Wales
Bridgend HMO fire safety requirements
Bridgend publishes its own HMO fire safety standard, "HMO Licensing Fire Safety and Amenity Standards: Housing Fire Safety Quick Reference Guide (Wales), locally amended by Cardiff Council" (Updated September 2022). It is based on the Wales standard, which 2 other councils use too.
Is a fire risk assessment needed for the licence?
Yes, with your licence application
The council lists a written fire risk assessment as one of the documents you send with your HMO licence application.
Who can carry it out?
No rule on who writes it
The council does not say who must carry out the fire risk assessment, so a landlord can do it themselves, as long as it is done properly.
Which standard applies?
HMO Licensing Fire Safety and Amenity Standards: Housing Fire Safety Quick Reference Guide (Wales), locally amended by Cardiff Council
Published Updated September 2022.
Read the council's document →When did we last check?
4 October 2026
We re-check every council's documents each month and update this page when they change.
What Bridgend expects in 3 typical HMOs
Worked out from the council's own fire safety rules for three common kinds of HMO. Your house may need more or less depending on its layout, which is what a fire risk assessment is for.
2-storey shared house, 5 tenants
- Fire alarm system
- Grade D1, LD2
- Fire doors on bedrooms
- Required
- Fire door on the kitchen
- Required
- Protected escape route
- Required
- Heat detector in the kitchen
- Required
- Emergency lighting
- Not required
- Fire blanket in the kitchen
- Required
- Fire extinguishers
- Recommended
3-storey shared house, 6 tenants
- Fire alarm system
- Grade D1, LD2
- Fire doors on bedrooms
- Required
- Fire door on the kitchen
- Required
- Protected escape route
- Required
- Heat detector in the kitchen
- Required
- Emergency lighting
- Not required
- Fire blanket in the kitchen
- Required
- Fire extinguishers
- Recommended
3-storey bedsits with cooking in rooms, 6 tenants
- Fire alarm system
- Grade A, LD2, plus a linked heat detector and a standalone smoke alarm in each letting
- Fire doors on bedrooms
- Required
- Fire door on the kitchen
- Required
- Protected escape route
- Required
- Heat detector in the kitchen
- Required
- Emergency lighting
- Not required
- Fire blanket in the kitchen
- Required
- Fire extinguishers
- Required
| Requirement | 2-storey shared house, 5 tenants | 3-storey shared house, 6 tenants | 3-storey bedsits with cooking in rooms, 6 tenants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire alarm system | Grade D1, LD2 | Grade D1, LD2 | Grade A, LD2, plus a linked heat detector and a standalone smoke alarm in each letting |
| Fire doors on bedrooms | Required | Required | Required |
| Fire door on the kitchen | Required | Required | Required |
| Protected escape route | Required | Required | Required |
| Heat detector in the kitchen | Required | Required | Required |
| Emergency lighting | Not required | Not required | Not required |
| Fire blanket in the kitchen | Required | Required | Required |
| Fire extinguishers | Recommended | Recommended | Required |
- Grade D1 (mains alarms with a sealed backup battery)
- Grade A (a panel system with call points)
- LD2 (escape route plus rooms where fires are likely to start)
In the council's own words
The wording these requirements come from, quoted from the published documents.
Fire alarms
Shared regional standard
“Grade D1 LD2 Alarm system (i.e. interlinked smoke alarms to escape route plus lounge and cellar/basement, and interlinked heat alarm to kitchen). ... Grade D1 LD2 Alarm - interlinked smoke alarms to escape route plus lounge and cellar/basement and heat alarm in each shared kitchen PLUS Interlinked Grade D1 smoke alarms in each bedroom. ... Mixed Alarm System. Grade D1 LD2 system with interlinked smoke alarms to escape route and basement/cellar with interlinked heat alarms to each bedsit PLUS additional non-interlinked mains wired smoke alarm D1 to each bedsit. ... Grade D1 LD2 (in 3 storey) Alarm system ... Grade D1 LD1 (in 4 storey) ... Grade A LD2 Alarm system -interlinked smoke detectors to escape route plus each bedsit, lounge and cellar/basement, and heat detector to shared kitchen. ... Non interlinked Grade D1 smoke detectors in EACH bed-sit.”
Fire doors
Shared regional standard
“Ideal standard (for normal risk property) ... 30 minute protected route with FD30 Fire Doors (no smoke seals) ... In low risk shared houses (see below)”
Escape route
Shared regional standard
“Ideal standard (for normal risk property) ... 30 minute protected route with FD30 Fire Doors (no smoke seals) ... In low risk shared houses (see below)”
Kitchen heat detector
LACORS national guide
“additional interlinked heat alarm with integral battery back-up located in the kitchen”
Emergency lighting
LACORS national guide
“Emergency escape lighting required only if the route is long or complex or where there is no effective borrowed light ... Shared house HMO of five or six storeys (shared cooking facilities) Conventional lighting and emergency escape lighting”
Fire extinguishers
Shared regional standard
“In all HMOs where the Fire Safety Order applies, including houses converted to self contained flats and bedsits, multi-purpose extinguishers (type as above) are required unless the landlord can demonstrate through risk assessment that an acceptable level of safety can be achieved without the provision of extinguishers.”
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will check it.
Not in Bridgend?
Councils using the same standard as Bridgend
Common questions
Do I need a fire risk assessment for a Bridgend HMO licence?
Can I do my own HMO fire risk assessment in Bridgend?
Which fire safety standard does Bridgend use for HMOs?
What fire alarm does a 3-storey shared house need in Bridgend?
Check your Bridgend HMO against the council's standard
Answer plain-English questions about your house and get a fire risk assessment report built on Bridgend's rules. £45, no subscription.