If you are a Landlord in London or Manchester and would like to have a Fire Risk Assessment for your Flat, just to check that you are complying with current Fire safety regulations, well read on ……

DIARY OF A FIRE RISK ASSESSOR.

I was handed a telephone call from a Landlord in West London who wanted a Fire Risk Assessment on her Flat. She explained to me that the Flat was one of Four in a converted House. She didn’t live in the Flat just rented it out on a commercial basis. I explained to her that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applied to the House, and only to a limited extent to the Flat then the House Act takes over with regards to the inside of the Flat. I explained that an individual dwelling in a House of Multiple Occupation or Flat or Maisonette is a private dwelling and outside the scope of the order, except for the requirement to maintain common Fire precautions such as Fire alarms throughout the House.   

I told her that there should be a Fire Risk Assessment on the Communal Parts of the House, and she should refer to that, as a starting point for the protection of her Flat. She told me that no such document existed and that the other Owners, Residents, Tenants of the House were not prepared to contribute towards one being carried out. I started to protest and to outline Regulations and Responsibilities, but to no avail. The situation was lamentable but, as Tom Jones would say, It’s not unusual… 

I identified that she could carry out her own Fire Risk Assessment, possibly using the LACORS Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services. Local Government Regulations. Housing-Fire Safety. Guidance on Fire safety provisions for certain types of existing housing as her Guidance. The Landlord wanted the reassurance that a Fire Risk Assessment can offer, which is that her Flat, and therefore her Tenant, were, as far as reasonably practical, protected from Fire.

I accepted the engagement and subsequently carried out a Fire Risk Assessment on the Landlords Flat using several sources of Guidance, including the following: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, BS 9991: 2015. BS 9999: 2017. LACORS. The various Guidance documents from the Department for Levelling Up Housing & Communities, formerly Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government. MHCLG January 2020, formerly Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government. MHCLG January 2020, formerly Department for Communities Local Government Guidance Fire Safety Risk Assessment suite. THE HOUSING ACT 2004, including the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. HHSRS Checklist Minimum Standards and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.      

The resulting Document was a lot smaller than the Guidance itself, but its instigation will keep her Tenant safe and it did give her Peace of Mind.      

In addition, and at no extra cost, the Documentation identified all of the Recommendations and Requirements, to the Responsible Persons in regard to the Communal parts of the House, which should feature in a Fire Risk Assessment on the House as a whole.   But that was for my own Peace of Mind…            

If you are letting our a Flat in a Purpose Built Block  or a House converted into Flats and would like a Fire Risk Assessment just for your Flat  then call London Fire Risk Assessments on 0781 8888626 (London) or 07824 185293 (Manchester) we have Risk Assessors that can help you!