Property Types Covered For Fire Risk Assessments

At HMO Fire Risk Assessments, we provide comprehensive fire risk assessments across a wide range of residential and commercial property types. Whether you’re a landlord, managing agent, or property owner, we have the expertise to keep your building compliant and your occupants safe.

Our fire risk assessment service covers:

• Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) – From small shared houses to large, purpose-built HMOs, we assess all licensing categories including mandatory, additional, and selective licensing properties.
• Purpose-Built Blocks of Flats – Including both self-contained and non-self-contained conversions, assessed in line with the latest guidance under the Fire Safety Act and Building Safety Act.
• Bedsits & Converted Properties – Older or converted buildings with complex layouts and mixed-use areas are assessed with particular care given their unique fire risk profile.
• Houses & Bungalows – Including privately rented single-let properties where a fire risk assessment is required as part of landlord compliance.
• Commercial & Mixed-Use Properties – Offices, retail units, and buildings with both residential and commercial elements, ensuring full compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• Student Accommodation & Co-Living Spaces – High-occupancy properties with transient residents, where robust fire safety measures are especially critical.

Why Fire Risk Assessments Matter – By Property Type

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

HMOs are statistically among the highest-risk residential properties when it comes to fire. With multiple unrelated tenants sharing kitchens, hallways, and escape routes, the potential for fire to spread quickly and for evacuation to be delayed or chaotic is significantly greater than in a standard family home.

Landlords of HMOs have a legal duty under the Housing Act 2004 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to ensure their property is safe for occupation. A licensed HMO must have a valid fire risk assessment in place, and failure to comply can result in hefty fines, licence revocation, and in the most serious cases, criminal prosecution.

Beyond the legal obligation, the human cost of getting it wrong is devastating. A fire risk assessment identifies the specific hazards present in your HMO, from inadequate fire doors and missing interlinked smoke alarms to poorly maintained escape routes and unsafe cooking facilities, and sets out a clear action plan to address them before the worst happens.

Whether your HMO requires a mandatory, additional, or selective licence, a professional fire risk assessment is not optional. It is the foundation of responsible HMO management.

Purpose-Built Blocks of Flats

The tragic events at Grenfell Tower in 2017 changed the landscape of fire safety in residential blocks forever. Since then, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022 have significantly strengthened the legal duties placed on those responsible for blocks of flats, and rightly so.

In a block of flats, the risk is uniquely complex. Individual flats may be privately owned or rented, yet residents share common parts such as stairwells, lobbies, corridors, and plant rooms that are critical to safe evacuation. The responsible person, whether that is a freeholder, managing agent, or residents’ management company, has a legal duty to assess and manage fire risk across all of these shared areas.

A fire risk assessment for a block of flats examines the integrity of fire compartmentation between individual units, the condition and certification of fire doors, the adequacy of emergency lighting and signage, and the overall strategy for evacuation, whether that is a simultaneous evacuation or a stay-put policy. In taller or higher-risk buildings, the requirements go further still, with more frequent reviews and a greater burden of documented evidence.

With leaseholders, tenants, and visitors all depending on the decisions made by those in control of the building, a thorough, up-to-date fire risk assessment is one of the most important responsibilities a building owner or manager carries.

Bedsits & Converted Properties

Many of the most dangerous residential fires in the UK occur in older converted properties. Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses that were never designed to house multiple occupants have been divided into bedsits, studio flats, or small self-contained units over the decades, and these buildings present a unique and often underestimated set of fire risks.

Original timber construction means fire can travel rapidly through voids, floor spaces, and roof areas. Conversion work carried out years or decades ago may not meet modern fire safety standards, leaving gaps in fire compartmentation that would allow smoke and flames to spread from one part of the building to another in minutes. Escape routes are often narrow, shared, and poorly lit. Fire doors, where they exist at all, may be the wrong specification, incorrectly fitted, or simply left propped open.
A fire risk assessment of a bedsit or converted property requires a detailed understanding of how the building is constructed, how it has been altered over time, and how its current layout affects the risk to each occupant. It is not enough to apply a standard checklist. These properties demand careful, experienced assessment that reflects their individual character and specific vulnerabilities.

For landlords of converted properties, a professional fire risk assessment is both a legal requirement and a critical safeguard, protecting their tenants, their investment, and themselves.

Houses & Bungalows

While fire risk assessments are most commonly associated with HMOs and larger residential buildings, landlords of privately rented single-let houses and bungalows are not exempt from their fire safety responsibilities. Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022, landlords must ensure working smoke alarms are fitted on every storey and carbon monoxide detectors are present wherever solid fuel appliances are used. Beyond alarms, the broader duty of care under landlord and tenant legislation means that fire safety must be actively considered and maintained throughout a tenancy.

For properties let under certain licensing schemes, or where a local authority has identified elevated risk, a formal fire risk assessment may be a specific condition of a licence or an improvement notice.

Even where a full formal assessment is not a strict legal requirement, carrying one out is simply good practice. It gives landlords documented evidence that they have taken their responsibilities seriously, protects them in the event of an insurance claim or legal dispute, and most importantly helps ensure that the people living in their property are safe.

A house or bungalow may seem low risk compared to a large HMO, but fires in single-let properties kill and injure people every year. A straightforward, professional assessment provides peace of mind that all reasonable precautions have been taken.

Commercial & Mixed-Use Properties

For any commercial premises, from a small office or retail unit to a large mixed-use development combining flats, shops, and workplaces, a fire risk assessment is not a recommendation. It is a legal requirement.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a clear duty on the responsible person, whether that is an employer, building owner, or managing agent, to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment and implement appropriate fire safety measures. This applies to virtually all non-domestic premises, and the consequences of failing to comply include unlimited fines and imprisonment.

Mixed-use buildings present particular challenges. Where residential accommodation sits above or alongside commercial space, the interaction between different uses, different occupancy patterns, and different levels of fire risk must be carefully managed. Escape routes may be shared between residents and commercial tenants. Plant and utility areas serving the whole building may pass through spaces used for very different purposes. The responsible person must understand where their duties begin and end and ensure there are no dangerous gaps in the overall fire safety strategy.

A professionally conducted fire risk assessment for a commercial or mixed-use property provides a clear, authoritative record of the hazards present, the people at risk, and the measures required to protect them. It is the cornerstone of any credible fire safety management system.

Student Accommodation & Co-Living Spaces

Student accommodation and co-living spaces share a set of characteristics that make robust fire risk assessment not just a legal necessity, but a moral imperative. High levels of occupancy, a frequent turnover of residents, and a population that may have little prior experience of shared living all combine to create an environment where the risk of fire and the consequences of it spreading are significantly elevated.

In purpose-built student blocks and co-living developments, dozens or even hundreds of people may be sleeping in close proximity. A fire in a communal kitchen, a bin store, or a ground-floor utility room can threaten an entire building within minutes. Residents may be deep sleepers, may have been socialising late, or may simply be unfamiliar with the layout of their building and the location of the nearest exit. In this context, the quality of fire detection, the reliability of evacuation procedures, and the integrity of fire compartmentation are not abstract compliance matters. They are the difference between a safe evacuation and a tragedy.

Operators of student accommodation and co-living spaces also face significant reputational and legal exposure. Universities, accommodation providers, and investors are all acutely aware of the scrutiny that comes with housing large numbers of young people, and a failure in fire safety can have consequences that extend far beyond the financial.

A comprehensive, regularly reviewed fire risk assessment, carried out by a qualified assessor who understands the specific demands of high-occupancy residential accommodation, is the essential starting point for managing that risk responsibly.