The Complete Compliance Checklist for Village Halls

Your village hall compliance checklist

Use this quick checklist to see where your hall stands. Each item links to the detailed guidance further down the page. Track all of this automatically with Village Hall Hub so nothing is ever missed.

Larger venues should also work through the Martyn's Law wizard. For cover specifically, read our full village hall insurance guide. If your hall caters events, our kitchen requirements guide covers food hygiene rules.

Insurance is one of the most important compliance areas for any village hall. Without proper cover, your committee members could be personally liable for claims. Four covers to check at renewal:

• Public liability - essential for every hall. Usually £5 million, with £10 million often required by councils and commercial hirers.
• Buildings - insured at full rebuild cost, not market value. Under-insuring scales down every claim, not just a total loss.
• Employers' liability - a legal requirement if you employ anybody at all, including a part-time cleaner or caretaker. Minimum £5 million, certificate displayed.
• Contents - chairs, tables, kitchen equipment, sound systems. Keep an inventory and check the sum insured still matches it.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the "responsible person" for your hall must ensure fire safety measures are in place. For a village hall that is normally the management committee or trustees acting as a body, rather than one named individual.

Fire Risk Assessment

Every village hall must have a fire risk assessment, and since October 2023 it must be recorded in full whether or not the hall employs anybody. That change caught many halls out, because a hall with no employees previously had to carry out the assessment but not write it down. Review it at least annually and whenever the building or its use changes.

Read the full fire risk assessment guide for what to check in a hall specifically, whether you need a consultant, and how Scotland and Northern Ireland differ.

Fire Equipment & Maintenance

• Fire extinguishers - serviced annually by a qualified engineer
• Fire alarm system - tested weekly, serviced annually
• Emergency lighting - tested monthly, serviced annually
• Fire doors - checked regularly, never propped open
• Fire escape routes - kept clear at all times
• Fire action notices - displayed prominently

Signage

Fire exit signs, assembly point signs, fire action notices, and no-smoking signs are all required. Signs must meet BS 5499 standards and be visible in both normal and emergency lighting conditions.

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks may be required for committee members and volunteers, depending on the activities your hall hosts.

When are DBS checks needed?

DBS checks are typically required when your hall is involved in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults. This includes:

• Running children's activities, youth clubs, or holiday schemes
• Operating a pre-school or nursery on the premises
• Hosting activities for vulnerable adults
• Anyone in a position of trust with unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults

Levels of DBS check

Renewal

DBS certificates do not have an official expiry date, but it is good practice to renew them every 3 years. The DBS Update Service allows employees and volunteers to keep their certificate current for an annual fee.

As a venue operator, your committee has a duty of care to everyone who uses the building - hirers, their guests, volunteers, contractors, and the general public.

Key requirements

• Risk assessments

  Carry out risk assessments for the building and any activities the committee organises directly. Hirers should carry out their own risk assessments for their events.

• Electrical safety

  PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) for portable equipment, and a fixed wiring inspection (EICR) every 5 years.

• Gas safety

  If you have gas appliances, they must be checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

• Legionella

  If your hall has water systems that are not used regularly (e.g., showers, water tanks), you need a Legionella risk assessment.

• Asbestos

  If your hall was built before 2000, you need an asbestos survey. If asbestos is present, it must be managed safely.

• Accident book

  Keep a record of all accidents and incidents. The HSE requires reporting of certain injuries under RIDDOR.

Even if your hall committee doesn't directly run activities for children or vulnerable adults, you have a responsibility to ensure that hirers do so safely.

What should your committee do?

• Have a safeguarding policy - even a simple one is better than none
• Require hirers running children's activities to show evidence of appropriate DBS checks
• Include safeguarding requirements in your hire agreement
• Designate a safeguarding lead on the committee
• Know how to report concerns to your local authority
• Review your safeguarding policy annually

If your hall collects personal data - and almost all do (hirer contact details, mailing lists, DBS records) - you must comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Key requirements

• Privacy notice

  Tell people what data you collect, why, and how you use it. Display this on your website and include it in your hire agreements.

• Lawful basis

  You need a lawful basis for processing each type of personal data. For most village hall activities, this will be "legitimate interests" or "consent".

• Data minimisation

  Only collect the personal data you actually need. Don't ask for information "just in case".

• Storage and security

  Keep personal data secure - lock filing cabinets, password-protect spreadsheets, and limit access to those who need it.

• Retention

  Don't keep personal data longer than necessary. Set retention periods and delete data when it's no longer needed.

• ICO registration

  Most village halls need to register with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The fee is £40/year for small organisations.

Martyn's Law

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent in April 2025. Its duties are not switched on yet - the Government has committed to an implementation period of at least 24 months - but which tier you fall into is decided by one number, and it is worth establishing now.

• Under 200 - no duties under the Act at all. Many village halls are here.
• 200 to 799 - standard tier. Procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication. No requirement to buy equipment or alter the building.
• 800 or more - enhanced tier. The above plus public protection measures, a documented assessment for the regulator, and a named senior individual.

The number is the maximum reasonably expected on the premises at one time, and it counts everybody - your volunteers, the bar staff and the band as well as the audience.

Read the full Martyn's Law guide for village halls, or work it through with the Martyn's Law wizard.

Most village halls are registered charities, and the Commission asks things of them it asks of nobody else. These duties are legal obligations on the trustees personally, and the deadlines are not negotiable - yet they are the ones most often kept in somebody's head rather than written down.

What is required of you

• Annual return

  Required of every registered charity with income over £10,000, and of every CIO whatever its income. Due within 10 months of your financial year end.

• Accounts and trustees' annual report

  Every registered charity must prepare both. They must be filed with the Commission if your income is over £25,000, and independently examined or audited above that - which one depends on your income and assets.

• Governing document

  Every charity must have one and must keep to it. The Commission has to be told if it changes, and some changes need its consent first.

• Trustee details

  The Commission holds a register of your trustees. It has to be kept up to date as people join and step down, which is easy to forget when a committee changes at an AGM.

• Serious incident reporting

  Certain incidents must be reported to the Commission promptly - safeguarding matters, significant loss of funds, and anything that could damage public trust in the charity.

How Village Hall Hub tracks it all

Village Hall Hub's Compliance Centre brings all your compliance requirements into one place. No more spreadsheets, no more sticky notes, no more missed renewals.