My house is a 4-bedroom house, and I do not need a compulsory HMO license. However, I need an HMO Compliance Assessment. Do I need to install fire doors in my kitchen to satisfy compliance requirements?
Yes
If you look up home stamp or Lacors it will tell you exactly what you need for a four bed house depending on its layout
If you are unsure you can ask the fire department for a free visit or an HMO inspector
You’ll need fire doors on bedrooms with appropriate furniture and egress windows etc etc
Thanks. I did not know that I also needed a fire door for each room of the property. I thought only kitchen doors
Ive not heard of the Compliance Assessment you refer to. Who is requiring it? You need a Fire Risk Assessment and need to follow the advice given. This will determine numbers and type of fire doors etc?
All HMOs need assessment by the HMO inspector at the local authority whether it requires licensing or not
If you are renting to students through the university they will mandate compliance or inspect the property themselves
An HMO is registered with the LA and they assess it at the beginning and at intervals , depending on change in regulations
I’m not aware of any regulations mandating a local authority inspection of non-licensable HMOs, so I assume that this is essentially a voluntary programme on the part of the landlord, in which case I would say be careful. The Council are not your friend.
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They’ve been inspecting us for over 20 years
In my experience it has worked in my favour
I have only had one officer be difficult but he was not an HMO inspector so I told him to speak to his colleague
If the tenant creates a drama about stuff ( when they are trying to get out of rent or break an AST or in arrears ) they report false issues to environmental health who liaise with the HMO inspector
Tenants are aiming for a works order under the fitness for human habitation act to prevent a s21 etc etc
If you are signed off on your requirements the council shut it down quickly
In one case they didn’t even visit the property as they’d inspected a year earlier and down right refused the tenants demands
There are two sides to every story
The council know the games tenants play . They deal with it all the time.
They tell you to do stuff so that in the case of a difficult tenant it actually works in your favour
If you do what your asked they do help
Apart from one liaison officer ( who was racist ) I have found most helpful and understanding
In the days before the internet was so prolific it meant you could keep up with regulations
Thats good to hear and I can see the attraction of building a relationship of trust with local Officers if you can achieve it. Its worth saying though that this is not always the case and there are plenty of opposite experiences reported on the forums where Council inspectors have been invited in and used the information they gleened against the landlord.
Its worth letting other landlords who operate non-licensable HMOs know that they are under no obligation to inform the Council and would be best advised to get an independent Fire Risk Assessment. There are also plenty of documents online to help them understand their other obligations if they choose not to involve the local authority.
The council will know anyway from the council tax register and electoral role
If tenants don’t fill in the electric register there are people knocking at the door to get details
They pick up all mismatches especially in this financial climate
It gets picked up from the volume turnover or from agencies contacting the local authority that suspect overpopulation in a house
There are cameras everywhere. It’s like Big Brother ….
One of our boroughs went through the EPC register and contacted every landlord in their catchment when minimum E rating was introduced
Any properties that were not compliant were given a works order and a time frame
There’s literally no where to hide
Doing anythjng to keep themselves in a job and cash coming in
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Well the Council would know if they routinely and consistently joined the dots on the information they already have, but in my experience, they don’t. Which is why they constantly ask for new legislation for landlord registration.
Even if they did realise that it was an HMO, they would have no reason to demand inspection unless they had good cause to believe that there was a breach of HHSRS or something similar.
The Renters Rights Bill will give Councils sweeping new powers of investigation that are even greater than those of the Police. However, even then, they must have good cause to believe that a landlord is in breach of something serious to demand access.
I’m relatively new to the world of renting rooms out. I have a 4 bed semi that doesn’t require HMO reg in my borough up north.
I’m very conscious to provide and market to a professional work base and have had a lot of success over the last 18 months since opening the door, I’m also very keen to stay compliant (safety certificates etc) but wonder if anyone can point me to some guidance on the points raised in this thread for fire safety risk assessments etc?
I am still finding my feet and I’m confident I’m all above board, but if there is more I can do to protect myself and my tenants I’d appreciate some further insight from experienced landlords in a similar position.
Home stamp and Lacors are the gold standard and are on the internet
The local fire department provide free risk assessments as do the local authority
In light of the renters reform bill you may be well advised to speak to an HMO inspector at the local borough council .
They will give you advice on what you require . At the end of the day they will be the ones enforcing penalties .
You don’t want to return 24 months rent for non compliance to the tenant and suffer sever penalties at the local borough
All HMOs must comply with the HMO Management Regulations 2006, including those that are not licensable. I would suggest you seek out some interpretation of these regulations online to fully understand the obligations.
Following revisions to fire safety legislation post-Grenfell, I now believe that the amended Fire Safety Order 2005 also now applies to all HMOs and landlords can no longer rely on the Lacors exemption for sharers. These regulations require a Fire Risk Assessment of the property by a competent person. The advice would then need to be followed. I wouldnt be tempted to do the FRA yourself either as if a catastrophic fire were to happen, both a judge and your insurer would tear apart your competence and assumed bias.
I would recommend you speak to your local authority and they should be able to advise best, as the rules/regulations appears to vary. I also have a 4 bed non licensable HMO. I didn’t require any fire risk assessment and not all doors had to be fire doors.
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Thanks Ray7. Do you still have fire door requirements for the kitchen doors?
There is no regulations as such for fire doors. Contact your local Fire station for free advice
Fire doors, frames, and fire furniture require regulations.
They should be FS30 in an HMO
The door has a stamp at the top so the HMO inspector can see it’s compatible
The door is 45 mm thick
You require a fire casing with 45 rebate for the door and pre routed for intumescent strip
Intumescent strips should be 15mm with a fur strip
The hinges , closer and door handle lock needs to be fire grade fs30
Toolstation have a good selection at a good price
If you use expansion foam or caulk or filler it needs to be fire compatible
A_A sums it up pretty well. couple of thoughts, for your kitchen door you can get 30min glass which is clear, not wired to allow light and seeing who is the other side of the door. use 3 hinges the 3rd one put higher up not in the middle to support the door better. if you do have odd shaped doors, I had a victorian hotel with ig doors, you can upgrade a door with extra fire resistance. you want to provide a 30min escape corridor avoiding any kitchen. maybe give some attention to clearance at the bottom, a hardwood tread is sometimes needed. oh and you should really have a door which can be opened with one hand. finally light your exit route etc
my go to would be a fire officer rather than the council. if you get a constructive person from the council great
If you don’t know - then get a competent person to check! There are plenty of fire safety professionals who will check out the property for a fee.
Ask you local authority for guidance
Ask your local fire service
Ask your insurers what they recommend.- and if fitting a fire door might lower premiums.
You might decide to fit one any way - after all even if it isn’t required - it might reduce your costs and disruption to your business if their was a kitchen fire - shared kitchens in an HMO often have more risk than in in a single occupancy home