HMO

Hi, I've been asked to make a 30 minute fire resistant cupboard that houses the electric meters for a house that's been converted into flats. Could i make the frame/boxing and the doors out of FR MDF Class B - which gives a 60 minute fire rating. and fit intumescent strip around the doors? Cant fit a standard FD30 with stud work and plasterboard as the front door would not open due to the thickness of build up. Can only get away with 18/25 mm build up. Also a lot of the meters are up at ceiling height so doors need to be light enough to open easily. Cheers Neil

Hi. A three storey student HMO with only one way in and out, windows with retainers, has been fire risk inspected by Manchester City Council and deemed safe. This goes against all my instincts but I understand that if robust mitigations are in place eg alarm systems, fire doors, emergency lighting and a “safe” corridor, it is still legal. Despite this the question remains as to how occupants escape if the single door is blocked - for whatever reason. So far GMFS and MCC have given me no answer. Can anyone advise what the students should do in this case? Please tell me the advice remains to be ”stay put” - surely not since Grenfell?

Do FB locks need to be used for electrical intake and meter cupboards within common areas and is there any guidance on this thanks

I live in a flat and share a communal area with two other flats. Our managing agent advised us to have the fire alarm removed as it was out of date and very temperamental. We have done an FRA and concluded that there is little/no risk of a fire breaking out in the communal area as it is only a hallway with no furniture in it. Under the fire safety order 2005 I cannot see an obligation to have a mains wired fire alarm system so would we need to get another one installed?

hi,we look after a couple of HMO's in witch we have fitted mains linked smoke detectors and call points a few years ago, we also have certificate of design, installation and commissioning and test the system as recommended (Category LD2 Grade D). The council now want us to complete a FSM3/ Appendix G6 of BS 5839: Part 1, as far as we can see this is for non domestic property, is there an annual certificate for LD2 Grade D systems ? thanks Chris Davies

Hi all, I have an HMO rental property with a large cellar/basement. Both the electric and gas meters are located in the cellar. The property has a grade A alarm system installed, with detectors in the cellar. The local Housing Standard authority has inspected the property and told me to ensure 30 minutes of fire protection between the cellar and the ground floor, just in case a fire breaks out in the cellar. They informed me that the most common way of doing this is to install a ceiling in the cellar comprised of fire-rated plasterboard. Currently there is no ceiling there, only joists on top of which the ground floor floorboards are supported. My issue…

I came across a mixed use building (Small HIMO & a shop) with the staircase enclosure leading to 4 bedrooms and a kitchen. A fire door off the landing had a commercial shop on the second floor. Would it be feasible to up-grade the fire alarm from a Part 6 Grade D LD1 to a Grade A system.

Hi, could you help with the above, whilst I am aware that there is a workplace fire drill requirement, schools and nurseries etc - would there be such a requirement for HMO's or student accommodation (private blocks) etc. There is next to nothing about this on the net. Whilst a practice drill is a best practice - is it a legal requirement for such buildings and if so how would it be managed (there would be no staff on the site etc) ?

I have a 5 bedroom 3 storey HMO student house. 5 standard bedrooms, no cooking facilities in bedrooms with 1 sharing kitchen dinner on ground floor. Each bedroom door is leading off the hallway which is the escape route. I have a L1 AFD (c-tec) fire panel, All areas of house. I have fitted intumescent strips without smoke seal, I have been advised this is not correct. From my understanding with a L1 fire panel just intumescent strips shoud be sufficient and no smoke seal is required?

I live in a 4 bedroom house with my ex. He has taken the front door keys and I am unable to escape through the front of the house if a fire was to start at the back of the house. No fire doors are fitted through th house but the front porch has a pvc front door (inside door) before the original wooden door. There is a window in porch that I could break and thought the pvc door would give me extra minutes to get out. Is this correct? Thank you

Hi I've been asked to upgrade four internal doors for a private landlord, three of which have transom windows above them. Fire safe glass can be obtained to replace these but i am hesitant to do so as the regulations on door glazing are so strict that if they extent to the transom it would be prohibitively complex. If glazing is not an option then they can be panneled over but again there must be some regulation on this essential area? A side point to this is that the frames are a little under standard size, requiring bespoke FD30 doors, so that if the transom must be scrapped then new frames with standard doors might be a lot more economical. Any he…

