The government has produced a new Template Access Agreement for developers signed up to a Developer Remediation Contract in a bid to help speed up access for fire risk assessments
Produced following work by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) in conjunction with developers and other responsible entities, the template is intended to assist involved parties in coming to an agreement on terms that will allow experts to survey relevant buildings.
The guidance explains that “some developers and Responsible Entities have found it difficult to agree terms for the developer’s assessor to access the building and undertake an assessment”, leading to delays to both the assessment and any follow-up remediation work.
As of October 2025, there are 53 developers who have signed Developer Remediation Contracts with the government. Under this contract, they are required to ascertain if any life-critical fire safety defects are present in buildings covered by the contract and, if so, what remedial works are needed.
To do so, developers may use an existing fire risk assessment and/or a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) or are permitted to carry out a new assessment of the building of their own. Where the latter course is taken, this has led to disagreements over access that are holding up this vital building safety work.
This template offers an off-the-shelf agreement that a responsible entity and a developer can “use with confidence” to arrange for an intrusive survey to be carried out in a building and inform a Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW) to be completed.
You can access the guidance here.