On-Site Inspection in St Austell
We carry out a thorough walk-through of your property to assess the current fire safety measures in place, looking at the building layout, use, and occupancy.
Fire Risk Assessments St Austell
Protect your property and stay fire safe in St Austell. Accredited fire risk assessments for landlords, business owners, holiday let operators, and property managers, delivered by qualified experts with over 20 years' combined housing enforcement experience.
Why Fire Risk Assessments Matter in St Austell
Fire Safety Isn't Optional - Here's Why
If you own or manage a property in St Austell, whether it's an HMO, rental home, small business premises, or holiday let, you have a legal responsibility to ensure it meets fire safety requirements. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the "Responsible Person" must ensure a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is in place and reviewed regularly.
St Austell is where we are based, so this is the area we are in most often. The town has terraced streets, flats above the shops around the centre and a steady long-term rental market. The coast at Charlestown and Carlyon Bay is dominated by holiday accommodation, much of it in older harbour-side buildings. Inland, the clay villages hold a lot of converted and extended housing.
Those are three different fire safety problems. A let flat above a shop turns on the shared parts and the escape route. A holiday cottage turns on what someone who does not know the building would do at two in the morning. A converted bungalow or annexe in the clay country usually turns on inner rooms, and on the way an extension changed the route out.
Failing to comply can result in fines, enforcement action, or even prosecution. Our accredited fire risk assessments give you peace of mind that your property in St Austell meets both legal and industry standards.
Registered Fire Risk Assessors
We are registered Intermediate Fire Risk Assessors on the National Fire Risk Assessors Register (NFRAR), formerly the IFSM Tier 2 register. This means:
- – Our registration sits on a national register and can be checked at any time.
- – Our assessments stand up to legal and insurance scrutiny.
View our NFRAR certificates: Mandy Evans (No. 1776) · Tracy Tully (No. 1779)
What We Look At in St Austell
The things that come up most in St Austell property
Holiday lets at Charlestown and Carlyon Bay
Paying guests bring a property inside fire safety law whatever its size. Sleeping guests who do not know the layout drive everything: detection that wakes them, a route out they can find in the dark, and clear information left in the property.
Flats above town-centre shops
A business below and a home above, usually sharing one entrance. The shared route is assessed alongside the commercial premises so the two halves agree.
Conversions and annexes in the clay villages
Extensions and annexes often create inner rooms, rooms you can only leave by passing through another. That is the single most common serious finding in converted housing.
Seasonal staff accommodation
Houses let to workers for the season are usually Houses in Multiple Occupation, with the stricter fire safety duties that go with them.
Areas covered from here: St Austell and the surrounding area, including Charlestown, Carlyon Bay, Par, Tywardreath, Fowey, Mevagissey, Pentewan, Roche, Bugle and the clay villages.
Not sure which of these applies to your St Austell property? Tell us what the building is and how it is let, and we will tell you plainly whether you need an assessment, and what it would involve.
Stay Ahead of Compliance Changes
Competence requirements for fire risk assessors are still under discussion rather than settled law. What has already changed is HHSRS enforcement, which is stricter under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Landlords and duty holders should be ready for it.
Need to know more details?
What's Included
Helping you meet your legal duties and protect your property
Helping property owners across St Austell stay compliant and protected. Our fire risk assessment process includes:
Identifying Fire Hazards
We identify any fire hazards or risks to life, such as sources of ignition, combustible materials, or issues that could delay evacuation in an emergency.
Fire Safety Systems Check
We assess your fire detection and alarm systems, escape routes, and emergency lighting to ensure they meet legal standards and work effectively.
Equipment & Signage Review
We check that fire doors are in good condition, extinguishers are present and serviced, and safety signage is clear, visible, and correctly placed.
Clear, Prioritised Report
You'll receive a detailed, easy-to-understand report outlining any issues, with a prioritised action plan so you know exactly what to address first.
Ongoing Support
We don't just leave you with a report, we're here to offer follow-up advice and guidance to help you implement changes and remain fully compliant over time.
Our Packages
Clear, Fair, and Fully Explained
We offer competitive, fixed-fee pricing based on property type and assessment needs, no hidden costs or confusing terms.
Fire Risk Assessment
Accredited fire risk assessments for landlords, small businesses, holiday lets, and mixed-use premises.
What's included?
- Full on-site inspection of the property
- Identification of potential fire hazards
- Review of fire escape routes, alarms, and equipment
- Check of fire doors, signage, and extinguishers
- Risk rating and compliance check
- Written report with recommended actions
HHSRS Assessment
Full Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessments to help you meet legal obligations.
