Check all furnishings meet fire safety standards
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.
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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.
