HMO Fire Door Survey and Landlord Compliance

Your fire doors are your first line of defence if you are the owner of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the UK. Inferno Fire Partners is a company that offers NAFDI qualified inspections of your property in order to make sure that it is not illegal and your tenants are safe.

The reason HMO fire door compliance is important: under the Housing Act 2004 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the Responsible Person in fire safety is the landlord. Non-compliance may lead to huge fines, termination of your HMO licence or even criminal prosecution.

Our HMO Inspection Focus

• Bedroom Doors: It is important to have certified FD30S Fire Doors in every single unit.
• Communal Areas: Ensuring that the doors into the hallway and kitchen have a clear and protected exit route.
• Automatic Closers: Checking that all the doors are closed with security into the frame without intervention.
• Intumescent Seals: To verify that heat activated strips are in place to keep out smoke and flame.

We are based in Harlow, Essex, and we are offering Nationwide HMO surveys to enable property managers ensure their "Golden Thread" of compliance.

The Responsible Person's Legal Duty

The responsibility of the person in law that is also known as the Responsible Person has never been questioned as it is today. In the case of HMO landlords, this implies that lack of knowledge about a defective fire door closer does not provide an acceptable legal defence any longer. One broken intumescent seal, or ill-fitting hinge, will be sufficient to have your property insurance voided, or even to impose unlimited fines under the recent changes to the Building Safety Act.

Bedroom Door Locks: A Critical Compliance Issue

Bedroom door locks are among the most frequent areas of failure that we locate in HMOs. The existing fire safety regulations in the UK are such that every sleeping room must have a keyless exit. This typically involves the installation of thumb turn locks where a tenant can get out of a fire without having to find a key within a smoke filled room.

Thumb turn locks are recommended under Approved Document B but mandated in HMOs via local licensing conditions under Housing Act 2004. Non-compliance can lead to prohibition notices or unlimited fines under RRFSO Article 32.

All the locks, handles, and closers are checked by our NAFDI certified surveyors to ensure that they are a life saving system. Our remedial list is also prioritised, which means that you can repair the most dangerous problems first. This not only helps to keep you within the bounds of local council licensing, but can also offer a very strong paper trail that secures your reputation and your investment in the event of an official fire service audit.