If you are a tenant or a landlord , it’s very important for both parties to know where the responsibility lies with fire safety. It is the landlord’s responsibility to keep the property you live in safe and free from health and fire hazards. Landlords have legal duties when it comes to the fire protection and fire safety of their properties and the people who occupy them. However, it is not just a simple task of making sure there’s a few fire extinguishers to hand or having one smoke alarm in the kitchen. Fire safety mostly depends on any potential risks and having so many different types of properties and buildings can cause confusion. For example, a building that is used for single tenancy will be different to a HMO (house of multiple occupation).
Your landlord must:
- follow safety regulations
- carry out fire risk assessments in all areas of their properties
- provide a smoke alarm on each storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel burning appliance (for example a coal fire or wood burning stove)
- check you have adequate means of escape and have access to escape routes at all times
- make sure the furniture and furnishings they supply are fire safe
- provide fire alarms and extinguishers if the property is a large HMO
- making sure tenants are provided with information on the evacuation procedure of the property.
If you are a tenant and you are worried about the standard of the fire safety in a property you are living in, then firstly you should discuss the situation with your landlord. If your landlord is unresponsive or unwilling to install alarms to meet the current legislation, you can then take this further and report it to the local housing authority.
If you are a landlord and are unsure of your responsibilities, need further advice or need a professional fire risk assessment completing on your property, then contact our MAGG Fire Services office for more information.
