When is a door not just a door? We often don’t give fire doors a second glance, but in the event of a fire they really can make the difference between life and death for your tenants. Landlords are legally obliged to provide safe accommodation for their tenants, and although fire doors are only legally required in HMOs, it’s worth considering installing them in any rental property.
As a minimum, it’s advisable to fit fire doors in rooms that are at high risk of fire breaking out, or where a fire could block an escape route, such as kitchens and any room where there are a lot of electrical appliances, an open fire or a log burner. Each year Fire Door Safety Week raises awareness of the importance of fire safety and provides useful information on your legal obligations surrounding fire doors. Your actions could save lives.
In a practical sense, a fire door serves the same simple purpose as a regular door, yet in the event of a fire it acts as a crucial safety device in your property. Delaying the spread of both fire and smoke, a fire door can help to give your tenants additional critical time to get to safety in the event of a fire and can also help to minimise damage to the property by acting as a fire barrier, containing the fire and smoke for an extended period*.
Importantly, fire doors also minimise the spread of toxic smoke, which is extremely dangerous, travelling much faster than fire and causing disorientation, lack of visibility and breathing problems. It is this toxic smoke which often results in fatalities long before the fire reaches an occupant.
A certified fire door has been rigorously tested and will have supporting evidence, usually a safety performance certificate to show that it has been tested in accordance with British or European standards. If correctly fitted and maintained, a fire door can withstand smoke and fire for a significantly longer period than a regular door.
What do landlords need to know about fire doors?
These are some of the most important things for landlords to know when it comes to fire doors:
Remind tenants not to prop open fire doors as this is dangerous in the event of a fire, and may also violate the terms of any property licence and invalidate your landlord insurance. Consider having a clause in your tenancy agreement to that effect. You can however fit sound-triggered or hard-wired door retainers, which hold fire doors open but release when a fire alarm is activated.
For comprehensive fire door guidance, including how they work, their design and specification and safety regulations, download the ‘Fire Door Alliance’s Best Practice Guide’.
*fire doors may vary, it is important to check your fire door specification and carry out regular maintenance to make sure that there is no damage leading to a reduction in its performance.
Landlords are responsible under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) for ensuring the safety of their tenants and making sure that their properties are fire safe. Landlords who fail to meet these obligations can be prosecuted and so it is extremely important to take the safety of your tenants, property and legal obligations extremely seriously.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), landlords are also required to carry out periodical risk assessments in the common areas of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), flats, maisonettes and sheltered accommodation.
Landlords must also make sure that all tenants always have access to an unrestricted escape route. Correctly installed fire doors should help to provide a safe escape route. HMOs require a specific set of fire precautions, including emergency lighting that can resist fire, smoke and fumes for long enough for residents to evacuate the property.
HMOs are also required to have at least one fire extinguisher on each floor and at least one fire blanket in each shared kitchen facility. While providing a fire extinguisher is not obligatory in many other residential properties, it is strongly recommended that landlords provide tenants with one. All fire extinguishers should be serviced regularly. The government’s Fire Safety Order (FSO) provides comprehensive detail on all of the regulations that landlords must follow in relation to fire safety.
It is also important that landlords are compliant with smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations; this includes – but is not limited to – making sure that there is at least one smoke alarm installed on every floor of the rental property, that carbon monoxide alarms are present in all rooms with a fuel source and that smoke alarms are working on the day that the tenancy begins.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms offer another form of defence against fire when coupled with working fire doors. Landlords should also be mindful of the types of furniture and furnishings selected for the property. All upholstered furnishings should be made from fire resistant materials. You can check current furnishings by checking the manufacturers’ label to see if it bears the fire safe symbol.
Fire damage claims are among the highest that insurers receive. While fire claims are only the seventh most common claim type at Total Landlord, over the five years to November 2023, they were the highest paid peril.
The average claim for fire paid by Total Landlord during this period was over £26,552 and the highest claim paid out was for a staggering £360,200. Over the 2019-2023 period, 91 fire claims totalling £2,416,256 have been paid to date, with a current reserve of £268.998.
Fires seem to spike significantly around the winter months. With this in mind, landlords should be especially vigilant in reminding their tenants about fire safety during these months.
For example, landlords may want to find out their tenants’ Christmas plans to make sure that the property is not left unattended for long periods of time and to carry out regular inspections to check that the property’s fire risk is minimised.
As a landlord, fire safety is extremely important and something that should be considered when letting out a property. Following government guidance and legislation is imperative for keeping tenants safe and reducing the risk of fire within the property. Fire doors significantly contribute to a reduction in fire related deaths and property damage when installed, used and maintained correctly.
If you’d like more information, Fire Door Safety Week runs every September and their website is full of great advice on which fire doors to buy, how to install them and why they’re so important.
Read our guide on getting ready for winter for more information on how you can protect your property from fire and other winter perils. And for everything you need to know about minimising the risk of fire and keeping your tenants safe, read our ultimate guide to fire safety regulations for landlords, which includes a landlord fire risk assessment template.
