HMO Fire Safety

[KSH]

Hi All

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether large ground floor windows alone can serve as sufficient fire exits in a HMO, instead of having dedicated separate fire doors? I have heard conflicting advice on the matter.

 

[Kevin Crocker]

Hi All

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether large ground floor windows alone can serve as sufficient fire exits in a HMO, instead of having dedicated separate fire doors? I have heard conflicting advice on the matter.

Hi Kelly,
Windows can be used as a means of escape, however they would need to meet certain requirements.

The window must provide an unobstructed openable area that is at least 0.33m² and have a minimum 450mm height and 450mm width. The bottom of the openable area should not be more than 1,100mm above the floor.

In this instance the windows are on a ground floor, however if escape windows are to be provided in any upper floors the floor level must not be any more than 4.5m from the ground. In addition, an escape window cannot be accessed via another private dwelling.

To be honest, sometimes its just easier to provide a 'traditional' means of escape with the provision of 30 minute fire resistant door-sets.

I hope this helps.
Kevin

 

[KSH]

Hi Kelly,
Windows can be used as a means of escape, however they would need to meet certain requirements.

The window must provide an unobstructed openable area that is at least 0.33m² and have a minimum 450mm height and 450mm width. The bottom of the openable area should not be more than 1,100mm above the floor.

In this instance the windows are on a ground floor, however if escape windows are to be provided in any upper floors the floor level must not be any more than 4.5m from the ground. In addition, an escape window cannot be accessed via another private dwelling.

To be honest, sometimes its just easier to provide a 'traditional' means of escape with the provision of 30 minute fire resistant door-sets.

I hope this helps.
Kevin

Thanks Kevin. That does help. This may be a stupid question, but is it mandatory to provide fire escapes on upper floors? or will ground floors do? And do you know if there is standard guidance on the number of escapes in a property or is this something local authority dependent?

 

[Kevin Crocker]

Thanks Kevin. That does help. This may be a stupid question, but is it mandatory to provide fire escapes on upper floors? or will ground floors do? And do you know if there is standard guidance on the number of escapes in a property or is this something local authority dependent?

In a normal domestic setting one means of escape is usually enough; typically this will be the central hallways, landings and stairwells. The protected route is formed using fire resistant material on the partitions and by providing 30 minute fire resistant door-sets.

A secondary means of escape can be provided and typically this would be achieved using escape windows from rooms on the ground and first floors. Any floors above that would be too high to have escape windows and as such the MoE would typically be an internal one.

Metal fire escapes etc. are likely to require planning permission s you will be altering the façade of the building.

 

[lookinginvest]

That is all extremely interesting and not something which all property investors would consider in great detail before looking at an HMO investment. Since the local authorities decided to take a more hands-on approach to HMO properties I presume there are annual inspections for things such as fire escapes?

 

[Kevin Crocker]

That is all extremely interesting and not something which all property investors would consider in great detail before looking at an HMO investment. Since the local authorities decided to take a more hands-on approach to HMO properties I presume there are annual inspections for things such as fire escapes?

Each local authority is different, each giving HMO inspections a different level of priority. Given increased workloads and decreasing budgets I suspect local authorities will be looking to reduce the amount of inspections rather than increasing them. With that in mind annual inspections are unlikely given the time it takes to carry out the inspection, assess any hazard and then follow up.

In my opinion Local Authorities will look to carry out their statutory duty (normally a minimum of one inspection per licence period) and then look to put the responsibility for continual reviews back on to the landlord and their risk assessment.

 

[lookinginvest]

Would this be a form of light touch/self-regulation? How could local authorities guarantee that all HMO properties were safe and compliant?

 

[Kevin Crocker]

To some degree yes. Local Authorities are likely to give individual dwellings their own risk rating and inspect the properties accordingly.

Those properties that are well maintained and managed by professional landlords/agents will be left to manage themselves. Whilst properties in poor condition that are poorly managed will attract more of the Councils attention.

With shrinking budgets Councils are under more pressure to focus on 'rogue landlords' and leave the professionals to do their thing.

 

[nmb]

I suppose councils will to a certain extent also rely on tenants reporting substandard properties? Then again, how many tenants would be prepared to put their home at risk by reporting a landlord? While no process is perfect, funding cuts could see some rogue landlords slipping under the radar?

 

[Kevin Crocker]

I suppose councils will to a certain extent also rely on tenants reporting substandard properties? Then again, how many tenants would be prepared to put their home at risk by reporting a landlord? While no process is perfect, funding cuts could see some rogue landlords slipping under the radar?

Councils have always relied on tenants reporting the issues in their homes. In fact this is the largest source of Intel in the private rental sector. There are now measures in place to protect tenants from what is know as 'retaliatory eviction', however like everything there are restrictions and limitations to the new legislation.

 

[nmb]

In many ways it sounds like the whistleblower legislation which is supposed to protect whistleblowers. However, unfortunately this is not always the case and many people might be scared to come forward to report substandard properties.