Landlords

Westminster is home to a diverse housing stock, with nearly half of properties dating back to the pre-1900s. This presents challenges about fire risk in properties that do not meet current fire safety standards. There is often the need for enhanced safety measures, particularly in conversion buildings where changes to layouts and use increase the risk posed by fire. Fire safety is regulated by several pieces of legislation, with both the council and London Fire Brigade acting as enforcing authorities. We set out some of the key considerations for landlords below.

Fire detection

Landlords are legally obligated to comply with the smoke alarm regulations and to fit one smoke alarm on each floor of a rented property. These form part of The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 and The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022. The type of smoke alarm is not set in the regulations, but a recommendation is given for mains-powered alarms as they are more reliable, cannot be tampered with, and are easier to maintain. 

The landlord must test the alarms at the start of each new tenancy. There is also a requirement to respond to complaints about faulty smoke alarms, to test the alarms and replace them if required.

These requirements provide a basic level of protection, suitable as a short-term measure. The council recommends conducting a simple fire risk assessment for your property, considering its layout, structure, and use. We have set out recommendations for different types of multi-occupied in our standards documents.

Types of fire detection

The recommended type of alarm for a rented property is mains-powered with a tamper-proof standby battery. This is known as a Grade D1 alarm and is the type of alarm the council will request in most low-risk rented properties. The likely minimum level of coverage in a typical property is a smoke alarm in the hallway, a further smoke alarm in the main living room, and a heat alarm in the kitchen. There is a recommendation that smoke alarms in the circulation space should be of the optical type; these are more resistant to nuisance alarms from cooking. Alarms must be interconnected so that they all sound together; wireless or radio interlinking is our recommended way of doing this.

Where the alarms are positioned out of easy reach on ceilings, a remote test/hush control switch must be provided. These may be battery-powered and can be wirelessly linked to the alarms.

Larger, higher-risk properties, as well as certain buildings converted into flats, will generally require a Grade A alarm system. This type of alarm usually has a control panel at the communal entrance. Grade A alarms require regular testing and must be professionally serviced every six months.

Means of escape in case of fire

Dwellings need to provide a safe means of escape in case of fire, this includes escape from the dwelling itself and from the building where there are multiple dwellings, such as flats. Exact provisions will be property-specific and informed by risk assessment. However, some basic principles apply:

• the means of escape must be protected against the effects of fire and smoke so that it always remains useable; this is achieved by enclosing it with fire-resisting construction.
• typically, for a dwelling, this will result in a protected hallway or stairway with rooms off it, each with its own fire door. In some smaller dwellings, such as studio flats, this may not be possible, but the dwelling size is subject to strict limits instead.
• where the escape route continues through the building outside the dwelling(s), this ‘common parts’ element must also be protected in the same way, with a requirement for resisting construction separating the dwellings from the common stairway, with each dwelling having its own fire resisting front door.
• in larger (taller) buildings, additional measures may be needed to enhance the protection of the common stairway, for example, staircase lobbies.
• Where a building has common parts, fire safety in these common areas requires active management, and additional rules apply, as under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, this is enforced by the Fire Authority. A key requirement is for the responsible person(s) to carry out a fire risk assessment (FRA) for the building to identify risks and outline what fire safety measures are required to keep people safe. The responsible person is usually the building freeholder and any managing agent.

To be suitable and safe, the escape route must, in nearly all cases, run from the dwelling to the street. There is an exception for escape into a large back garden, but the garden must be as long as the height of the building. In some cases, secondary means of escape are required because of the dwelling design or the building being tall with a single staircase. Examples include escape windows (height permitting) and escape via adjoining properties to the street.

Buildings converted into flats

Modern purpose-built blocks of flats will normally meet the benchmark of 60 minutes of fire resistance to protect common escape routes and dwellings. Older blocks and houses converted into flats are unlikely to meet this and may require additional measures such as enhanced fire detection and warning to occupiers.

The level of structural protection provided will determine the fire strategy for the building; this should feature in the risk assessment. Typically, for a purpose-built block, this will be ‘stay put’, whilst for a conversion flat building, it will be ‘simultaneous evacuation’. The fire strategy and the level of structural fire protection provided must be aligned. Where a simultaneous evacuation strategy is in place, a comprehensive fire alarm system linked between individual flats is essential to make this strategy work and raise the alarm for all residents. Advice on fire safety in conversion flat buildings is outlined in our self contained flat standard.

Inner or remote rooms

It is not permitted to have a habitable room as an inner room without an alternative means of escape being provided from that habitable room. An inner room is a room entered off another room, such as an open-plan living space, rather than directly from a hallway or lobby. Inner rooms without an alternative escape are a safety risk as there is the potential for persons to become trapped by a fire in the room they have to exit through. Where existing dwellings feature an inner room without an alternative escape, they should, ideally, be re-configured to a safe layout. Alternatively, mitigation measures can be applied to reduce the risk, such as domestic water sprinklers or domestic water misting systems.