How much does a fire risk assessment cost in London?

Questions to ask before you book

Five questions separate a competent, accountable provider from a call centre reselling subcontracted work at volume, and asking them upfront also tends to produce a faster, more accurate quote because the provider knows they are talking to someone who understands the market.

• Are your assessors in-house employees or subcontractors you have never met?
• Are they individually IFSM registered and listed on the National Fire Risk Assessor Register (NFRAR)?
• Is the report structured to PAS 79-1 (or PAS 79-2 for fire doors)?
• What level of professional indemnity and public liability insurance do you hold, and is it available to view?
• What is included after the report lands — will you explain findings to residents, freeholders or insurers if there are questions?

What is not included in the base price

A fire risk assessment fee covers the survey and the written report with a prioritised action plan. It does not normally cover carrying out the remedial works identified — fire door repairs, alarm upgrades, fire-stopping — which are quoted separately by contractors, nor does it cover a full fire door inspection of every flat entrance door unless specifically scoped in. Clarify this before comparing quotes on price alone, since a suspiciously cheap quote sometimes reflects a narrower scope rather than better value.

• Remedial works to fix identified defects
• Full door-by-door fire door inspection beyond communal doors
• Fire-stopping surveys of concealed risers and voids
• Fire alarm design or upgrade works
• Ongoing quarterly or annual monitoring visits, unless bundled

How the assessment type changes the number

PAS 79 defines assessment types on a scale roughly from Type 1 through to Type 4, and the type driving your quote matters as much as the building's size. A Type 1 is a non-destructive review of common parts only, appropriate for most standard blocks. A Type 2 extends that sampling into individual flats. Types 3 and 4 introduce increasing amounts of destructive inspection — opening up voids, lifting floorboards, exposing concealed construction — usually because there is a specific, unresolved question about the building's fire safety, such as unknown compartmentation following a fire, insurance claim or major refurbishment. Each step up the scale meaningfully increases both time on site and the specialist skill required to interpret what is found, and the price reflects that.

Comparing quotes without being misled

The single most useful discipline when comparing quotes is to insist every provider is pricing the same scope: the same assessment type, the same number of sampled units, and the same report standard. A quote that looks 30 percent cheaper is not necessarily better value if it is a Type 1 against your Type 2 requirement, or a two-page generic report against a fully referenced PAS 79-1 document with photographic evidence.

How building age and construction type shift the price up or down

Two blocks with the same number of units and floors can genuinely cost different amounts to assess properly, because the construction type changes how long a competent assessor needs on site to reach a defensible conclusion. A straightforward 1960s or 1970s purpose-built block with a single simple stair and consistent, well-documented construction is often quicker to assess than a Victorian conversion of the same nominal size, because the conversion has usually been altered piecemeal over decades — extensions, loft conversions, subdivided flats, replaced doors — with no single coherent record of what was done and when. Deck-access estates and blocks with multiple cores or basements add time because there is simply more building to walk and more junctions between different fire-separated areas to check. None of this is arbitrary padding; it reflects the actual time needed to look at every area that matters rather than sampling optimistically and hoping nothing was missed.

• Purpose-built post-war blocks with simple, consistent construction are generally quickest and cheapest to assess
• Converted period properties with a history of piecemeal alteration usually take longer per unit
• Deck-access and multiple-core estates add time for each additional stair and lobby arrangement
• Basements, undercroft parking and shared plant rooms add inspection time regardless of the number of flats above
• Buildings with known unresolved issues, such as an open enforcement notice, typically need a more thorough — and therefore costlier — assessment

What a genuinely low quote sometimes gets right, and where it fails

It would be unfair to suggest every competitively priced quote is a red flag; some providers simply run efficient operations, employ assessors directly rather than subcontracting through several layers of commission, and pass that efficiency on. The distinction worth making is between a genuinely efficient low price and an artificially low price achieved by cutting corners on scope, competence or insurance. A useful test is to ask what specifically makes the quote lower than a competitor's — a clear, confident answer about efficient scheduling or direct employment is a good sign; vagueness, or an unwillingness to confirm the assessor's registration and qualifications, is not.

Budgeting for the ongoing cost, not just the first visit

The cost of the initial assessment is only one line in a wider ongoing fire safety budget, and it is worth planning for the others so that the true annual cost of compliance is not a surprise. Beyond the assessment fee itself, expect recurring costs for quarterly and annual fire door checks where the 2022 Regulations apply, alarm and emergency lighting servicing, remedial works arising from the action plan, and — for taller buildings — the additional monthly lift and firefighting equipment checks required over 18 metres. Building these into an annual service charge budget, rather than treating each as a surprise invoice, is generally what separates a well-run block from one that is perpetually playing catch-up.