Landlord fire safety checklist

Before the tenancy starts

The move-in inspection is where fire safety compliance is either built or lost. Work through the property as if you were the enforcing officer: alarms tested and dated, escape route from every bedroom to the front door walked and unobstructed, window restrictors and any key-operated locks removed from escape doors, appliances inspected, and the meter cupboard and understairs storage clear of accumulated rubbish.

Detection

England requires at least one smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. Alarms must be tested and proven working on the day a tenancy begins. Interlinked mains-powered alarms are far better than standalone battery units and are increasingly expected by licensing schemes — if you are replacing alarms anyway, fit interlinked.

Escape routes and doors

The route out must be usable in the dark, by someone who has just woken up. That means nothing stored in hallways, no bikes or pushchairs on stairs, no thumb-turn-less deadlocks needing a key that lives in a drawer, and doors that open in the direction of travel where practicable. In HMOs and flats, fire doors with working self-closers and intact seals are a legal expectation, not an upgrade.

Furniture and furnishings

Any furniture you supply must comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations, evidenced by the permanent label. Second-hand sofas and mattresses without labels are a genuine risk and a common finding — if the label is gone, replace the item.

Electrical and gas

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is required at least every five years in England, with remedial work completed and evidenced. Gas appliances need an annual Gas Safe check and the record supplied to tenants. Portable appliance testing is not legally mandated for most lets but is sensible where you supply white goods. Extension leads daisy-chained behind furniture cause a striking proportion of dwelling fires — a note in the tenant handbook costs nothing.

Fire risk assessment

If your property is an HMO, sits in a building with common parts, or is a block of flats you own or manage, you need a written fire risk assessment carried out by a competent person and reviewed at least annually. For a single-family let, one is not usually required — but many landlords in Nottingham and Mansfield now commission one voluntarily because it settles insurer questions and demonstrates a defensible approach if anything goes wrong.

Documents to keep

• Fire risk assessment and action plan with completion dates.
• Alarm test records at tenancy start and any periodic testing.
• EICR and remedial certificates; annual gas safety records.
• Fire door inspection register where applicable.
• Emergency lighting and alarm servicing certificates for HMOs.
• Tenant handbook issued and signed for, covering what to do in a fire.

During the tenancy

Do a documented mid-term inspection: alarms tested, escape route clear, no unauthorised alterations, no obvious overloading, doors still closing. Respond quickly to reported faults and keep the paper trail — a dated email confirming a repair is worth far more than a memory of a phone call.

At change-over

Change-over is the cheapest time to fix anything. The property is empty, defects are visible and no one is disturbed. Use it for alarm replacement, door adjustments, seal renewal and any fire risk assessment actions still outstanding.