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Do I need a fire risk assessment for a holiday let in England?

A short reading of official fire guidance for paying-guest accommodation. Written by Hastech, a sole trader trading as Hastech, which is building Letsafely, a reminder and log tool.

This is not legal advice. It is not a fire risk assessment. If you are unsure about your premises, use the official guide, ask your local fire and rescue service for advice (they cannot carry out a fire risk assessment for you), or engage a competent fire risk assessor.

The short answer

In England, yes, if people pay to stay and the premises is not occupied as a private dwelling — even for one night. You must carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and record your findings.

The Home Office guide Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire (last updated 20 January 2025; last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) says the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the main legislation for premises in England that provide accommodation for paying guests. It says the law applies if you are charging someone to stay and the premises is not being occupied as a private dwelling, “even if it is just for one night.”

Home Office, Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire

GOV.UK’s holiday-home page for England (last updated 2 October 2026; last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) tells hosts to follow that small paying-guest guide, or the national sleeping-accommodation fire safety guidance if the property is larger or more complex.

GOV.UK, Letting out a self-catering holiday home in England: rules and regulations

Fire and rescue services say the same in plain terms, and they cannot do the assessment for you. Details are below.

What you must do

In the Home Office guide, “must” means the law and “should” means a recommendation. Last checked: 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

If you are a person with responsibility for the premises, the guide says you must:

The assessment must be specific to the premises. The guide says there are stricter requirements for short-term lets because guests are unfamiliar with the building.

Home Office, Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire

Can I do it myself?

For many small, simple premises, the official guide says it may be possible to assess the risk yourself if you feel able to interpret and apply the guidance. The guide includes a checklist in section 8 for recording the assessment.

If you do not feel confident, you should engage a competent fire risk assessor. You remain legally responsible, including if someone else helps you complete it. Check that any assessor you use is suitably competent. The guide points to Fire Sector Federation material on choosing a competent assessor.

Home Office, Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says: in small paying guest accommodation you may feel able to complete your own fire risk assessment; if you do not feel confident, ask a competent person; “We cannot carry out a fire risk assessment for you.” Last checked: 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, fire safety in small paying guest accommodation

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service says holiday lets, Airbnbs, cottages, lodges, glamping pods, caravan parks and holiday boats are in scope, a recorded fire risk assessment is required, and “HWFRS cannot undertake a fire risk assessment for you.” The page was last reviewed in August 2026. Last checked: 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, holiday lets, Airbnbs and other paying-guest accommodation

When the small-premises guide is not enough

The Home Office small-premises guide is limited to:

It is not appropriate if your premises fall outside that scope, or if the design differs materially from the guide (the guide gives examples: a two-storey property with an open-plan ground floor, or a flat with a bedroom accessed only through another room). In those cases, you should use the government guidance for sleeping accommodation and, in practice, get competent help if you cannot apply it yourself.

The Fire Safety Order also applies to other guest accommodation such as holiday caravans, camping and glamping pods, bothies, lodges, shepherds’ huts, tents, tree houses and yurts. The guide says many of the building measures in later sections will not fit those types, and it points to the Home Office 5-step fire safety risk assessment checklist for very basic premises.

Home Office, Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire GOV.UK, Fire safety risk assessment: 5-step checklist

The small-premises guide applies only to England. Separate guidance applies in Wales. It is not intended for use in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where different (similar) fire safety legislation applies.

How often to review it

The Fire Safety Order requires you to review the fire risk assessment regularly. The Home Office guide says an annual review is usually appropriate, and you must also review after any significant change to the premises, or after an incident such as a fire. Last checked: 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service recommends you review the assessment at least annually, and whenever there has been a significant change, such as adding a guest bedroom or changing the layout.

Home Office, Making your small paying guest accommodation safe from fire Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, fire safety in small paying guest accommodation

Official guidance does not, on the pages checked, say that every small holiday let must buy a new professional assessment on a fixed legal anniversary. It does say you must keep the assessment under review and record it.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Wales. The Fire Safety Order also applies in Wales. The Welsh Government guide A guide to making your guest accommodation safe from fire (PDF; last-modified 18 September 2023; last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) says the Order applies if anyone pays to stay, other than to live there permanently, including a room let only once. The responsible person must carry out and document a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, provide and maintain measures, inform guests, and review regularly. Use the Welsh guide, not the England-only Home Office HTML page, for premises in Wales.

Welsh Government, A guide to making your guest accommodation safe from fire (PDF)

Scotland. Do not use the England Home Office guide as if it applied in Scotland. Short-term lets must be licensed. Mandatory conditions require satisfactory equipment for detecting and warning of fire or suspected fire, and of hazardous carbon monoxide, plus records that furniture and furnishings for guest use comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988. Last checked: 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022, Schedule 3 Scottish Government short-term lets licensing guidance for hosts and operators, page 5

What “satisfactory” detection means for a given premises can depend on whether it is treated as a house under the tolerable / repairing standard, or as non-domestic residential property. Confirm with the licensing authority or a competent adviser. This page does not settle that.

Northern Ireland. The England paying-guest guide is not for use in Northern Ireland. A dedicated official NI government or NI fire and rescue guide for small paying-guest fire risk assessments, equivalent to the Home Office or Welsh guides, was not found on the pages checked on 11 November 2026. Confirm with the local NI fire and rescue service. Separately, GOV.UK says tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland must be certified by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB). That is a certification scheme, not a substitute for fire safety law.

GOV.UK, Tourist accommodation certification (Northern Ireland)

What this page does not do

It does not carry out a fire risk assessment. It does not sell one. A reminder, a log, or a “compliance certificate” from a website is not a fire risk assessment.

The official guide also covers alarms, escape routes, lighting and guest information. Those details belong in their own articles. Your assessment, not a blog, decides what your property needs.

FAQ

Does the law apply if I only let the property occasionally? The official England guide says the Fire Safety Order applies if you are charging someone to stay and the premises is not occupied as a private dwelling, even for one night.

Can the fire and rescue service do the assessment for me? No. Hereford and Worcester, and Devon and Somerset, both say they cannot carry out the fire risk assessment for you. They may be able to give advice.

Do I have to hire a professional? Not necessarily, for a small, simple premises, if you can apply the official guide. If you cannot, or the premises is outside that scope, get a competent assessor. You remain responsible.

Is a long-term tenancy the same? No. A paying-guest holiday let is treated as premises under the Fire Safety Order. A long-term let occupied as someone’s home is generally treated differently. Do not copy a tenancy checklist and assume it is enough.

Will Letsafely do the assessment? No. At most, a reminder and log tool can help you remember review dates and store a record of an assessment you have already completed.

Sources

All last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

Related reading: holiday let registration and licensing dates, legionella risk assessments for holiday lets, and a free smoke and heat alarm test log.

A note about Letsafely

A full version is planned. There is nothing to join here yet. This article does not take payment and does not offer fire risk assessments.