Emergency lighting in blocks of flats: whose job it is, and the test nobody does.
In a block of flats, the emergency lighting in the common parts is the legal responsibility of the responsible person under the Fire Safety Order: usually the freeholder or landlord, or a residents’ management or right to manage company, often with a managing agent doing the work on their behalf. The duty covers the shared stairs, corridors and lobbies rather than the inside of each flat, and the block’s fire risk assessment decides what those common parts need.
Who the responsible person is.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the common parts of a block of flats, and the Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that it covers any residential building with two or more sets of domestic premises. The government's guide, Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats, says the responsible person is the person having control of the premises: typically the freeholder or landlord, but it can be a residents' management company or a right to manage company.
A managing agent usually organises the testing and the contractors, but appointing one does not make the question go away. The management agreement should say plainly who arranges the tests, who keeps the logbook and who approves repairs. When that is vague, the emergency lighting is the item that drifts, because nothing visibly goes wrong until the day it is needed.
Does every block need emergency lighting?
Most do. The same guide says blocks of flats should be provided with emergency escape lighting, and makes an exception for small two storey blocks where there is good borrowed light, from street lighting for example. In practice, the fire risk assessment for the block sets out what is needed and where, and the lighting itself is designed to BS 5266-1.
What it covers is the way out: the stairs, corridors and lobbies, the changes of direction and the final exit doors. Internal stairs that never see daylight, and corridors with no windows at all, are the places a mains failure turns into a real problem, and they are where we most often find fittings missing or dead.
The monthly test in a building nobody visits monthly.
The regime is the same as any other premises: a short function test every month, a full duration test once a year, and a record of both. Our guide to emergency lighting testing requirements covers it in detail. The problem in a block of flats is not the standard. It is that the monthly test needs somebody on site every month, and in many blocks nobody from the management side is.
There are three workable answers, and most blocks use a mix:
- A trained person already visiting. A caretaker or a cleaning contractor on a regular schedule can do the monthly function test if they have been shown how, have access to the test switches and write it down.
- Self-testing fittings. Fittings built to BS EN 62034 run their own function and duration tests and show the result on an indicator. They remove the switch-and-walk part, but they do not remove the need for somebody to look at the indicators and act on a fault.
- A contractor visit. We combine the test with other visits wherever we can. In blocks over 11 metres, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 already require quarterly checks of the communal fire doors, so somebody is on site anyway.
What the records should show.
- A logbook with a monthly entry and no gaps, and the annual full duration test with its certificate.
- Faults recorded with the date they were fixed, not just the date they were found.
- A drawing of where the fittings are, so a new contractor or managing agent is not starting from scratch.
- The fire risk assessment referring to the emergency lighting and its test regime.
On a new block, all of this should arrive with the building. Regulation 38 fire safety information and the emergency lighting commissioning records are part of the handover, as our guide to the new build handover file explains. If you have taken on a block and never received them, that is the first thing to put right.
What the price is made of.
We do not publish prices because no two blocks are the same. The cost of testing and maintenance comes from the number of fittings and floors, whether the fittings are manual or self-testing, access to switches and plant rooms, how often visits are needed, and the age of the batteries, which have a working life of a few years and tend to fail together. Bringing an older block up to standard is priced from a survey against the fire risk assessment.
Where we fit.
We test, repair and install emergency lighting in blocks of flats for freeholders, residents' management companies and managing agents across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. Our Linmere project in Houghton Regis included the common parts of a full block from first fix to handover. Send us the block address, the number of floors and any previous test records, and we will tell you where it stands.
Sources: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005; Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats (LGA guide); GOV.UK: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, fire doors fact sheet; NICEIC on BS 5266-1.
Asked about this.
Is emergency lighting a legal requirement in blocks of flats?
The legal duty is in the Fire Safety Order, which applies to the common parts and requires the responsible person to take general fire precautions and keep fire safety systems maintained. Government guidance says blocks of flats should have emergency escape lighting, except some small two storey blocks with good borrowed light. The fire risk assessment for the block confirms what is needed.
Who is responsible for emergency lighting in a block of flats?
The responsible person under the Fire Safety Order, who is the person in control of the premises. That is usually the freeholder or landlord, or a residents’ management or right to manage company. A managing agent often arranges the testing on their behalf.
How often should emergency lighting be tested in flats?
The same as other premises: a short function test every month, a full rated duration test at least once a year, and a written record of both. In a block with no regular staff on site, that monthly test needs a named person, a self-testing system with somebody reading it, or a contractor visit.
Do I need emergency lighting inside my flat?
Not usually. The duty in the Fire Safety Order covers the common parts of the block, such as the stairs, corridors and lobbies, not the inside of individual flats. Smoke and heat alarms inside the flat are a separate matter.