How much does a fire risk assessment cost in 2026?
Matt McAllen — AIFSM independent fire risk assessor and chartered safety professional
Last reviewed: June 2026 Fire risk assessments in the UK typically cost between £150 and £700 for small-to-medium premises, with simple HMOs starting lower. The price is driven by the building's complexity, not just its floor area. My own prices are fixed and published from £249 — and you pay nothing upfront.
What drives the price of a fire risk assessment?
Complexity, not floor area. Two premises of the same size can be very different jobs — what really moves the price is how the building is laid out, how it's used, and how many specialist features it has.
Floor area is the easiest thing to price against, which is why most providers publish bands by square metres or room count. But area is a stand-in for complexity, not the real driver. The things that genuinely change the work are:
- Compartmentation — how the building is divided into fire-resisting zones, and whether that can be judged reliably without opening things up.
- Sleeping risk — premises where people may be asleep need a completely different escape analysis.
- Occupancy — a quiet warehouse and a packed restaurant at the same floor area are not the same job.
- Specialist features — kitchen ductwork, solar panels, battery charging, and flammable storage all add layers.
Why should I be wary of a £45 fire risk assessment?
Because a proper assessment can't be done in the time £45 buys. At that price something is missing — usually the professional judgement that makes the report worth having.
A thorough assessment is five or six hours of work once you include travel, the site inspection, document review and writing the report up properly. At the very bottom of the market, what tends to arrive is a templated report with generic findings and no real risk reasoning.
I've been called in to replace these after fire service audits and licensing officers have rejected them. The saving is false — the replacement costs what a proper one would have in the first place.
What's a fair price in 2026?
For a small commercial premises or a simple HMO, roughly £200 to £400. For larger or more complex premises, £400 to £700 is normal. My own fixed prices start at £249 and are shown upfront.
Anything significantly below that range is worth questioning — not because cheaper is always worse, but because it usually means corners are being cut somewhere you can't see until an inspector finds them. Transparent, published pricing is how I think this should work, which is why you can see exactly what yours costs before you ever speak to me.
“There was no up front payment which was reassuring to know he'd complete the work.”
What's included in a proper report?
A narrative report that describes your premises, evaluates the risk with clear reasoning, and gives you a prioritised action plan — not a tick-box checklist.
A good report tells a story: how the building is laid out, where the hazards concentrate, who's at risk and why, how the existing measures perform, what the residual risk is, and what to do about it in priority order. If the document is a checklist with no reasoning, you haven't really had an assessment. You can see exactly what mine looks like on the business and HMO pages.
How does payment work?
You pay nothing upfront. I carry out the assessment, send you a draft to review, and only invoice once the finalised report is issued — payable within seven days.
That order matters. It removes the trust barrier at booking — you've seen the work before any money changes hands — while still protecting both of us. No deposit, no card details, no upfront fee.
People also ask
Is a cheap fire risk assessment valid?
It can be, if it's genuinely suitable and sufficient. But a very low price usually buys a template rather than a considered assessment, and an assessment that isn't suitable and sufficient doesn't meet the legal test however little it cost.
Does the price include the action plan?
Yes. A prioritised action plan is part of the assessment, not an extra. Carrying the actions out is separate — and as I sell no remedial work, there's no incentive for me to inflate them.
Are there any hidden costs or travel charges?
No. The published price is the price, with no mileage charges anywhere in Hampshire & Dorset and no VAT surprises.
Get your price.
Fixed fire risk assessments across Hampshire & Dorset from £249, no upfront payment.
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Independent · Chartered · Hampshire & Dorset