Landlords

Hi, I have recently purchased a flat (one of eleven) in a converted old school. In addition to the leasehold I purchased the freehold to the entire building and therefore I'm also the landlord. The building has an established group of directors (resident owners) who have appointed a third party management company to manage the maintenance and repair of the property. We (myself and wife) are holiday letting our apartment and have replaced all the alarms (fire and CO2), extinguishers and fire blankets with new and agreed a maintenance programme independently of the directors or management company to maintain and service the stuff in our apartment with a local fire consult…

Is this label on sofa cushions okay for a holiday let?

Wedging of Fire Doors Can someone kindly point me to the actual legislation wording that defines this as Illegal in an *** please. (note this is not a licenced ***, but one that falls under The Houses In Multiple Occupation Regulations 2015) Someone has suggested it is in 14 and 15 of the RRO, but I cannot see it there. Thanks

Hi, What fire safety law applies to a privately owned flat in a block where other flats are rented? I know the fire safety order applies to communal areas, but what about inside the flat? I am thinking of poor fire stopping to the other flats. Can anything be done to force the privately owned flat to improve their fire stopping to prevent a fire spreading to the other flats?

Hi all, Recently purchased a building with 3 retail units on the ground floor and 2 flats above spread over the 1st floor. All are accessed by their individual entrances with no communal area/stairwell. One of the retail units the hairdressers does not have any fire detection (she said the hairdryers and steam used to set off the smoke/heat alarms she used to put up in the past). Is the fire/smoke alarm system the landlord or the commercial tenants responsibility by law in this case? Do I need to install an interlinked fire alarm system to all the units or will individual unit grade D battery/electrical mains systems suffice (with there being no co…

Hi all can anyone confirm that the attached sofa fire safety label covers me as a landlord ? many’s thanks

Hi, during a electrical inspection of a stand alone flat part of a converted former pub, open plan kitchen/ dining/ lounge(main room) with bedroom and bathrooms off the main room. Heat alarm in main room, but realized no smoke alarms are present at all, the entry door opens into the main room area so cant put a smoke in there as it will false activate from the kitchen. Daft question time as you are legally required to put a smoke alarm in a rented property how would i get this to comply? put a smoke in each bedroom, or does the heat alarm count as a smoke alarm(i think not) thanks for the advise

Hi, during a electrical inspection of a stand alone flat part of a converted former pub, open plan kitchen/ dining/ lounge(main room) with bedroom and bathrooms off the main room. Heat alarm in main room, but realized no smoke alarms are present at all, the entry door opens into the main room area so cant put a smoke in there as it will false activate from the kitchen. Daft question time as you are legally required to put a smoke alarm in a rented property how would i get this to comply? put a smoke in each bedroom, or does the heat alarm count as a smoke alarm(i think not) thanks for the advise

Hi, I hope you are able to help. My son had a room in a private halls of residents whilst at university. This was a new-build and the suspended ceiling outside his room door was missing tiles, especially around the smoke detector and sprinkler system; the corridor outside his room was a protected escape route. He was on the ground floor; his window led into an inner courtyard with two fire escape routes, however his window was locked to tilt only. The landlord's contractor said that there wasn't an issue if the tiles were missing. I have photos attached and would value your opinion on this matter. Thank you, Andy.

Hi, We have bought a 3rd floor flat (converted in 1983) in a stone built 1850s property located in England. We plan to let it out to holiday makers on a short term basis. The building is divided into 3 flats, 2 under private residency and ours on the top floor. What fire safety do we need to put in place? I have read conflicting info regarding mains fed smoke alarms or long life battery etc. I am assuming they need to be interconnected? Obviously we’d rather avoid wreaking the decor to chase wires in if possible. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Live in a block with 7 flats, the control panel has no lights working at all, will our smoke and heat alarms still work if control panel has no power

Please can someone give us a steer on the legalities of this one...? A block of flats - some of the flats are owner occupied and some are rented. Communal area falls under Landlord jurisdiction. What are the legal responsibilities for smoke alarms in the flats? Are we correct in thinking a) smoke alarms must be installed in the rented flats, and b) there is no legal requirement for the people living in the owner occupied flats to have any smoke alarms at all (it is their choice)? Any help much appreciated.

Hi all I recently started rental on a business property that once was a sunbed shop and also was offices. To my surprise there was no fire alarm system in place and the electrical work was unsafe and cost me (the tennant) an additional £1000. Should this be the landlords responsibility to install or both parties? Also there was a leak ion the roof (which was repaired by landlord) but the re studding and plastering was paid for by me, is that correct also? Many thanks

Hi I am renovating a 2nd floor flat in a block to rent. I understand the front door must be a fire door. What about internal doors? There is no external fire escape.

