<p><span class="">Reducing the risk of fire involves implementing preventive measures and safety protocols to minimize the chances of a fire outbreak</span></p>
It’s a common misconception that landlords only underinsure properties as a means of chasing cheaper premiums, when it’s more likely to be that they have failed to include everything when calculating the rebuild cost.
Make sure tenants have clear access to escape routes at all times
Landlords must make sure that tenants have a safe and reliable way to escape if fire breaks out. While there are no firm legal requirements for emergency lighting and fire doors unless the property is an HMO, it’s advisable to:
Install fire doors in high-risk rooms, such as the kitchen and any room with a working fire, to prevent fire spreading into an escape route
Fit thumb-turn locks on the inside of front and rear main exit doors, so tenants can quickly and easily unlock them without needing to find a key
Make sure there’s a window in the ground floor main living room that tenants could easily climb out of if fire were blocking other routes out of the property
Make sure your tenants know how to exit the property as quickly as possible in case of an emergency and that they must keep escape routes clear at all times.
Having a clear emergency exit plan can make all the difference to saving lives in the event of a fire.
If your rental property is furnished, the furniture you provide must be fire resistant and meet fire safety standards, as per the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988, last updated in 2010.
Items of furniture and upholstery covered by the regulations include:
beds, headboards, mattresses and pillows
sofas and futons
scatter cushions and seat pads
loose covers for furniture
garden furniture suitable for use in a home
The regulations don’t apply to:
Bedclothes, including duvets and pillowcases
Mattress protectors/covers
Carpets and curtains
Furniture made prior to 1950
Compliant furniture and furnishings will bear manufacturers’ labels confirming the relevant requirements have been met – usually these will be ‘match’ and ‘cigarette’ test labels – and these labels should not be removed.
When Fire Starts! Insurance Claims 2016-2021Our infographic highlights the fire related insurance claims that have occurred from the past five years. View now
Although fire doors are only legally required in HMOs, it’s worth considering installing them in any rental property.
Fire doors help to delay the spread of fire and smoke, giving your tenants valuable extra time to escape the building, and can also greatly reduce the damage caused to your property.
As a minimum, it’s advisable to fit fire doors in rooms that are at high risk of fire breaking out, such as kitchens and any room where there are a lot of electrical appliances, an open fire or a log burner.
Some key things to know:
Both the door and the door frame should be fire resistant for at least 30 minutes, shown by an ‘FD30’ code
There should be an intumescent strip that expands to seal the gap between the door and the frame when exposed to heat
Hinges, door handles and locks should be bought together as part of the door set
A self-closing mechanism should be fitted to all fire doors
Fire doors should always be fitted by a competent installer, according to the manufacturer’s instructions
Fire doors should be inspected periodically – see this handy five step fire door check
Importantly, make sure the tenants know they must not prop open any fire doors or disable any of the self-closing devices. Not only is it dangerous for them, but it may violate the terms of any property licence and invalidate your landlord insurance.
For convenience, you can fit sound-triggered or hard-wired door retainers, which hold fire doors open but release when a fire alarm is activated.
If you’d like more information, Fire Door Safety Week runs every September and their website is full of great advice on which fire doors to buy, how to install them and why they’re so important. You can also read our article on fire door safety for landlords here.
Extinguishers and fire blankets are not legally required in single-let rented properties, only HMOs, but you may wish to provide them as a matter of good practice.
In HMOs, the minimum requirements are:
A multi-purpose (water mist) fire extinguisher in the common parts on each floor, usually the hall and landings (around £50-£60 each)
A fire blanket in the kitchen (around £15)
If you do have fire extinguishers, they should be serviced annually and checked at the start of each tenancy to make sure they’re in good condition and haven’t been tampered with.
Water mist fire extinguishers are recommended by the British Standard for indoor use, as they can be applied with most fire types. It is a legal requirement that all fire extinguishers are maintained annually. This involves a visual inspection by the landlord or representative following the guidance of the manufacturer. It is also a legal requirement to keep a permanent record of all servicing and maintenance.
According to the London Fire Brigade, more than a quarter of fire-related deaths between 2014 and 2018 were due to fires caused by smoking.
Banning smoking indoors in your rental property not only helps reduce the risk of fire, but it also means a better atmosphere for non-smoking tenants and less chance that floors, carpets and surfaces will be damaged by burn marks.
Also, remind tenants that candles should always be in a suitable holder, never put near curtains or other materials that could catch fire, and extinguished properly before they go to bed.
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