time staffing review |
| Assessment type (residential) | Type 1 lowest, Type 4 highest | Types 3 and 4 add flat access coordination; Types 2 and 4 add destructive inspection and making good |
| Building age and complexity | Older and altered buildings cost more | Unknown compartmentation, mixed construction and undocumented alterations need more investigation |
| Existing documentation | Good records reduce cost | Previous assessments, fire strategy, alarm cause-and-effect and door schedules shorten site time |
| Access constraints | Out-of-hours or escorted access adds cost | Hotels, care homes and schools often restrict when an assessor can inspect bedrooms or classrooms |
| Assessor competence level | Higher for chartered fire engineers | Complex, high-rise or engineered buildings warrant a higher grade of assessor |
| Travel and location | Adds day rate or mileage | Remote sites or multi-site portfolios in different regions |
| Report format and follow-up | Portal-based tracking or close-out visits add cost | Some clients want findings loaded to a compliance system or verified after remediation |
Cost by building type, described in drivers
We describe how the drivers combine for common buyer types rather than attaching figures we cannot source.
Single-tenant office or shop. Simultaneous evacuation, daytime occupancy, usually one or two storeys. The assessment is dominated by means of escape, detection and management arrangements. This is the lowest-cost category and the one where an in-house assessment using the government guidance can be defensible for simple premises.
Multi-tenant office. The landlord's common parts assessment is separate from each tenant's demise assessment. Cost rises with the number of floors and the complexity of the demise boundaries. Coordination between responsible persons, now a recorded duty under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022, adds desk time.
Care home. Sleeping risk, residents who cannot self-evacuate, progressive horizontal evacuation, sub-compartmentation, bedroom fire doors and night staffing. The assessor needs sleeping-risk competence and will spend materially longer on site and in the report. The Care Quality Commission expects to see the assessment and the action plan during inspection. Our care home compliance checklist sets the assessment in the context of the other duties.
Hotel. Sleeping risk with a transient population who do not know the building. The assessment must evaluate guest alarm response, staff training for night porters and evacuation of accessible rooms. Kitchens, laundries and plant rooms add ignition risk analysis.
Purpose-built block of flats. Type 1 is the default. Cost rises sharply if a Type 3 or Type 4 is required, because of flat access and destructive inspection. Buildings over 11 metres and over 18 metres carry additional duties under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which the assessor must reflect.
School or university. Multiple buildings, varied uses (laboratories, workshops, halls of residence), and access restricted to holidays or after hours. Portfolio pricing per building with a coordinated report set is common.
What a quote must itemise
A quote that consists of a single figure and the words "fire risk assessment" is not a quote you can evaluate. Ask for the following line items, and reject a supplier who cannot provide them.
- Methodology. PAS 79-1:2020 for non-housing, PAS 79-2:2020 for housing, or a stated equivalent.
- Scope. The buildings, floors and areas included, and any excluded, with the assessment type where residential.
- Site time. Estimated hours or days and number of visits, including any out-of-hours element.
- Desk time. Report writing, review of existing documents, and any drawings or cause-and-effect review.
- Deliverable. Report format, risk rating method, prioritised action plan with timescales, photographs, and the suggested review date.
- Assessor. The named individual, their competence evidence (BAFE SP205 certificate for the firm, or IFE, IFSM or FRACS registration for the individual), and confirmation that the same person will attend.
- Insurance. Professional indemnity cover in force, with the limit stated.
- Travel. Included, at cost, or as a day rate.
- Follow-up. Whether a close-out inspection or a review visit is included or priced separately.
- Exclusions. Fire strategy design, fire engineering, compartmentation surveys, fire door surveys and remedial works are separate services and should be stated as such.
Red flags in a fire risk assessment quote
- A free or nominal assessment bundled with equipment or maintenance. The assessor has a commercial incentive to find work for their own company. Independence is what you are paying for.
- No methodology stated. An assessor who cannot name PAS 79 is unlikely to follow a structured method.
- Price given without questions. A supplier who quotes without asking about floor area, storeys, occupancy and existing records is guessing, and will either under-deliver or re-price on site.
