North West
Chorley HMO fire safety requirements
Chorley publishes its own HMO fire safety standard, "South Ribble Borough Council and Chorley Borough Council, Houses in Multiple Occupation Guide and Amenity Standard 2024" (September 2024). It is based on the Lancashire standard, which 1 other council uses 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?
A "competent person"
The council says a "competent person" must carry it out. In fire safety law that means someone with enough training, experience or knowledge to assess the house properly. A careful landlord can meet that.
Which standard applies?
South Ribble Borough Council and Chorley Borough Council, Houses in Multiple Occupation Guide and Amenity Standard 2024
Published September 2024.
Read the council's document →When did we last check?
1 October 2026
We re-check every council's documents each month and update this page when they change.
What Chorley 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, plus a linked 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
- Recommended
3-storey shared house, 6 tenants
- Fire alarm system
- Grade A, LD2, plus a linked 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
- 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
- Recommended
| 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, plus a linked smoke alarm in each letting | Grade A, LD2, plus a linked smoke alarm in each letting | 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 | Recommended |
- 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
“Any floor/storey above 200m2 or 3 + Storeys ... Grade A LD2 fire alarm and detection system. See Note NO YES ... Existing HMO Grade D1 - LD2 fire alarm and detection system ... New or material altered (including converted dwellings) Grade D1- LD1 Fire alarm and detection system. ... No cooking facilities are included in the tenant dwelling. Additional interlinked smoke detector connected to the communal system ... Any type of cooking facilities included in the tenant dwelling. An additional interlinked heat detector connected to the communal system and an independent Grade D1 LD2 provided to the tenant dwelling. ... Individual dwelling units, within the HMO, comprising two or more rooms. – Addition to the communal system Grade D1 LD2”
Fire doors
Shared regional standard
“Bedroom doors must be 30-minute fire doors with YES YES combination heat and smoke seal intumescent strips. Self-closers must be fitted.”
Escape route
Shared regional standard
“Protected 30-minute protected escape route. YES YES”
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
LACORS national guide
“a simple multi-purpose extinguisher is recommended on each floor in the common parts of HMOs and buildings containing flats.”
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will check it.
Not in Chorley?
Councils using the same standard as Chorley
Common questions
Do I need a fire risk assessment for a Chorley HMO licence?
Can I do my own HMO fire risk assessment in Chorley?
Which fire safety standard does Chorley use for HMOs?
What fire alarm does a 3-storey shared house need in Chorley?
Check your Chorley HMO against the council's standard
Answer plain-English questions about your house and get a fire risk assessment report built on Chorley's rules. £45, no subscription.