What's included?
- Comprehensive on-site property inspection
- Identification of Category 1 and Category 2 hazards
- Photographic documentation of findings
- Practical guidance for compliance with the Housing Act 2004
- Clear, prioritised report tailored to your property type
- Follow-up advice to support remedial works
Combined Package
A cost-effective way to ensure full property safety compliance with both fire safety and housing health standards in one visit.
What's included?
- Full Fire Risk Assessment (as above)
- Full HHSRS Assessment (as above)
- Combined, prioritised action plan covering all safety requirements
- Reduced disruption with a single on-site visit
- Expert support to address both fire safety and housing hazards together
Consultancy
Tailored consultancy services for landlords, property managers, small business owners, and holiday let operators.
What's included?
- Licensing guidance for HMOs and other regulated properties
- Pre-purchase or pre-let compliance checks
- Fire safety and amenity standard advice
- Support with improvement notices and enforcement action
- Liaison with local authorities and fire officers on your behalf
Jodi Webb
“Highly recommend this company for fire safety risk assessments, HHSRS Assessments and training. They are highly qualified and experienced and provide accurate assessments and very useful guidance on the compliance minefields in holiday letting and residential lettings.”
Townsend Property
“PALS offer a great service to landlords and letting agents, with fire risk assessments and HHSRS assessments carried out by qualified professionals. We wholeheartedly recommend them.”
Creek & Country
“We are so glad we found PALS to carry out fire safety risk assessments. They are very knowledgeable and thorough. Thanks for all your help!”
Happy Clients
Proven. Reliable. Recommended.
We're proud to support landlords, letting agents, property managers, and small business owners with reliable, compliance-focused assessments. Here's what our clients say about working with us, every quote below is a real Google review.
- Free Consultations
- 100% Certified & Trusted
- Reports Within a Few Working Days
Read all our five-star reviews on Google →
- Mandy Evans, NFRAR Registered Assessor No. 1776
View certificate - Tracy Tully, NFRAR Registered Assessor No. 1779
View certificate
Areas We Cover
Also serving landlords across Cornwall
We carry out fire risk assessments across the whole of Cornwall and into Devon. Explore our other local pages, or head to the main service page for full details of what's included.
Ready to arrange your inspection?
Contact UsCommon Questions
Frequently asked questions answered
We understand that property compliance can feel overwhelming, so we've answered some common questions to help make things clearer.
St Austell is where we are based, so lead times here are usually the shortest we can offer. Once we have talked about the property we will agree a visit time that suits you, and follow-up questions after the report are easy when we are just down the road.
Yes. If guests pay to stay, the Fire Safety Order has applied since it came into force in 2006. It is not a new duty, and it does not depend on how small the property is. What has changed more recently is the guidance: the Home Office published a guide for small paying-guest accommodation, last updated in January 2025, and that is what most Cornish holiday lets are measured against. Since October 2023 the assessment must also be written down in full.
Not under the same rules. The 2015 alarm regulations apply to tenancies rather than to holiday accommodation, so a holiday let is not covered by them. In practice the assessment nearly always concludes that it needs the same detection and often more, because guests are asleep in a building they do not know, usually interlinked alarms on every storey.
Yes, the whole St Austell area, including Charlestown, Carlyon Bay, Par, Fowey, Mevagissey, Roche and the clay country villages. Being local means a re-inspection or a follow-up visit is straightforward to arrange.
It depends on the building and how it is let. The Fire Safety Order covers the shared parts of any building with two or more flats, houses in multiple occupation, holiday lets and small commercial premises, and for those a written assessment is needed. A house let to one household is not covered by the Order, though its safety is still dealt with under the housing regime, which is where an HHSRS assessment comes in. For flats it is worth asking for a Type 3 assessment, which also looks at the fire precautions inside the flats under the LACORS guidance.
HHSRS stands for the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. It's a government framework used to assess potential health and safety risks in rental properties. Landlords are required to ensure their properties meet these standards to avoid enforcement action.
Costs vary depending on the type, size and layout of your property. We'll provide a personalised quote after discussing your needs, no obligation, no hidden fees.
On-site assessments typically take 1 to 2 hours. Once completed, we aim to deliver your report within a few working days, depending on the type of service.
We offer in-person services across Devon and Cornwall, with digital consultations available for some services if you're based further afield.
Absolutely. With over 20 years of combined experience in housing compliance, including working within local authority teams, we know what enforcement officers are looking for. We'll help you feel confident and prepared.