Fire risk assessments in HMO and non HMO

[Sarah Beesley]

I beleive I am required to carry out a fire risk assessment one every HMO letting. Please can someone tell me if we can do this ourselves or whether we need to use a professional firm.

Also what are the rules for non HMO letting. Are fire risk assessments a legal requirement still.

Finally, HMOs lettings must have mains wired smoke and heat sensors etc. Does this yet apply to non hmo lettings ?

Thanks in advance.

Sarah

[Bel]

I beleive I am required to carry out a fire risk assessment one every HMO letting. Please can someone tell me if we can do this ourselves or whether we need to use a professional firm.

Supposedly a landlord should be able to do one, but if you do it wrong it will not be a defense should the worst happen. If you are new to this, get a professional one done especially if its a high risk occupancy. There is a lot of info to take into consideration.

Also what are the rules for non HMO letting. Are fire risk assessments a legal requirement still.

To my knowledge they are not a legal requirement but as a landlord you need to take reasonable steps for your tenants safety. A risk assessment will help you be mindful about any issues; it's best practise.

Finally, HMOs lettings must have mains wired smoke and heat sensors etc. Does this yet apply to non hmo lettings ? .

Probably not if it's a low risk property, but depends on the set up.
Also the building regs for new builds require mains smoke detectors.

Remember that HMO does not just mean non-licensable HMO, it means any property shared by 3 or more unrelated persons