My tenants have two sofas in my property that they brought in themselves. Neither appear to have the fire resistance tags on them that are required for HMO properties. As a landlord, I am responsible for the furniture that I provide but what do I do when the tenant has brought in extra furniture that doesn’t have tags?
What does your tenancy agreement say on the matter?
Are the sofas in the common parts? Is this an HMO let by the room or a joint tenancy?
The tenancy agreement refers to the The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 but doesn’t say anything about the tenants’ items of furniture. It is a joint tenancy - 3 friends. I don’t rent out individual rooms but Southwark Council say it qualifies as an HMO for 3 people with two or more households as none of the friends are related. I know that the furniture and mattresses I provide have to have fire resistant labels but my tenants have brought in two sofas that aren’t mine and don’t appear to have tags. The sofas are in the shared lounge. To be honest, I didn’t think it was possible to buy furniture these days that doesn’t have fire resistance labels so I didn’t think to ask the tenants when they brought in the sofas.
it would have to be very old furniture not to comply. Regs came in 1988
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It’s the tenants responsibility. You can’t be responsible for items you did not supply. A bit likePAT testing. I’m assuming you have not PAT tested all of their appliances. For what it’s worth I hate this definition of HMO that allows a flat of friends to be an HMO but if they were cousins it would be fine.
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Perhaps amend your tenancy agreement for future tenancies to require your permission and to prove compliance.
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I agree about the 3 people HMO thing when you’re not letting rooms individually - madness!