I am looking for some help understanding fire protection requirements for a communal meter cupboard located in the property in which I live. The property consists of: 5 self contained flats over 5 floors of a converted period building 4 of which share a communal main entrance and hallway (including staircase) leading to the individual flat entrances, this staircase forms the only escape route for these 4 flats 1 flat has its own external main entrance (basement flat) and does not share any of the communal space, the flat opens directly to the outside space The flats are a mixture of owner occupied and rented A fire safety inspection was …

Hi, I'm 16 years time served and highly qualified in the electrical industry, plenty of fire alarm experience and the Eal Regs Level 3 for the requirements and beginning a Zues course soon to further my knowledge. I'm getting more commissioning work , I use solo equipment. I'm doing HMOS and I've found two recently that have red PVC for the zones which unfortunately does not have any FR. These buildings are big and rewiring would be very hard and impractical with students living there. My question is if all other things are satisfactory- can it be passed as satisfactory with a cavet of non compliance? Obviously legally I want to be covered and would prefer to u…

Hi all, Recently moved into a two bedroom flat and one of the bedroom doors cannot be closed as the lock on it is broken. The landlord refuses to fix it. Would it constitute a fire hazard to leave this door open at all times? Many thanks for the help!

Two fire doors within a two storey building were fitted a number of years ago, a recent fra found these doors had the top edge taken off exposing the core. Am I right in saying that these need replacing as works to add a hardwood strip are not permissable which is what the clients deems is an acceptable solution!

When does a shared house become a HMO?

I have a colleague who has carried out an FRA on a women's refuge organisation which has a bungalow which has 2 x bedrooms in the loft space. Is there a legal requirement for a 2nd means of escape should the primary staircase leading to the loft space be compromised? Can these be windows and if so what are the specifications? There are no dormers and the roof is pitched. The bungalows are in England. Could those answering please provide reference please? Kind Regards

Hi everyone I've just discovered this forum, and I think it might be the very place where I can have an important question answered, so here goes. I live in a housing association property which consists of around 45 flats all under one roof, with shared corridors, lounges, etc. Residents are all over 55 and some are very old and frail. There are two stories, and mine is one of the upstairs flats. Recently, a housing officer noted that one or two of the windows in the upstairs corridors were being accidentally left open at night, and I think he was worried about possible intruders. All he would have had to do was warn us of this, and I know I for one would have …

Hello, I have come across a strange install on a block of flats I have been asked to test, a panel with smokes and call points operates in the communal areas, but aico alarms are installed in the rooms (these are interlinked with the other bedrooms) but there is no link between the 2 systems. I always installed heat detectors from the panel in the bedrooms to alert others if there was a fire, but the fact the aicos are interlinked kind of solves this. I am going in circles with this and would love another opinion. Thanks in advance

How many accomodation stairs can be installed through a high rise commercial property? The building has two protected stairways and the tenant, who has leased 5 floors wants to connect the interior of the floors using accomodation stairways.

Do housing associations fall under HMO licensing laws?

Hi, I live in a flat in a building that has 2 floors and some living space in the attic. This is a listed building, built circa 1900 The studio flat on the ground floor has its kitchen under the mid landing of the communal staircase for the residents on the second floor. I was wondering about the fire safety regulations of such a design when the building was converted in 2100

This is driving me crazy because different "experts" are giving conflicting advice. We have 22 flats spread across 4 floors. The corridor to the flat entrances is a compartment with a part 1 smoke detector. There are no alarms as it is a "stay put" building. There is a single (fire fighting) stairwell which is protected from the flat corridors by 60 minute fire doors. In the roof above the stairs is an AOV which opens when smoke is detected by a detector inside any of the corridors accessing the flats. There is a MCP at the building entrance which allows the fire service to close this vent above the stairs if they wish. Question: Should there be a smoke detect…

I am developing an HMO with a Grade A LD2 fire alarm system, and I am installing an unvented cylinder for the hot water system in a non-ensuite bathroom. Does that mean I need to put a fire door on that bathroom and also have a smoke sensor in that bathroom?

Hello, I am in the process of booking a fire door inspection through safelincs. Essentially I would like some clarity as I am receiving conflicting information. 1. Essentially we have a property which is classed as a HMO albeit not licensed. The premises was our family home, we had some work completed back in 2009 and fitted fire FD30 doors throughout. However they did not have any closers, strips or anything else as we were living at the property at the time. The doors do not have a fire rated label however I have found invoices of when the doors were purchased which clearly stated they are fire doors which I have retained. I have also contacted …