Fire safety overview for the private rented sector

Last updated 30 January 2023 - added link to our fire safety in communal parts guidance and a brief summary of the  Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

Whether you are renting to a family or renting to sharers you have an obligation to ensure the property is safe from fire. However, knowing what is required to make a property safe is quite a complex area of the law.

There are several important pieces of legislation which can affect your responsibilities and practices in regards to fire safety for your properties. Not all of it applies to every property which can make it difficult to understand exactly what you need to do to ensure you are being responsible about fire safety.

The purpose of this guide is to help you understand what the legislative framework is for fire safety, what you might be required to do to comply with it, and how that translates to ensuring each of your properties is safe for your tenants. It is designed for landlords and agents who own or manage one property rather than a block of flats for example.

The framework for fire safety ranges across a number of different pieces of legislation. The main ones are -

• The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015
• Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
• The Housing Act 2004 
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• The Building Regulations (Part B)
• The HMO Management Regulations 2006 and the additional provisions laid out in 2007

From January 23rd 2023, landlords must follow these requirements where the property is

• Split into at least two premises; and
• There are communal parts that residents must pass through to exit the building

To comply, you shoud provide the following information in the common parts and to the occupants  -

• The evacuation strategy for the building (e.g. stay put or simultaneous evacuation)
• Instructions on how to report a fire (e.g. use of 999 or 112, correct address to give to the fire and rescue service, etc.)
• Any other instructions that tell residents what they must do when a fire has occurred
• Fire doors should be shut when not in use
• Residents or their guests should not tamper with self-closing devices on fire doors
• Residents should report any fault with, or damage to, fire doors immediately to the responsible person

If your building is 11 meters high or more, then further requirements are placed on you.

For further guidance please see our dedicated page.