fire safety certs

[superwol]

hi all, just got back from a relaxing holiday in spain to find that we require a fire safety cert/check on the communal areas of the flats i live in as requested by the solicitor of a new buyer

one of the other flat owners has got a quote (

 

[a1]

Hi SW, What area are you living in Please Mate?

 

[kme]

It would be interesting to know the size of the flats in question?

If its a relatively small block, that quote could be for the whole thing - not just the hallway. It doesn`t make sense to do a report on a hallway, without the rest of the building being assessed.

And, totally aside from that, sorely it is the owner / landlord`s responsibility; not the tenants? Or do you all own the individual flats, and share responsibility for the communal areas.

Personally, I wouldn`t just look at a hallway m8. IMHO, unless you`ve assessed the building, as a whole, no valid assessment can be performed.

 

[steptoe]

would agree with KME, I reckon its an assement on the whole communal area, as stated.

this would involve the landlord supply as well,

dont understand why u guys are stumping tho, its down to the buyer/seller IMHO to cert this if thats what they want.

 

[superwol]

Hi SW, What area are you living in Please Mate?

the flats in the bournemouth area.

 

[superwol]

It would be interesting to know the size of the flats in question? If its a relatively small block, that quote could be for the whole thing - not just the hallway. It doesn`t make sense to do a report on a hallway, without the rest of the building being assessed.

And, totally aside from that, sorely it is the owner / landlord`s responsibility; not the tenants? Or do you all own the individual flats, and share responsibility for the communal areas.

Personally, I wouldn`t just look at a hallway m8. IMHO, unless you`ve assessed the building, as a whole, no valid assessment can be performed.

it's a converted house, 4 flats and freehold shared equally. the communal area is a small entrance lobby (about 8x8ft) whith 2 doors in it. one to the buyers flat and one to a shared stair for the top floor flats. the 4th flat (my one, and i'm not living there now - gonna be renting out) has it's own entrance.

there is an emergency light in the lobby (which doesn't work as far as i know) and that's about the limit of any related accessories. nothing in the stair-well and no extinguishers anywhere.

apparently we require the safety cert by law - although it's never come up before and it's holding up the new buyers progress. i appreciate you've got to pay to have it done but to have someone come round and say it doesn't meet whatever regs for

 

[kme]

If, as a converted house, its classed as an HMO, then the BS5839 rules are rather steep on that now.

There should be a fire panel on the communal hallway, witha zone for each flat, plus one for the communal area. All circulation spaces, living areas and kitchens should have detectors. PLUS, the detectors within each flat (zone) should be hushable from within the zone. Sounders AND strobes within each zone, and the comunal areas.

If its NOT classed as HMO; then the guy why comes to assess it will be making his determination of the system which, in his opinion, should be installed. That entails quite a bit of work; as well as liason with local fire service & council; and his liability if he gets it wrong.

Hope that helps mate.

KME

 

[superwol]

If, as a converted house, its classed as an HMO, then the BS5839 rules are rather steep on that now.

thanks for all the advice kme

the only part of the HMO description that could be relevant is .....

a building which is converted entirely into self-contained flats if the conversion did not meet the standards of the 1991 Building Regulations and more than one-third of the flats are let on short-term tenancies

i suspect it may well fall down on that one... which is a bit of a ******

think we had best get the experts in then. anyone here in the bournemouth/dorset area who's capable??

 

[M107]

If I were you I'd give Dorset fire & rescue service (DFRS) a call on (01202) 844630 & speak to someone about a home fire risk assessment

Or drop into your local fire station & ask.

Our fire brigade (RBFRS) do this free of charge.

 

[superwol]

If I were you I'd give Dorset fire & rescue service (DFRS) a call on (01202) 844630 & speak to someone about a home fire risk assessment Or drop into your local fire station & ask.

Our fire brigade (RBFRS) do this free of charge.

top idea, thanks very much. looking into it right now

 

[kme]

top idea, thanks very much. looking into it right now

Let us know the outcome please, m8??

 

[superwol]

Let us know the outcome please, m8??

no luck. they claim not to do it at all which is a bit of a shame. just said they would send some info which is probably the same as you'll find on the hse website. i did however find out that it is perfectly acceptable to do it yourself, again using the info from the hse site, and there is no specific format it needs to be in either. it's basically just carrying out a risk assessment. however, not knowing the full scope of what to cover, and not really having the time for it either it's back to finding a few competitive quotes i think

sw

 

[M107]

https://www.fire.gov.uk/Home+safety/IsYourHomeSafe/HomeRiskAssessment.htm

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Its not a HMO if the properties ( in this case flats) are owned (or mortgaged) by different people