“However, I can’t say hand on heart that I have complied with all the fire safety regulations that apply to one of my properties,” she adds, “because the regulations themselves are so darned confusing.”
Having contacted the council, the fire service and finally fire risk assessment companies, she eventually downloads an online guide to fire risk assessments and did the job herself.
Now let out to four separate tenants having been let by a group of friends on a single tenancy, the property, a four-bedroom duplex, was now deemed a HMO. As such, different, more exacting, fire safety rules applied.
If this is true – and perhaps our readers can confirm – it begs the question as to why four friends sharing a property should have an inferior level of protection compared to four strangers. It’s hard to see the difference, other than four friends might typically have a clearer idea of who else is at home at any given moment.
Clearly the writer is keen to fulfill her responsibilities and keep the tenants safe – and is being far more conscientious than many landlords. But did she take the right approach? We’d be interested to hear what you think.
MPs have welcomed comments by Dame Judith Hackitt about the need for a more prescriptive approach to building regulation, SHP Online has reported.
In a letter to the communities and local government select committee, Dame Judith, who chairs the independent review of building regulations and fire safety, said she wants to “create a culture” where there is a clear focus on “building and maintaining safety throughout the lifetime of buildings”.
The front door to one of the flats in Grenfell Tower withstood fire for only 15 minutes – only half as long as it was supposed to – detectives investigating the fire have revealed.
Tests were carried out on the door, which was intact following the blaze because it was on a lower floor.
Experts say a flat door from Grenfell Tower was supposed to resist fire for half an hour, but only lasted 15 minutes. https://t.co/jP4taLE0gx
— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) March 15, 2018
Fire safety deficiencies have been uncovered by FRS inspectors in more than three-quarters of Greater Manchester’s 489 high-rise residential buildings.
Conducted in the wake of the Grenfell fire, inspections found that just 117 of the blocks were confirmed to be “broadly compliant” with fire safety regulations.
Find out more on Inside Housing.
Who should pay for such works is a source of ongoing, fraught debate and resolving the issue is sure to create plenty of work for lawyers.
It’s a three-way tussle between the government – which steadfastly refuses to pay – landlords – who, in the case of local authorities, can barely afford to pay – and tenants, many of whom are being hit by astronomical rises in service charges.
A new briefing paper published by the House of Commons Library attempts to bring some clarity to the issue.
Written by Wendy Wilson, head of social policy section of the House of Commons Library, Leasehold high-rise flats: who pays for fire safety work? has this to say about social landlords:
“When major works are carried out on blocks owned by social landlords there is no additional cost to be met by secure and assured tenants. Long leaseholders in these blocks could be liable to pay a contribution towards the cost of the works depending on the wording of their lease agreements.
“As a rule, lease agreements will provide for the recovery of the cost of major works from long leaseholders; this can result in individuals facing some substantial bills, e.g. for roof or lift replacement.”
Whether and how much private tenants should pay depends “on the wording of their lease agreements”.
Even where leasehold agreements don’t mention fire safety works, freeholders might be able to use ‘sweeping-up’ clauses to pass on costs to tenants
But even where leasehold agreements don’t mention fire safety works, freeholders might be able to use ‘sweeping-up’ clauses in order to pass on costs to tenants.
The Government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service says on its website that such clauses “could allow freeholders to get leaseholders to pay for a range of unexpected costs. These costs could include money spent for the ‘benefit of the building’ and money spent to enable ‘good estate management’”.
The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) has suggested that interest-free loans could ease the burden on leaseholders landed with huge bills and ensure there is no delay to the removal of ACM cladding.
Its warnings that leaseholders could face fire safety bills “in the tens of thousands” have already been realised at Croydon’s Citiscape development. After cladding on failed BRE testing in August, flat owners were horrified to receive bills of £30,000 from the block’s owners to cover the replacement costs.
Housing Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament the responsible person is ‘clearly the freeholder’, saying: “Whatever the legal case might be, the freeholder should take responsibility.”
Meanwhile, The Northern Echo has reported that three in 10 people continue to use an electrical appliance after discovering it’s the subject of a safety-related product recall.
Electrical Safety First is urging residents to register their electricals online, with 13 fires a day caused by faulty devices.
Download the Fire Safety in 2023 eBook, keeping you up to date with the biggest news and prosecution stories from around the industry. Chapters include important updates such as the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and an overview of the new British Standard for the digital management of fire safety information.
Plus, we explore the growing risks of lithium-ion battery fires and hear from experts in disability evacuation and social housing.
Amazingly landlords and letting agents want others to pay when they clearly fail to comply with building regulations, they expect No fines or prosecutions just a bonus for failing to provide the statutory requirements and the legal teams that have allowed them to get away with this will also expect the same . UK policy will continue while political mandarins allow buy to rent economies to stabilise the economy.
I hope that the accidental landlord has the necessary knowledge and training to undertake her suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, especially when explaining matters if there’s a subsequent accident………….