Fire safety in the common parts of flats and houses in multiple occupation

Introduction

As a general rule, legislation in the PRS will apply to tenancies whether the tenants are all on the same joint contract or if they are renting individual rooms in a property.

That is not the case for fire safety though. Landlords who let properties by the room or freeholders in control of communal parts have additional fire safety requirements that they must follow. This reflects the higher risk of death from fire associated with these arrangements.

This page covers the main points that you will need to know as the landlord of a room only HMO or as the freeholder of a communal block.

Who is responsible for compliance?

The person who is responsible for the safety of the building will be the Responsible Person. This will be the person who has control over the communal parts of the building.

For instance, in a block of flats this will usually be the freeholder as they will have the controlling interest in the communal parts of the building. Similarly, where the property is rented on a room-by-room basis, the landlord will be the responsible person as they have control over the common parts between rooms.