Haringey Council is set to upgrade fire safety measures in its council housing stock, following a decision made at a recent cabinet meeting. The move aims to ensure compliance with current fire safety legislation and building regulations, providing safer homes for residents.
The decision was taken at the Haringey Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 11 November 2025, where councillors approved the award of a contract to Bidder B for the provision and replacement of fire-rated doors and associated safety works. The council is investing up to £25 million in this project, with two separate contracts each valued at a maximum of £12.5 million to reduce risk and ensure effective management of the programme. The second procurement exercise will be undertaken in 2026.
The approved contract will see Bidder B undertake the provision and replacement of fire-rated flat entrance doors, communal doors, and riser/service cupboard doors. The works will also include passive fire safety and decoration within the council's residential housing stock.
This decision comes as the council seeks to comply with several key pieces of fire safety legislation, including the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the Building Safety Act 2022. To meet Building Regulations (Approved Document B) requirements which sets out the minimum standards for fire rated doors in specific areas of residential properties, which ensures compliance with British Standards for fire resistance for door sets.
The upgrades are a critical part of passive fire protection in buildings, helping to prevent and contain fire and smoke. By upgrading fire doors to comply with current standards, the council aims to reduce the risk of fire spread, particularly in high-rise or multi-occupancy housing.
The council plans to implement a replacement programme, targeting doors installed during the original construction of buildings or replaced during historic planned work that do not meet updated standards implemented since the Grenfell tragedy. Fire risk assessments and regular fire door inspections will identify doors that require replacement, prioritising those of greatest risk within the programme.
Older fire doors often lack test certification and evidence of compliance. While risk assessors may consider 'notional' 30-minute fire doors acceptable in lower-rise buildings under certain conditions, high-rise buildings require certified and tested fire door sets to demonstrate compliance. In high-rise, (above 18m) and buildings assessed as higher risk, the council are required to replace and install certified, and tested, fire door sets to demonstrate compliance and to digitally store evidence of certification for the Golden Thread of information as set out in the recommendations of the Hackitt report following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
The procurement strategy aims to ensure standardised fire-rated door sets across the housing stock, improving maintenance efficiency and ensuring consistent information for residents, so that they will have a better understanding of how fire doors operate and are less likely to impede their operation, which will improve their safety.
The contract includes a break clause, allowing the council to withdraw for reasons including poor performance or if services can be delivered through in-house expertise. The programme is fully capital funded and included within the current medium-term financial plan. The council will also ensure instruction of work is based on contractor performance throughout the term in accordance with contract conditions and achievement of Key Performance Indicators. This contract will be subject to determination under a break clause, allowing the council to withdraw from the contract for reasons including continued and unresolved poor performance, and/or in the event that services can successfully be delivered through in-house expertise and resources. Appropriate management, quality assurance and reviews will be in place, to ensure we can effectively maintain required levels of service and avoid poor performance or contractor failure, and thereby, ensure best value throughout the contract.
The programme covers all fire door types, including flat entrance doors and communal doors. While approximately half of the 10,000 flat entrance doors identified for replacement will be covered by this programme, the actual total number of doors replaced will depend on final inspection and prioritisation.
Alternative options considered by the cabinet included doing nothing, undertaking all work in-house, or procuring a more traditional installer-led supply chain. However, these options were deemed unviable due to statutory obligations, certification requirements, and concerns about consistency and control over door suppliers.
