Only route to total compliance

Your legal duty as an Employer, Landlords of residential and commercial premises, to cater for fire risk safety and to conduct a fire risk assessment?

Non domestic, Office premises and Commercial buildings: 

Whether you are an MOT garage or a doctor’s surgery a corner shop or a consultancy office, you are an estate agency or a takeaway, a care home or a clothing shop, it is mandatory by law for the ‘Responsible Person’ to record all findings of the fire risk assessment, including any action taken or action still to be taken. As of the 1st of October 2023, the Building Safety Act 2022 came into effect with Section 156 amending the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, setting the requirement for all fire risk assessments to be recorded irrespective of the number of employees or whether there is a license in force. In 2023 over 736,555 businesses caught fire requiring Fire brigade attendance. Sadly, there were 278 fire related fatalities. As per Fire Rescue Services of all audits 105,564 audits and visits showed non statutory activities leading to fines, prohibition order and prison sentences. 

As an employer and a landlord or owner “YOU” as a responsible person for fire safety in business or other non-domestic premises if you’re an employer, the owner, the landlord, an owner occupier, anyone else with control of the premises, for example a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent. Fire safety legislation and need for risk assessment was reinforced by Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Management Health and Safety At Work Regulations 1999

Responsibilities

As the responsible person you must have a fire safety mechanism in place:

• carry      out a fire risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly
• have      means of detection, means of fighting and suppression of fire
• and have      well defined escape routes and lighting,
• provide      staff information, fire safety instruction and training
• legislative      framework making you and your business compliant.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 requires a fire risk assessment to be carried out for almost all non-domestic and some other types of domestic properties. A fire risk assessment is also required in communal areas of blocks of flats, an important factor to consider for landlords. This will include up to and including the front door of flats. We conduct regular property inspections to ensure that your properties are well-maintained and in compliance with all relevant regulations. We also provide detailed reports and recommendations.

Rental Properties, from one bed flats, block of flats, HMOs, 

The Fire Safety Order also applies if you have paying guests, for example if you run a bed and breakfast, guesthouse or let a self-catering property.

In accordance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, completing a fire risk assessment for your premises is a legal requirement if you are responsible for a building that is not a ‘single private dwelling’. Other than single private dwellings, a fire risk assessment is a legal requirement in almost all other types of premises (such as a rental property).

• Provide      working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms throughout the building. Provide      a smoke alarm on each floor of your residential accommodation and ensure      that regular checks and inspections are completed. In addition to this,      provide a working carbon monoxide alarm in any room that has a solid      fuel-burning appliance such as an open fire. The fire alarm system can be      designed as a mixture of BS 5839 Part 6 (domestic) and BS 5839 Part 1      (commercial).
• Ensure      that all tenants always have access to safe and reliable fire escape      routes. These escape routes should have sufficient emergency lighting and      should be clear to provide safe escape in the event of a fire. Ensure that      all occupants are made aware of what to do in an emergency through the      application of an evacuation plan. Ensure that occupants understand the      different types of fire hazards (and potential fire risk) and how to      mitigate against these.
• Put      in place suitable fire safety measures, such as fire doors, and ensure      that these are regularly inspected and maintained by a suitably qualified      and competent contractor in accordance with legislation. Use fire      resistant materials where appropriate. Provide fire extinguishers on each      floor and fire blankets to tenants too.
• Carry      out a fire risk assessment for each of your premises and ensure that all      points raised in the review are actioned and recorded. It is recommended      that your fire risk assessment should be reviewed at least once every 12      months, but you should update your fire risk assessment should there be      any change in circumstances to your building e.g. a change in use of the      building.

As a landlord, properties that are registered as a multiple occupation (HMO), and any other rented properties that aren’t classified as a ‘single private dwelling’ (two or more individual households) and have communal living spaces like kitchens are legally required to have a fire risk assessment completed for the premises, as well as circulation spaces to and from the private dwellings such as corridors and staircases.

Shared premises

In shared premises it’s likely there’ll be more than one responsible person. You’ll need to co-ordinate your fire safety plans to make sure people on or around the premises are safe.

For common or shared areas, the responsible person is the landlord, freeholder or managing agent.

Alterations, extensions and new buildings

When building new premises or doing building work on existing premises, you must comply with building regulations. This includes designing fire safety into the proposed building or extension.

You have a duty of care to your residents as the landlord of a property when it comes to fire safety and complying with legislation such as the Housing Act 2004 and the Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety Regulations. As of the 1st of April 2023, the Building Safety Act 2022 was enforced with the legislation intended to improve the design, construction and management of premises. Forming part of your wider Fire Risk Assessment, there are many specific responsibilities that you have to ensure that your tenants are safe from the risk of fire.

What is a fire risk assessment?

A basic description of a fire risk assessment is that it is a review taken of a premises to assess it for fire risk, and to provide recommendations or actions to make it safer if need be.

It is mandatory by law for the ‘Responsible Person’ to record all findings of the fire risk assessment, including any action taken or action still to be taken. As of the 1st of October 2023, the Building Safety Act 2022 came into effect with Section 156 amending the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, setting the requirement for all fire risk assessments to be recorded irrespective of the number of employees or whether there is a license in force.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 requires a fire risk assessment to be carried out for almost all non-domestic and some other types of domestic properties e.g buy to let and HMOs. A fire risk assessment is also required in communal areas of blocks of flats. This will include up to and including the front door of flats.

• all      premises the public have access to
• the      common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings

How can the Universal Property Works Ltd?

We are an organisation with over 50 years of experience in dealing with fire safety. We have taken part in over 1000 live and planned evacuation drills with high profile clients with high footfall building premises including premier league football grounds. We can take the stress of undertaking a fire safety risk assessment by providing a consultation suitable to your industry sector. You will not only gain a Risk Assessment, but we will make sure you are compliant also. As an employer of a business owner there would be a number of legislations applying to yourselves, we cater for this by creating a matrix of requirement in terms of compliance. Our risk assessment is not a tick box exercise like many of our competitors are offering. We would ensure compliance by providing you cost effective products and tailor make a risk assessment. We can create a system of fire safety to make you compliant with various legislations. We will assess your business and your rental dwelling. We not just write a risk assessment for your business we shall also produce a congestion and control and evacuation plan for your business. You would have a working system in place which will have means of training with training documents, means of recording, means of detection, means for fighting, means of escape route. This would be an engaging process not only ensuring compliance but also improving fire safety culture across roles and processes.