Fire Risk Assessment
Landlord Fire Regulations
The fire regulations for rental properties are outlined through different law and regulation.
As a landlord you have to comply with two key pieces of fire safety legislation: The Housing Act 2004 which applies to all residential properties and The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which also applies to properties across the board.
Additional regulations include:
Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/1989, 1993 and 2010
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015
Fire Safety Risk Assessment - Sleeping Accommodation
If you are found guilty of endangering the life of your tenants, you could not only be liable for a fine or prison sentence, but you could also be banned from letting out properties in the future.
In October 2021, a building owner was found guilty of breaching the Fire Safety Order after failing to carry out a fire risk assessment on a flat. The building caught fire, with two people having to be rescued.
The landlord was sentenced to two months in prison, fined £20,000, and ordered to pay £11,500 prosecution costs.
Single property buy-to-lets have the lowest threshold of legal requirements for fire safety checks but they still have a considerable amount of statutory regulations to comply with in 2023.
Fire Risk Assessment
Responsible landlords, as well as their agents, will want to do everything in their power to minimise the risk of accidents in their rental properties by carrying out the necessary safety checks and making sure the necessary safety equipment is provided and maintained.
You do not need a written fire risk assessment if your property meets all the following criteria:
-
The property is a private residence, what the Fire Safety Order terms as a “domestic premises”
-
The property is being let as a single domestic premises
-
The property is not subdivided in any way i.e. a mix of residential and commercial
-
The property is not sublet in any way
-
There are no shared or common areas
The above said however, why take the risk? If you are deemed to endanger life the penalties can be fines or up to 2 years in prison. It is best practice to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment on any let property.
The rules for HMOS's (Houses of Multiple Occupation) are very stringent. All HMOs must have a fire risk assessment.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the ‘responsible person’, who could be the landlord/licence holder or an agent with full management control, to carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment. This is enforced by the Fire and Rescue Authority.
The fire risk assessment must be ‘suitable and sufficient’, and assistance from an appropriately competent person should be sought as necessary to achieve this.
The Fire Risk Assessment must be reviewed on a regular basis. It is recommended that the following be included in the review:
-
Every 12 months after the original assessment is done
-
Every 4 years a new assessment should be conducted
-
If the building’s purpose has substantially changed
-
If the building structure, such as the layout, has changed
-
If there has been a considerable change in the occupants
Changes to a building’s layout, how it is used, or the kind of occupants using or living in the building can significantly impact your fire safety plans. Therefore it is very important that a review of your fire risk assessment be conducted if any of those have occurred.
The LACORS ‘Housing – Fire Safety’ guide provides guidance on fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing and can be used to assess what is reasonably required in each property. Relatively simple systems will be satisfactory for smaller low risk premises but larger houses and HMOs will require a more sophisticated system. All systems are to comply with BS 5839: Parts 1 & 6.
Taylormade Services Fire Safety Services
As part of our fire safety services, Taylormade Services can undertake your fire risk assessment, conduct a fire survey of your premise taking into account all relevant aspects of a fire risk assessment to ensure your property complies with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Our onsite survey will provide you with a full written fire risk assessment report which will provide information and any recommendations for any issues found.
All work is carried out by qualified, competent and accredited fire safety professionals.
Send us an email or give us a call and we will discuss your requirements and can offer some initial free advice. I f you are then happy to proceed we will give you a written quation and agree iniotail toimes and datr to carry out the assessment .
The report come in an easy-to-use format with a separate action plan for you to work through any recommendations; we can also provide templates for any missing documentation (e.g. fire policy, emergency procedure etc.).
Once you are a client we are always on the end of the phone should you have any questions.
