Fire alarm test certificate HMO

[jfb]

Does anyone know what exactly is included in a fire alarm test certificate for a small HMO (4 bed , 2 story, grade D rated)?

 

The obvious things to me are:

battery check

fire alarm unit checked/cleaned/tested - including testing that smoke and heat engage relevant alarm

suitability of existing fire alarms and locations

record of any false alarms from tenants

clear signs for what to do/who to call in case of emergency and maintenance issues

ensure building structure still suitable for escape route

 

Am i missing anything?

 

[Mr Punter]

Just curious as to why you think you need this?  I thought mains interlinked detectors - domestic style - were the thing for HMOs and I am not aware of any certificate.

[Ferdinand]

Suggest that you ask a professional or your local authority (rental team or BCO) on this, or your Lettings Agent if you have one and they are competent.

 

These type of things change fairly constantly and (I am not sure) may be able to be adjusted locally like a lot of requirements for rentals, or enforcement may be on the basis of local practice.

 

Alternatively I suggest a more specialist LL site such as propertytribes.com, where someone will be fully up to date.

 

@pocster has a small  HMO, I think; I don't.

 

Not sure which bit of Oxfordshire you are in, but iirc from previous reading Oxford City are tartars on rental regulation.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Pocster]

2 hours ago, jfb said:

Does anyone know what exactly is included in a fire alarm test certificate for a small HMO (4 bed , 2 story, grade D rated)?

 

The obvious things to me are:

battery check

fire alarm unit checked/cleaned/tested - including testing that smoke and heat engage relevant alarm

suitability of existing fire alarms and locations

record of any false alarms from tenants

clear signs for what to do/who to call in case of emergency and maintenance issues

ensure building structure still suitable for escape route

 

Am i missing anything?

 

Not a great deal in my experience. All councils want different things . But ultimately if the electrician says it’s safe and good they seem happy . I think from memory mine just wrote ‘ was functional and met Legal and electrical requirements ‘ . No detail at all ! . Council just want a qualified person to ok it so when it fails they are liable not the council .

Edited May 8, 2020 by pocster

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

Just curious as to why you think you need this?  I thought mains interlinked detectors - domestic style - were the thing for HMOs and I am not aware of any certificate.

Bristol council for an hmo do require a ‘fire alarm’ is good . The council don’t state what they want though . If you ask them as I have done they say ‘whatever a qualified electrician gives you’ . So it’s all pretty worthless without some kind of standardisation. Still council want their hmo license fee ASAP ..... 

[jfb]

2 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

Oxford City are tartars on rental regulation

Apparently so!

3 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

Just curious as to why you think you need this?

I've been asked for one by Oxford City Council on a 2 year HMO license. I have a certificate book for fire alarms but much of that has stuff regarding larger more complex systems.

Anyway I have booked in someone to do it for £50 so will see what he does..

[Mr Punter]

I would ask the council for an example completed one for a system based on domestic smoke detectors.  This will establish what they are looking for so the report you submit will be acceptable.  If they cannot produce one then it may not exist.

[Pocster]

41 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

I would ask the council for an example completed one for a system based on domestic smoke detectors.  This will establish what they are looking for so the report you submit will be acceptable.  If they cannot produce one then it may not exist.

I asked my council for an example and they were unable to supply one .

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

I would ask the council for an example completed one for a system based on domestic smoke detectors.  This will establish what they are looking for so the report you submit will be acceptable.  If they cannot produce one then it may not exist.

 

That it doesn't exist will not stop Oxford City enforcing on you for not having one .

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, Ferdinand said:

 

That it doesn't exist will not stop Oxford City enforcing on you for not having one .

You have no idea how true that is!

 

Bristol council wanted me to comply with SUDS.

But their definition meant that the soakaway had to be 10m from a  property or a boundary.

So it was impossible!

How we argued!. I have to pay a fee for something that is impossible to comply with.

 

In the end they used the fee to pay for another condition and to this day my 'build' still has 'SUDs not complied with but no action taken' stamped on it.

 

Their SUDs standard is just a copy/paste to all planning applications. 10m from anything is largely impossible in almost all builds....

 

Tossers!. I emailed them that aswell ; along with other wording. They seemed somewhat unhappy with that. Wankers

Edited May 8, 2020 by pocster