The compliance documents every FM should keep

Because compliance is not just a matter of doing the required things but of being able to prove they have been done - and the documents are the proof. Much of a building's compliance involves required checks, tests, servicing and cleaning of safety-critical systems, and the law, insurers and good practice require not just that the work is done but that there is documented evidence it was done. So the FM's job is not only to keep the systems safe and compliant but to demonstrate that compliance by keeping the evidence - because compliance that cannot be proved is, in practice, a gap even if the work was done. The FM will be asked to prove compliance (by an inspector, insurer, auditor, or in an incident), and the documents are what demonstrate the required work was done. Without them, the FM cannot prove compliance, which can be treated as non-compliance. So keeping the documents is essential to the FM's compliance responsibility.

The fire risk assessment (the law requires an assessment of the building's fire risks and how they are managed, so the FM keeps the current one as evidence the fire risks are assessed); the records of fire-system servicing and testing (fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire extinguishers, fire doors - the evidence the fire systems are maintained); and the extraction cleaning certificates (the TR19 Grease certificate and report showing the kitchen's grease extraction has been cleaned to standard - the evidence the grease fire risk is managed, relied on by insurers and fire risk assessments). Together these demonstrate that the building's fire safety, including the kitchen's grease fire risk, is assessed and managed. They are among the most important compliance documents, because fire safety is critical and its documentation is relied on by inspectors, insurers and fire risk assessments. So the FM should keep the fire risk assessment, the fire-system records, and the extraction cleaning certificates as core fire-safety documentation.

For the building's other safety-critical systems: the gas safety certificate (showing the gas installation and appliances have been checked by a competent, Gas Safe registered engineer); the electrical safety records (the fixed-wiring inspection report and the portable appliance testing records - showing the electrical systems and appliances are safe); and the water safety documentation (the legionella risk assessment and records of managing the legionella risk in the water systems). And others as applicable to the building: lift servicing records, air conditioning inspection records, the food safety and HACCP records (for a building with a kitchen), the insurance documents, and any other compliance records the building's systems and activities require. The exact set depends on the building, but the principle is to keep the documents that evidence the required checks, tests, servicing and cleaning for each safety-critical system and legal obligation. So the full set spans fire, extraction, gas, electrical, water and the others applicable.

Because it is the evidence that the kitchen's grease fire risk is being managed. The grease extraction system is a fire risk (grease build-up being flammable), so it has to be cleaned regularly to standard - and the cleaning produces a certificate and report (the TR19 Grease certificate) showing it was cleaned to standard on a given date. This certificate is relied on by insurers and fire risk assessments as proof the grease fire risk is being managed - so without it, the FM cannot prove the extraction has been cleaned, and so cannot demonstrate the grease fire risk is managed, which matters for insurance and fire safety. So the extraction cleaning certificate is a specific, important fire-safety document for a building with a commercial kitchen - the evidence that the kitchen's grease fire risk is being managed. The FM should keep the extraction cleaning certificates as part of the fire-safety documentation, renewed as the extraction is cleaned.

Keeping them complete, current and findable. Complete means having all the documents the building's systems and obligations require - a gap (a missing certificate, an absent assessment) means that area's compliance cannot be proved. Current means keeping them up to date - the documents record checks, tests and cleaning that have to be repeated at intervals, so the FM keeps the latest ones as the checks are redone, because an out-of-date certificate does not prove current compliance. And findable means being able to produce the right document when asked (by an inspector, insurer or auditor), because a document you cannot find when needed does not serve its purpose. So keeping the documents right means the full set, up to date as the checks recur, and organised so they can be produced when required. This is an ongoing task, because the documents are numerous and the underlying checks recur - so the FM has to track when each is due and keep the latest, complete and findable.

That is a secondary question - what matters most is that the documents are genuinely kept, complete, current and findable, whichever format. Cloud storage offers searchability and backup (easy to find, hard to lose), while paper offers simplicity and independence from any system (but is more vulnerable to loss and slower to search). Either can work for keeping compliance documents, provided they are genuinely kept - a cloud system with documents not properly uploaded, or a paper system with documents not properly filed, both fail when the FM needs to produce them. So the FM should choose the format that suits how they manage records, but the priority is genuinely keeping the documents complete, current and findable. Given the number of compliance documents and the need to track their recurrence and produce them when asked, many FMs find a cloud or digital system helpful for the searchability and backup - but the format is a matter of convenience, and the genuine keeping of the documents is what matters most.