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Article: Fire
Safety
Unless the rented
accommodation is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
there are no specific fire regulations for residential
tenanted properties in England and Wales.
However, regulations do
now apply to furniture and furnishings and fire
alarms.
It would be wise to discuss the fire safety aspects with
your local fire prevention officer and follow the advice
given.
Landlord
Guide
Landlords
are under a common law duty to ensure that the property
they provide is safe. All residential
properties in England and Wales should comply with
building regulations on aspects such as:
-
Means
of emergency escape, particularly where sleeping
accommodation is provided on 2nd and 3rd floors
-
Fire
doors and emergency exits, passages and escape
routes
-
Fire
alarms and fire extinguishers
Local
Building Inspectors and Fire Prevention Officers will
advise landlords on these aspects.
As a
minimum, landlords should remove potentially dangerous
appliances and heaters and fit smoke alarms. A fire
extinguisher and kitchen fire blanket might also be a
wise precaution.
Again,
there is no requirement for this, but an annual safety
check (risk assessment) is a wise precaution for any
landlord or agent. Documenting this on an annual basis
will provide adequate evidence of due diligence on the
landlord's or agent's part in the event of an incident.
Fire
Alarms
The building
regulations require that all properties built after June
1992 must have a mains operated inter-connected smoke
alarm fitted on every level of the property.
Older properties do not
have to comply but landlords would be well advised to
provide at least battery operated smoke alarms in the
property.
It is important to
determine who is responsible for testing and maintaining
the smoke alarms - the landlord, agent or tenant. If the
agent is to be responsible, this should be noted in the
management contract. If the tenant is to be made
responsible for this then adequate warnings must be
given in writing.
Documents such as the
tenancy agreement, the inventory and the appliance
operating instruction and emergency procedures
information pack given to tenants, should mention the
responsibility of the tenant to test and replace
batteries in smoke alarms when fitted.
See
our sample Smoke Alarm Release
See
the DTLR advice on smoke alarms
Fire
Extinguishers
There
is no compulsory requirement to provide fire
extinguishers or fire blankets in normal tenanted
properties, but again, this may be a wise precaution, at
least in the kitchen area.
Having
made the decision to provide fire extinguishers though,
the landlord or agent should then arrange for a 12
monthly service.
Due
Diligence
In the event of a
tenant complaint or an incident the defence of
"due diligence" may be accepted where it can
be shown that the landlord or agent took all reasonable
steps to avoid committing an offence - you will need
documentary evidence of this.
Commercial
Premises
Commercial and business
premises, depending upon the number of employees,
may be covered by The workplace Fire
Regulations and they may need a Fire
Certificate which is issued locally by the Fire
Officer.
Employers are now fully
responsible for the safety of their employees in
regard to fire safety and are under a legal obligation
to carry out regular Fire Risk Assessments, to train
their staff on evacuation procedures and to
regularly test alarms and fire extinguishers.
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