Shop sale · Fire safety
Not automatically. The Responsible Person must keep a suitable, fully recorded assessment under review. A change of premises or operation may call for a review, and an incoming Responsible Person must receive relevant fire-safety information. Check what is changing before deciding whether the existing assessment needs updating or a new one is needed.
A sale may change who controls the shop, but the buyer is not automatically the only Responsible Person. Check the operator, employer, landlord and anyone controlling shared areas before and after handover. Record which parts each person manages.
Official guidance: Home Office: Section 156 responsibilities ↗The Home Office says to review a fire risk assessment regularly and when there is reason to think it is no longer valid or a significant relevant change occurs. A review does not necessarily mean starting again. Check changes in layout, use, people, management and fire measures, plus whether earlier actions were completed. There is no single legal review interval for every shop.
Official guidance: Home Office: Dutyholder guide, fire risk assessment review ↗If the sale brings in a new Responsible Person, the departing Responsible Person must share relevant fire-safety information. This includes the fire risk assessment and review records, and the identity of anyone who helped prepare or review them. The Home Office also names contact and building information that may apply. Keep a written record of the handover.
Official guidance: Home Office: Information for an incoming Responsible Person ↗For a useful discussion, assemble the current assessment, open actions, maintenance or test records and any shared-area responsibilities. Label missing records and unresolved work honestly. This is practical preparation for the handover, not a separate statutory sale certificate or a promise that the transaction can proceed.
Official guidance: Home Office: Fire-safety arrangements and shared duties ↗We can review the shop and relevant records, prepare a separately agreed fire risk assessment where the premises match the assessor's competence, and give the owner a written action list. A later visit can check evidence of completed actions. Tell us the shop type, location, current assessment and planned change; we will confirm the scope before visiting.
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