Fire safety in rented properties: a timely reminder

Birmingham’s NEC venue hosted The Fire Safety Event between 28th and 30th April this year. It’s one of the largest gatherings of industry professionals and a great reminder of our responsibilities.

The event followed on from a very concerning news article released in March. When Direct365 analysed the latest Home Office fire statistics, it found almost half (42%) of buildings that had their first inspection in 2024/2025 failed fire safety checks.

Of all the types of buildings that were visited, houses that were converted into flats recorded the highest failure rate. The fire service found 59% of this style of housing recorded an audit fail.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and hotels were close behind, with a failure rate of 55%.

Landlords have a legal responsibility to ensure fire safety in their properties – an obligation that is shared by both social and private rental sector landlords. They can ask a letting agent or property manager to manage fire safety on their behalf but the ultimate legal responsibility remains with the landlord.

The key regulations are extensive and detailed to keep everyone safe. They include:

• The Housing Act 2004

• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

• The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

• Local Authority HMO Licensing Conditions

• Building Regulations: Approved Document B

• Building Safety Act 2022

• The Fire Safety Act 2021

• The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022

You can never share fire safety guidelines too many times, so here is a reminder of what is expected of private rental sector landlords.

All private landlords

All landlords must comply with the following, no matter the size, tenure or location of the property they are renting out:

•  provide a smoke alarm on each storey of a property

• in Wales, smoke alarms must be interlinked and connected to the electrical supply

• in Scotland, smoke alarms must be interlinked and a heat alarm fitted in the kitchen. Smoke alarms must also be ceiling mounted

• provide a carbon monoxide detector in any room with a solid fuel burning appliance. This could be a gas- or oil-powered boiler, an open fire that burns coal or a wood burning stove 

• visit rented properties to identify, photograph and complete audible tests on all smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors at the start of each new tenancy

• repair or replace any faulty smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors

• provide a clear and unobstructed escape route at all times

• ensure furniture and furnishings comply with Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/1989, 1993 and 2010

Landlords with HMOs

There are additional fire safety rules for landlords with HMOs:

• provide fire alarms and extinguishers if the property is classed as a large HMO

• establish where fire doors need to be installed and maintained. This could be to all rooms that open onto a shared escape route, such as living rooms, dining areas and bedrooms, as well as to kitchens and cupboards/storage areas that house electrical meters or combustibles

• ensure front entrance doors to individual flats are fire-rated and self-closing

• the responsible person, usually the landlord but sometimes a property manager, must commission a written, property-specific fire risk assessment

Landlords who own high-rise buildings

Extra laws apply if the building is 18 metres or higher, or seven storeys or more, including the ground floor. These include:

• conduct 5-point fire door inspections annually

• carry out person-centred fire risk assessments with vulnerable tenants

• potentially create a Personalised Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP)

• identify and assess the fire and structural risks in owned parts of the building

• install adequate emergency, fire-resistant signage 

• keep communal corridors and shared areas unobstructed

• engage with residents to ensure they are aware of what to do in the event of fire, and that they understand the fire safety measures within the building

• regularly review fire risk assessment and fire safety precautions

• document and record all fire risk assessment and fire safety activity

Landlords with leasehold properties in freehold blocks

While the freeholder will be responsible for many aspects of fire safety in a block, the leaseholder will normally need to:

• conduct a 5-point fire door inspection annually, where the flat’s personal front door is a fire door

• make repairs to and replace any flat front door if it fails fire safety checks

If you are a landlord who would like to delegate fire safety to our experienced property managers, please get in touch.