Hi all, I'm trying to clarify what is a landlord's legal requirement in regard to fire detection. I've been reading various pieces of legislation, but it seems like I'm only getting more confused, hence why I thought it might be better ask in the forum. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulation 2015 states that there should be smoke detectors on every story and a carbon monoxide alarm where there is a solid fuel burning combustion appliance. Approved Document B says the following: "All dwellings should have a fire detection and alarm system, minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 standard, in accordance with the relevant recommendations of BS 5839-6. …

Hello, I currently rent a flat with a housing association. The floor is in need of repair as floorboards are loose and gaps around the floors. My concern is there is a huge 4 inch gap between the flooring and tue concrete underneath. I believe no screed was out down when the flats were built, something which the housing Association won't admit to. I'm concerned this is a fire risk as i have lived here for 17 years and the flooring has never been checked even though some flats built on a different block the concrete under thefloors are acually starting to crack.

Hi All, looking for a bit of advice. I am a new landlord, managing some properties in an old block of flats (finished 1970s) that was previously Housing Association property, but do not manage the whole block (or any of the communal areas). Each of the flats have been converted into shared flats, but not HMOs, but I was wondering what the fire safety requirements in these flats would be? Or if anyone could point me towards the legislation/guidelines that would cover them? The flats do not appear to have fire doors at all (not self closing and very flimsy) but the property is old and only 3 storeys tall - and it is inherited from a Housing Association which I would presume…

Hi I have 4 x 1-person flats off a 9m long communal corridor. Off the corridor, I have a stacked washer/dryer for communal use. My LA has advised that the washer/dryer are IN the escape route (even though they are in an area to the side and do not extend in any way into the corridor). They have advised that the washer/dryer must be placed inside a compartment with FD30 fire door and (yet another) interlinked fire alarm - there are already 2 in the 9m long corridor and also in every flat - all linked. So, my question is - are these appliances within the escape route or not - advice welcome. Drawing attached.

Does anyone have experience with this? I'm a furniture retailer and we sell Italian made sofas. All our products are delivered with fire safety labels (lots of large high street chains also sell the same brands as we do) We delivered some sofas to a client who simply did not like the quality and colour. She tried to get us to take the furniture back but we declined as it was made to order. We got an independent technician to do a report confirming that the goods were absolutely of merchantable quality and fit for purpose. She has now come back, 2 months after delivery, saying there are no fire labels under the furniture. We believe s…

Hi, I am a first-time landlord looking at fire risk considerations for a small, two-storey, two-bedroom, terraced house (currently unoccupied), and would be most grateful for some assistance. The occupancy will most likely be single; or possibly a couple or small family. Even if it were to attract a share, it would be small-scale and not an HMO scenario. The FSO (2005) would not apply. I have been looking at the LACORS guidance for single household/shared houses and although it generally points to a ‘lower’/’normal’ risk for this type of property/occupancy and suggests some areas where standards can be ‘relaxed’, nevertheless the layout of my property diffe…

Hello, We previously had a fire safety team visit our development every six months to check the smoke detectors and emergency lights. Then, about a year ago, an electrician installed a new range of emergency lights for us and offered to take over the testing of these and the smoke detectors. We were advised that a responsible person needed to simply check that the emergency lights came on once a month, which I’ve been doing, and that a full three-hour test of the emergency lights plus gaseous smoke detector checks could then take place annually, rather than every six-months. Can anybody confirm that this is the case, as I still read in these forums that a s…

Hello, We have wired-in electric radiators/ heaters in our communal entrance halls within a purpose-built block. I presume they are permitted, as they were installed by the builder of the development 15 years ago, but is it better to request that they are removed? I personally don’t like the idea of them being flicked on and off by various people, and potentially left on through the night. Thanks, Gary

Hi,There, I live first floor of a retirement block of three dwellings, the doors to our flats are fitted with supposedly “ Fire Doors “ but mine is well hacked one and a half inch gap at well warped so you can get your fingers in a packet of chewing gum fits the gap, the landlord says we have buy our own to replace, I had permission to use a UVPC door, but that’s not a fire door so I installed a composite door with hardwood core which used to be Rated it since Grenville it’s not and now the Landlords agent says I have installed the wrong one as no Fire Rating, been trying to contact Reading Firebrigade but can not find a non emergency number, any hel…

Hello everyone! I live in a block of flats (5 floors) and want to replace my front door. As it leads onto a communal stairwell, i am aware i need an FD30 door. I am looking at the ENDURANCE firedoors. One company has said that it is fine to proceed, another has said that they are delayed as additional certification has been sought by Endurance regarding their fire doors. I am unsure whether it's okay to proceed with this manufacturer and unclear of how to cross-check. Thank you for your help - Stacey

Hi We are converting a 4 storey house (under 18m) to flats and don't want to remove any of the ornate plaster ceiling coving, ceiling roses and skirting. We do need to lift the floorboards to provide better acoustic separation between the flats. It's very likely we have to provide 60mins fire separation for walls and ceiling between flats and between the common stairway to the fire exits. We may be getting an Approved Inspector and maybe a Fire Consultant to help with come up with some solutions.... However, we don't have anyone to advise yet, so was hoping for some initial guidance on what options we have, that are the least intrusive, but…