Fire safety (PCCC) when leasing premises, changing use or renovating: who does what

Businesses leasing a shop, office or workshop often ask the same question: who handles fire safety (PCCC), the landlord or the tenant? Then, when they change how the premises are used or partition a room, the next question is whether the paperwork must be redone. Getting the answer right before signing the lease avoids having to fix things after the business has opened.

Quick answer:

• Fire-safety duties follow the role, not whether the party owns or rents the premises. The head of an operating establishment is responsible for organizing implementation and maintaining safe conditions at the site. The investor and building owner handle appraisal, construction and acceptance. The lease should state each party’s duties clearly.
• Changing use or renovating that affects fire-safety conditions requires an appraisable building to adjust its design and be re-appraised before work begins.
• A construction permit and a fire-safety design appraisal are different matters, although for some buildings they are handled together.

Leasing commercial premises: who does which fire-safety duties?

The Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue and Relief No. 55/2024/QH15 (Law 55/2024) does not divide responsibility into “landlord” and “tenant”. It divides it by each party’s role with respect to the building and the operating establishment.

The head of the establishment is the person legally responsible for organizing implementation and maintaining fire-safety conditions at the establishment. This includes the legal representative of the establishment or the person directly assigned to manage it (Clause 11, Article 2). When an enterprise leases premises and trades there, this role usually falls to the tenant. Clause 3, Article 8 of Law 55/2024 gives the head of the establishment these main tasks:

• Propaganda, training and professional development in fire prevention for people under their management.
• Forming a fire-prevention and rescue team at the establishment, or assigning people to carry out these tasks.
• Issuing fire-safety internal rules; preparing and rehearsing the fire-fighting plan.
• Deciding to equip and maintain the functionality of fire-safety equipment.
• Preparing and managing fire-safety records; declaring and updating fire-safety data.

The investor and building owner must carry out fire-safety requirements during appraisal, construction, supervision and acceptance (Clause 5, Article 8). They organize acceptance and are responsible for the results (Clauses 1 and 3, Article 18). When the building is handed over for use, the investor provides the appraised design documents and the fire-safety acceptance records to the managing and operating unit (Point e, Clause 1, Article 12 of Decree 105/2025/NĐ-CP).

Residential premises used for lease (including housing combined with business) are covered by a separate provision in Clause 8, Article 8 of Law 55/2024. The landlord must propagate, urge and remind the tenant to comply with fire-safety rules. The tenant has duties similar to those of a household that directly uses the housing, unless the landlord and tenant agree otherwise. If the housing is also used for production or business, the tenant must also ensure fire-safety conditions under Article 21, including signs, guidance boards and measures separating the area where goods with fire or explosion risks are traded from the living area.

Because the Law allows the two parties to agree, the best approach is to set out each party’s fire-safety duties in the lease itself.

Changing use or renovating: when must the design be re-appraised?

This is a point many businesses overlook when they take over existing premises: the same address, but a different use from the original design.

Clause 2, Article 17 of Law 55/2024 provides that for a building that must have its fire-safety design appraised, if it changes use or is renovated in a way that affects fire-safety conditions during operation, the design must be adjusted and appraised again. Clause 3, Article 17 adds that construction or renovation may proceed only once a written appraisal approval from the specialized management authority has been issued.

Decree 105/2025/NĐ-CP (Decree 105) lists the specific cases that require re-appraisal (Clause 4, Article 6):

• Changes in position or construction area that reduce fire-safety distances to other objects.
• Reducing the width of roads or parking areas used for firefighting, changing how fire trucks can access the building.
• Reducing the fire-resistance rating of the building or fire compartment.
• Increasing the number of storeys; increasing construction area so that the fire-compartment layout changes.
• Changing the type or position of escape stairs; reducing the number of escape routes.
• Changing the zoning of the main functional areas inside the building.
• Adding smoke-extraction or smoke-control systems, or changing the smoke-exhaust plan.

Some situations common when leasing premises, with the points to consider:

The last column lists points to consider, not firm conclusions that re-appraisal is required. The conclusion depends on whether the building is subject to appraisal and whether the specific change falls under Clause 4, Article 6 of Decree 105. For buildings that are not subject to state appraisal, the investor or building owner may still have to self-appraise some items (Point đ, Clause 1, Article 17), and the establishment must maintain fire-safety conditions throughout its operation.

Construction permit and fire-safety design appraisal: how do they differ?

A common misunderstanding is that once a construction permit is granted, the fire-safety part is also finished. These are two different matters:

• The construction permit is issued under construction law.
• The fire-safety design appraisal examines matters such as fire-safety distances, access and parking for fire trucks, escape routes, fire-resistance rating, fire-compartment division, and smoke-control measures (Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree 105).

Law 55/2024 divides the appraisal of fire-safety design among several bodies depending on the type of building: the investment decision-maker, the construction specialist authority, the inspection authority, the police fire-safety authority, and the investor or building owner (Clause 1, Article 17). For buildings in Appendix III of Decree 105, the feasibility study report is appraised by the construction specialist authority, and the fire-safety design appraisal is integrated into that procedure (Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 105, amended by Article 12 of Decree 347/2026/NĐ-CP). Appendix III was replaced by a new appendix attached to Decree 347/2026/NĐ-CP from 15/09/2026.

When renovating, adding a storey or changing use, review both sides: the part governed by construction law and the fire-safety design appraisal, rather than only one of them.

Before signing a lease, what should you check?

The set of fire-safety documents for an establishment is listed in Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 105. Before signing, the tenant should ask to see the items linked to the building:

1. The fire-safety design appraisal document, or the certificate or approval of design issued under the earlier rules, if the building falls under the requirement (Point c, Clause 1, Article 4, amended by Article 11 of Decree 347/2026/NĐ-CP).
2. Acceptance records for the completed items or works relating to fire safety.
3. As-built drawings of the fire-safety systems and items, for buildings that must be appraised (Point k, Clause 1, Article 4).
4. Confirmation that the appraised use matches the intended business lines.
5. Current status of fire-safety equipment and systems: whether they still operate, and who maintains the shared systems.

Not having these documents does not mean the premises cannot be leased, but it is important to know in advance who will supply them, who pays the cost, and by when they will be completed.

What should a lease say about fire safety?

Instead of a general phrase such as “fire safety as required by law”, the lease should contain:

• Fire-safety condition at handover: which documents exist, which systems are installed, and whether the appraised use is recorded.
• Who pays if re-appraisal or renovation is required because the tenant changes the use, partitions rooms or adds equipment.
• Division of maintenance of the shared systems of the building and the equipment specific to the tenant.
• Advance notice procedure before work that affects the structure, escape routes or shared systems.
• A contact point for inspection visits and the provision of building documents to the tenant.

These points make the duties and costs clear to both parties and give the tenant the documents needed to prepare the establishment’s fire-safety records as required.

What Thái Tín supports

Thái Tín is the coordinating point for businesses that are about to lease new premises, change the use of their premises or move their business location. We receive the information, review the fire-safety documents of the premises together with the business, and connect it with qualified fire-safety consultants and designers to handle the specialist work:

• Review the premises’ fire-safety documents against the intended use, and point out what must be clarified before signing the lease or before renovation.
• Connect with fire-safety consulting firms to determine whether re-appraisal is required, and prepare the dossier if needed.
• Coordinate the procedure for changing the registered head-office or business location address when the company moves to new premises.

Costs include the consulting firm’s service fee (based on actual work) and any third-party fees. We provide a quotation after reviewing the premises documents. Please send the premises information (address, current use, intended business lines, and fire-safety documents you hold) through the contact page, or see our services by business life cycle.

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