Fire doors in homes reach a landlord through three different routes: Building Regulations from when the property was built or converted, HMO licence conditions from the council, and in blocks of flats the recorded checking duties added in 2022. They do not say the same things and all three can apply to one property.
Single family rented houses
There is no blanket rule requiring fire doors throughout a rented house. What applies is what Building Regulations required when the house was built or altered, which commonly means a door between an integral garage and the house and, in houses of three or more storeys, fire doors to rooms opening onto the protected stairway. The fire risk assessment for any common parts covers the rest.
Houses in multiple occupation
Licensed HMOs are where fire doors become a routine requirement, typically to bedrooms and to the kitchen, with self closing devices, so that a fire in one room does not reach the shared escape route. The specification comes from the licence conditions and the fire risk assessment, informed by national guidance on fire safety in shared housing. Councils apply that guidance to local stock, so specifications genuinely differ between authorities.
The kitchen door
Kitchens are the highest risk room in a dwelling, and in HMOs a self closing fire door to the kitchen is one of the most consistently required items. It is also the door most often propped open, because a kitchen door that swings shut is inconvenient in daily use. A hold open device linked to the alarm is the answer that survives contact with the residents.
Blocks of flats after 2022
In England, buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises above 11 metres carry the recorded checking duties: communal fire doors at least every 3 months and flat entrance doors on a best endeavours basis at least every 12 months. Residents must also be given information about fire doors. Below that height the checking duty falls back on the general duty to maintain, which still applies.
Questions people ask about hmo fire door regulations
Do rented houses need fire doors throughout?
No blanket rule requires it. What applies is what Building Regulations required at construction or alteration, commonly a garage door and doors to the stairway in houses of three or more storeys.
Does an HMO kitchen need a fire door?
In licensed HMOs a self closing fire door to the kitchen is one of the most consistently required items, because the kitchen is the highest risk room and the escape route runs past it.
Who checks flat entrance fire doors?
The responsible person for the building, on a best endeavours basis at least every 12 months in England in buildings above 11 metres, because they cannot enter a private flat at will.