Landlords – are you complying with all your fire safety legal duties?
Landlords who fail to fulfil their fire safety obligations are putting the safety and potentially the lives of their tenants at risk. And they’re putting themselves at risk too.
That’s something a landlord discovered in March when she was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to three months in prison for failing to comply with key requirements of the Fire Safety Order. Following an inspection in 2021, fire safety officers had issued her with a prohibition notice on the flats above premises where employees were working. The flats were occupied by several employees, a family of three and a builder who was undertaking work on the premises at the time.
The subsequent failure to comply with the fire safety order and prohibition notice led to her prison sentence plus a requirement to pay £10,414 in costs to Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Offences included the failure to carry out a suitable risk assessment, the failure to put general fire safety precautions in place to ensure tenant safety, and the failure to ensure that the premises had appropriate fire detectors and alarms installed.
There have been other instances of landlords neglecting fire safety
You don’t have to search too hard to find several other recent cases where landlords have seriously neglected their duties. At the end of 2023 a Properties Management company and its director received fines totalling £480,000 for a series of fire safety failures in a house of multiple occupation (HMO) that the landlord was unlicensed to operate. Failures included defective and damaged fire doors, inadequate fire separation, covered fire alarms and burned out and loose electrical sockets.
The above cases are extreme examples of fire safety failings. But there are other examples where the failures might not be as extensive but still put tenants at risk; as illustrated by this recent prosecution in London for instance where a landlord was fined over £9000 for failing to make essential fire safety improvements.
Do you know the latest regulations?
There is no avoiding the fact that ultimately if you are a landlord, you are the person responsible for fire safety in your premises. No matter whether you are renting out your property as a private rental to a single household or as a house of multiple occupation, you are legally obliged to make sure that anyone living in your premises is adequately protected from the risk of fire.
So being aware of the regulations relating to your specific property type(s) is vital. Requirements have been updated over the past few years with changes to legislation including the Fire Safety Act 2021, which amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 which came into force early in 2023.
A reminder of some of the key requirements for landlords
The extensive nature of fire safety regulations and the variations depending on property type and nature of the rental means we cannot cover them all here. But these are some of the main actions you should be taking to make sure that fire precaution measures in your property are appropriate and effective.
Complete and regularly review fire risk assessments
Fire risk assessments are essential for identifying potential causes of fire and the actions that must be taken to reduce the risk. Make sure you are clear about how your property is classified as this will determine the scope and focus of the fire risk assessment and how frequently it will need to be reviewed.
Check escape routes
Landlords are legally responsible for ensuring tenants always have access to safe escape routes. Tenants must be taken through what they should do in the event of a fire so they know how to escape a property quickly. HMO rules are tighter and it’s advisable that more complex properties are assessed by a competent person who can provide specific advice on the particular risks and how to mitigate them.
Make sure furniture and furnishings are fire-safe
You aren’t responsible for items tenants bring with them, but make sure anything you provide is made from fire resistant materials and meets fire safety standards. Not every item is legally required to meet these standards. But the more items that conform to them, the greater the level of protection.
Ensure your property is electrically safe
Electrical installations should be completed by a qualified electrician, and inspected and tested every five years. You need to give tenants a copy of the electrical safety report. Consider other measures such as portable appliance testing to check the safety of appliances and ask tenants to be mindful of the risks of behaviours such as overloading sockets and extension leads.
Test and maintain all alarms
All landlords are legally obliged to ensure all gas equipment supplied is safely installed and maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer. You must provide working smoke alarms on every floor and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with solid fuel burning appliances. The more detectors you provide, the greater the chance of giving tenants additional warning of danger. Check that alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy. Remind tenants about the importance of regularly testing alarms and to notify you straight away if they aren’t working so they can be repaired or replaced.
Fire alarm requirements vary; all fire alarms will need regular tests and checks but the minimum testing frequency will depend on the type of property and, if it’s an HMO, its size and type. Fire alarms should be serviced at least annually by a professional but potentially more frequently depending on the building.
Check fire doors are working correctly
Fire doors are a legal requirement in some types of property but not all. However, they are very effective in containing fires so are worth considering even if you are landlord to a single occupant or household.
Fire doors must be fitted according to the manufacturer’s instructions with regular inspections required to make sure they continue to be suitable for use. If you are responsible for an HMO, make sure you are aware of the latest requirements for the installation, location and reviewing of fire doors as legislation over the past couple of years has changed requirements.
This is far from an exhaustive list…
…and the more complex your property, the more fire safety obligations you will have. Some properties will need additional measures such as emergency lighting and fire extinguishers for example.
It’s crucial you understand all the regulations in terms of how they apply to your property and the type of tenants occupying it. Because the consequences of having inadequate fire safety measures in your property could be devastating. If you think you would benefit from professional support to ensure you’re meeting all your obligations, please do talk to us.
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