Keeping Tenants Safe: Fire safety

The Council is responsible for making sure your home is safe by checking and ensuring that communal areas meet fire safety standards. These checks focus on communal areas and do not include the interiors of individual flats, houses, or bungalows.

Fire safety is assessed in the following ways:

• We will ensure that all new buildings meet fire safety regulations
• Before buying in existing building, we’ll carry out a fire risk assessment and ensure that it meets fire safety rules
• We regularly complete fire risk assessments. This is a review of a building to assess its fire risk and make recommendations to make it safer
• We regularly assess fire risk in blocks of flats with communal areas to find and fix any problems

Our Fire Safety Policy

• Applies to everyone living or working in Council buildings, including tenants, leaseholders, visitors, staff, and contractors
• Follows all relevant fire safety laws and regulations
• Outlines the Council’s responsibilities as a landlord and our approach to identifying, managing, and reducing the risks associated with fire in Council-owned homes

The below document explains howwe manage fire safety in council housing. It covers legal responsibilities, fire risk assessments, safety systems, staff training, and how tenants are kept informed and protected.

Read our Fire Safety Policy

Maintenance of fire safety equipment

We regularly check and maintain fire safety equipment in Council-owned properties to ensure it works correctly and will keep you safe

• Flat entrance fire doors are checked every 12 months by a fire safety surveyor, to identify and address repairs where required
• Communal fire doors are checked every 12 months if the building is below 11m, or every 3 months if the building is 11m+
• Sprinklers in communal areas are checked weekly, and serviced every 6 months
• Emergency escape lighting and fire alarm systems in communal areas in high-risk blocks are tested weekly, and serviced every 6 months
• Any extinguishers/fire blankets on-site are serviced every 12 months
• Dry risers are serviced/inspected every 6 months on an alternating basis
• Bin chute in high rise blocks serviced every 6 months

Keeping communal areas safe

Residents can place a limited number of approved items, such as pictures, paintings, ornaments, and plants, in communal areas. These items must be fire-resistant and must not cause an obstruction by blocking escape routes or hallways.

Items not allowed include rugs, Christmas decorations, bicycles, flammable items, refuse storage, charging electrical items, and footwear left outside doors.

For approval before putting anything in a communal area, please ask your Area Housing Officer via email.