In short
- The RICS professional standard for technical due diligence applies to all commercial property and is general by design.
- Fire safety and Building Safety Act issues now carry large cost and timing risks.
- Specialist fire due diligence reviews documents, compliance status and remediation liabilities, with a site visit where needed.
- Start early – missing documents are the most common cause of delay.
What RICS technical due diligence covers
The RICS professional standard Technical due diligence of commercial property (1st edition) applies to RICS members and regulated firms carrying out pre-acquisition surveys, building surveys and vendor surveys. It was first published as a guidance note in January 2020, took effect on 1 April 2020, and was reissued as a professional standard in 2023 without material changes.
It's deliberately adaptable – covering offices, retail, industrial, hotels, healthcare, education and residential apartment blocks – and it requires surveyors to take on only work they're competent to do. But it's a framework for building condition surveys, not a fire safety methodology, and it doesn't deal specifically with the Building Safety Act 2022 regime.
Why fire safety needs its own review
Since the Building Safety Act, fire safety issues can change a building's value, its financeability and the buyer's legal duties:
- Higher-risk buildings carry registration, safety case and building assessment certificate duties – and the regulator refused 66% of 2026 applications decided by July
- External wall remediation can cost millions, and liability depends on who built the building, when and what protections apply
- The Remediation of Unsafe Cladding Bill proposes a legal duty to remediate buildings over 11 metres – see our guide
- Insurers and lenders increasingly ask for fire strategies, FRAEWs and evidence of compliance
- Live projects on higher-risk buildings depend on Gateway 2 approval, with long timescales
A general surveyor may note that a fire risk assessment exists. Specialist fire due diligence asks whether it's any good, whether its actions have been closed, and what it means for the deal.
What fire safety due diligence reviews
- Fire risk assessment – currency, quality, competence of the assessor, and the status of actions
- Fire strategy – whether one exists and matches the building
- External walls – FRAEW to PAS 9980, EWS1 forms, remediation scope, programme and funding
- Building Safety Act status – HRB registration, key building information, safety case report, BAC, golden thread, resident engagement
- Statutory compliance – fire doors under Regulation 10, premises information box and plans, residential PEEPs, servicing of alarms, emergency lighting, sprinklers, dry risers and smoke control
- Compartmentation – survey findings and outstanding defects
- Works in progress – Gateway 2 status, change control, contractor competence
Red flags
- No fire strategy, or one that describes a different building
- An FRA full of assumptions, or with long-overdue high-priority actions
- An FRAEW without a named, qualified author, or remediation recommended with no clear risk outcome
- An HRB that isn't registered, or a BAC refusal not yet addressed
- Remediation planned with no confirmed funding or programme
- Inconsistent information between the data room, the site and the regulator's records
Buyer, vendor and lender reports
- Buyer-side: identifies risks and costs to price in, negotiate or protect against
- Vendor-side: gets ahead of buyer questions so the sale doesn't stall
- Lender: focuses on what could affect the security and the borrower's ability to meet its obligations
Getting the timing right
The most common cause of delay is missing documents. Ask the seller early for the FRA, fire strategy, FRAEW, EWS1, BSR correspondence, safety case report and maintenance records. A desktop review can then flag gaps while there's still time to fix them.
A practical timeline
- Day 1–2: document request. Ask for the fire risk assessment, fire strategy, FRAEW, EWS1, compartmentation and fire door records, maintenance records and, for higher-risk buildings, regulator correspondence.
- Days 3–10: desktop review. Identify gaps, red flags and questions for the seller.
- Site visit where needed. Check that the documents match the building.
- Report. A clear summary of risks, likely costs and recommended contractual protections.
- Follow-up. Review replies to enquiries and any new documents before exchange.
Questions to ask the seller
- Is the building registered with the regulator, and has a building assessment certificate been applied for?
- Are there any outstanding high-priority FRA actions?
- Has an FRAEW been carried out, and is any remediation funded and programmed?
- Have there been any fire incidents, enforcement notices or regulator interventions?
Our fire safety due diligence service works to transaction timetables, and we can peer review key reports such as FRAEWs and safety cases.
How we can help
We match each project to a qualified specialist and confirm the scope, the named professional and a fixed fee before you commit.
Sources
- RICS – Technical due diligence of commercial property, 1st edition
- GOV.UK – BSR to introduce more proportionate and targeted approach for higher-risk building assessments
This guide is general information based on the law and guidance in England as at 8 November 2026. It isn't legal advice – for advice on a specific building, get in touch.