Fire Safety (England) Regulation 2022 took effect as of the 23rd of January 2023, which altered the responsibilities of HMO (houses in multiple occupation) landlords and responsible personnel. The new fire safety regulations apply to any residential builds with stories above ground level which contain more than one domestic dwellings or rooms for residential purposes.
Dwellings can refer to a range of properties, including individual flats, self-contained flats such as assisted living schemes, or rooms that are rented individually within a shared house irrespective of communal area like an HMO.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 specifies the legal aspects required for general fire safety in common areas of HMOs, maisonettes and flat blocks. There must be a responsible person delegated to ensure compliance in any form of HMO, with is commonly a landlord or managing agent. Their responsibilities include arranging regular fire risk assessments, providing fire safety information to tenants, and displaying fire safety instructions on fire doors within the building.
Fire Safety (England) Regulation 2022 – What it means for Landlords
The new regulations are designed to improve fire safety in communal areas where occupants might use as an escape route in the event of a fire, or other emergency scenarios.
The areas which the Fire Safety (England) Regulation 2022 impacts includes:
- Flat Entrance Doors
- Corridors & Stairways within individual dwellings
- Walls & floors which more than one occupant of individual dwellings share
- Walls and floors which divide individual dwellings from other rooms such as boilers, pumps, ventilation and control boards
- Non-domestic areas of buildings like plant rooms, laundries, tenant halls and commercial premises
- External walls, doors and windows
- Attachments to external walls such as balconies
Among the changes are two redactions to regulations 9 and 10.
Regulation 9 determines that landlords or the responsible person must display clear fire safety instructions prominently around your property.
Instructions designed to protect public safety must contain the appropriate guidance on how to evacuate HMOs, how to alert Fire and Rescue services and any other relevant instructions.
All tenants of HMOs and property above ground level must be notified in writing or electronically of the rules they must follow within 1 year of the start of the regulations taking effect, which is the 23rd of January, 2024. They should be notified every 12 months thereafter.
All tenants must also be notified of any changes to the advice via signage and ensure they’re adequately positioned around the building, and should be told a month before the change.
Regulation 10 refers to a provision of information to tenants with regards to fire doors.
It is the responsibility of landlords or the delegated person to ensure fire doors are to the appropriate standard. Fire doors can be inspected and maintained, starting with a fire door survey.
As per Regulation 10, tenants must be instructed that all fire doors must be closed when not in use. The self-closing devices attached to fire doors cannot be tampered with, and any fire door damages or faults should be reported to the landlord or responsible person.
As determined by Regulation 9, all tenants must be notified in the same manner.
Is your property an HMO?
As specified by the Housing Act 2004, if a landlord rents out a property on a house share agreement to more than two tenants that are not of the same household, your property qualifies as a HMO. If a property is rented out to more than five people where tenants share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities, the property is considered a ‘large HMO’. Please note, you must be registered to be a landlord of a HMO.