- Template reports. Ask to see a redacted sample. Generic recommendations that could apply to any building indicate a tick-box product.
- No named assessor or no competence evidence. The responsible person carries the liability. You are entitled to know who is doing the work and to verify their register entry.
- Very short site time for a complex building. A care home cannot be assessed properly in a morning.
- No action plan with priorities. A list of observations without prioritisation or timescales is not a usable output, and enforcing authorities will say so.
- Reluctance to state exclusions. If fire doors, compartmentation and emergency lighting are not covered, you need to know so you can procure them separately. Our guides on fire door inspection and emergency lighting testing explain those separate regimes.
Comparing quotes properly
When three quotes arrive, normalise them before comparing:
- Confirm all three use the same scope, assessment type and building list.
- Convert each to an implied site time and desk time. A large price gap usually reflects a scope gap, not efficiency.
- Check competence evidence on the register websites, not on the supplier's letterhead.
- Weigh the report format against how you will manage the actions. A well-structured action plan saves your team more time than the price difference between quotes.
- Ask each supplier what they would exclude and why. The candid answer tells you who understands the building.
Cost-driven procurement in this category has a specific failure mode: the cheapest quote wins, the report is thin, the fire and rescue authority inspects, and the responsible person receives an enforcement notice giving 28 days to commission the assessment they should have bought in the first place. The same pattern applies to electrical inspection, which we cover in our guide to commercial EICR cost.
Working with TICDesk
TICDesk is a UK procurement desk for testing, inspection and compliance work. Tell us the building, the occupancy and your deadline, and we introduce up to three vetted fire risk assessment firms, typically within 48 hours, each quoting against the same scope so you can compare properly. The service is free to the client; TICDesk earns a success fee from the contractor. Visit our fire safety desk or open a brief.
Frequently asked
How much does a fire risk assessment cost in the UK?
No reliable published national average exists, and any single figure you see online is a marketing number rather than a sourced one. Price is set by the assessor's time on site and at the desk, which is driven by floor area, storeys, occupancy risk, the assessment type and the building's complexity. A small single-storey office takes a fraction of the time of a care home or a multi-block residential estate, so their prices differ by a wide multiple.
Why is a care home fire risk assessment more expensive than an office?
Care home residents cannot self-evacuate, so the assessor must evaluate the progressive horizontal evacuation strategy, compartmentation between sub-compartments, staffing levels at night, bedroom door integrity and the fire alarm cause-and-effect programming. That analysis takes longer on site and in the report than a simultaneous-evacuation office, and it demands an assessor with sleeping-risk competence, who commands a higher rate. Expect the site visit alone to take materially longer.
Should a fire risk assessment be free?
Treat a free assessment with caution. Some fire equipment suppliers offer a free or nominal assessment to win the maintenance or equipment contract that follows. The Fire Safety Order places the liability for a suitable and sufficient assessment on the responsible person, so an assessment that is scoped to sell products rather than to evaluate risk leaves you exposed. Pay for independence, and procure equipment separately.
What should a fire risk assessment quote include?
A credible quote states the methodology (normally PAS 79), the assessment type where residential, the buildings and areas in scope, the estimated site time and number of visits, report writing time, the report format including a prioritised action plan, travel, the named assessor and their competence evidence, professional indemnity insurance cover, and whether a review visit or close-out check is included. Anything not listed is an assumption you will pay for later.
Is a Type 3 or Type 4 fire risk assessment worth the extra cost?
Only when the Type 1 assessment or other evidence gives reason to doubt compartmentation or flat entrance doors. Types 3 and 4 need leaseholder access and, for Type 4, destructive opening-up and making good, which multiplies cost and programme. Commission them to answer a specific question, not as a default upgrade. The Local Government Association guide to purpose-built blocks of flats sets out when each type is appropriate.
Can I do my own fire risk assessment to save money?
The law allows the responsible person to carry out the assessment themselves if they are competent to do so. For a small, simple, low-risk building with government guidance to follow, that can be reasonable. For any premises with sleeping risk, vulnerable occupants, complex layouts or more than a few storeys, the competence required is beyond most in-house teams, and the cost of getting it wrong is an enforcement notice or a prosecution.
Sources & further reading
