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Guidance Document- Firewatch SW Ltd
HMO's (Houses of Multiple Occupancy),flats and maisonettes.
As of the 1st October 2006 HMOs, flats and maisonettes are covered by two pieces of legislation the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRFSO) and the Housing Act 2004.
REGULATORY REFORM (FIRE SAFETY) ORDER 2005
The local fire and rescue authority (the fire and rescue service) will enforce the
Order.; and insurers are increasingly asking for prove that Fire Safety has been assessed
Responsibility for complying with the RRFSO rests with the ‘responsible person'. The ‘Responsible' person who will be held ultimately responsible for the safety of employees and any relevant persons using the building; will normally be the person who owns or controls the business or premises ( where two or more such persons share a responsibility, i.e landlord & tenant they are obliged to co-operate). Unless a landlord / employer has a fire service or other appropriate background, the legislation does not expect the responsible person to have the required levels of theoretical and practical knowledge to deliver the appropriate duty of care. Therefore it stipulates in this case the ‘Responsible' person must appoint one or more ‘Competent' persons to help.
As part of their ‘Duty of Care' they should source specialist fire consultants or a fire protection company for installation and maintenance of fire systems and equipment. Fire protection products and related services should be fit for their purpose and properly installed and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions or the relevant British Standard. Third-party certification schemes for fire protection products and related services are an effective means of providing the fullest possible assurances, offering a level of quality, reliability and safety that non-certificated products may lack. This does not mean goods and services that are not third-party approved are less reliable, but there is no obvious way in which this can be demonstrated. Third-party quality assurance can offer the ‘Responsible' person great comfort, both as a means of satisfying him that goods and services he has purchased are fit for purpose, and as a means of demonstrating that he has complied with the law. On appointing such contractors/suppliers evidence of their accreditation should be checked that they are valid for the service required and the person / company have the appropriate insurance.
The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment which
Should focus on the safety in case of fire of all ‘relevant persons'.
Your fire risk assessment will help you identify risks that can be removed or reduced and to decide the nature and extent of the general fire precautions you need to take.
WHAT IS A FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT?
A fire risk assessment is an organised and methodical look at your premises, the
activities carried on there and the likelihood that a fire could start and cause harm
to those in and around the premises.
The aims of the fire risk assessment are:
- To identify the fire hazards.
- To reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as reasonably
practicable.
- To decide what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are
necessary to ensure the safety of people in your premises if a fire does start.
The government has published guidance documents that can be downloaded (free) from http://www.communities.gov.uk/ see section Fire & Resilience.
Housing Act 2004
This act applies to both Public & Private Landlords and will be enforced mainly by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
The (HHSRS) is the new risk assessment procedure for residential properties. It replaced the Housing Fitness Regime from the 6 April 2006 in England, and in Wales later in the year. HHSRS also replaces the Fitness Standard as an element of the Decent Homes Standard.
Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) with mandatory licensing for larger, higher-risk HMOs and discretionary powers to license smaller, multiple-occupied properties; Enabling local authorities to tackle low housing demand and the difficulties of anti-social behaviour through new powers to selectively license private landlords.
The government has published guidance documents that can be downloaded (free) from http://www.communities.gov.uk/ see section Housing.
Firewatch South West Ltd
01626 333122
www.firewatchsouthwest.co.uk