One year after achieving BAFE SP205 accreditation, we've passed our first annual audit with flying colours. No gaps were identified across any part of the assessment - demonstrating our continued commitment to fire safety excellence.
This year's audit was particularly significant as the first to be conducted against newly released British Standards for fire risk assessor competency and methodology: BS 9792:2025 and BS 8674:2025. The audit confirmed that our fire risk assessment service meets these more robust requirements and therefore has improved year on year.
BAFE SP205 is a third-party certification that provides independent assurance that our fire risk assessors meet recognised industry standards for competency and that our processes are robust and regularly reviewed.
The auditor assessed two key areas: observing an assessor carrying out a fire risk assessment on site, and reviewing our fire risk assessment management system. We passed both elements with no gaps identified, with the auditor commenting that he was impressed with our systems, frameworks and processes.
Our new fire risk assessment solution based on Property Inspect software received particular praise during the audit. The system allows reports to be tailored to the complexity of each building, keeping final reports clear and succinct while ensuring all relevant fire safety issues are captured.
We take a deliberate approach to making fire safety accessible to people without a technical background, using straightforward language, an assessable report structure and explaining key issues clearly within actions. This is especially important in residential settings where the person reading the report may not be fire safety competent themselves.
The auditor also recognised that because our reporting system integrates directly with our property management platform, action plans are populated immediately and can be tracked through to completion.
The audit also reviewed our competency framework, which sets out the criteria and progression route for fire risk assessors, and how we periodically review and assess their competence and performance.
The positive feedback confirmed that we don't treat competence as a one-off box-tick exercise. All our assessors continue to develop throughout their careers, with ongoing training and learning opportunities built into our approach.
Steven Hazell, Head of Health and Safety at Encore, said: "This audit confirmed that we’re delivering fire risk assessments to the highest industry standards, but just as importantly, we’re doing it in a way people can understand and engage with.
The positive feedback on our software and competency framework shows that the work we’ve put in over the past year is making a real difference. We’re helping make fire safety clearer, more accessible and more meaningful across the portfolio, rather than something that sits in a report and gathers dust."