Used by 3 councils
Cambridgeshire HMO fire safety standards
Cambridge, Fenland and Huntingdonshire base their HMO fire safety on a Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service standard. Cambridge publishes its own rewrite.
Read the Cambridgeshire document →What the Cambridgeshire standard expects in 3 typical HMOs
Your council may have changed some of the detail, so check your council's own page below.
2-storey shared house, 5 tenants
- Fire alarm system
- Grade D1, LD2
- Fire doors on bedrooms
- Not required
- Fire door on the kitchen
- Not required
- Protected escape route
- Not required
- Heat detector in the kitchen
- Required
- Emergency lighting
- Not required
- Fire blanket in the kitchen
- Required
- Fire extinguishers
- Not advised
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
- Not advised
3-storey bedsits with cooking in rooms, 6 tenants
- Fire alarm system
- Grade A, LD2, plus a 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
- Not advised
| 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 heat detector and a standalone smoke alarm in each letting |
| Fire doors on bedrooms | Not required | Required | Required |
| Fire door on the kitchen | Not required | Required | Required |
| Protected escape route | Not 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 | Not advised | Not advised | Not advised |
- 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)
What the standard says
Fire alarms
Shared regional standard
“Existing premise - Grade D1, Category LD2 system ... New or materially altered premise – Grade D1, Category LD1 system ... Existing, new, or materially altered premise – Grade A, Category LD2 system in the communal areas, in accordance with British Standard 5839-1:2017 for a Category L2 system ... Grade D1, Category LD1 system in the individual dwelling units comprising of a single room where there are no cooking facilities within the unit ... Grade D1, Category LD2 system in the individual dwelling units comprising of two or more rooms ... In individual bedsits which include cooking facilities, a heat sensor or multi-sensor fire alarm should be fitted ... New or materially altered premise – two-storey houses and maisonettes with no floor above 4.5m from ground level – Grade A, Category LD2 system ... Existing, new, or materially altered premise – three storey house - Grade D1, Category LD2 system ... Existing premise – four-storey house – Grade D1, Category LD1 system ... New or materially altered premise – four-storey house - Grade A, Category LD1 system ... New or materially altered premise – three-storey house – Grade A, Category LD2 ... Interlinked heat alarms to the communal system with integral tamper-proof standby supply battery back-up located in each bedroom ... Any shared house where there are more than 6 persons the fire detection and alarm systems shall comply with bedsit type HMO requirements ... maisonettes with any floor above 4.5m from ground level - Grade D1, Category LD1 system ... New or materially altered premise – maisonettes with any floor above 4.5m from ground level – Grade A, Category LD1 system ... bungalows, flats, or single-storey units – Grade D1, Category LD2 system”
Fire doors
LACORS national guide
“30-minute protected route note 8, is required, including 30-minute fire-resisting construction and FD30 doors to all risk rooms (without smoke seals ... 30-minute fire-resisting construction and FD30S doors to all risk rooms. Travel distance must not be excessive”
Escape route
LACORS national guide
“No requirement for full 30-minute protected route note 7, but the escape route should have sound, traditional construction and should not pass through risk rooms ... 30-minute protected route note 8, is required, including 30-minute fire-resisting construction”
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
“The Fire Service discourages the provision of fire extinguishers except in premises with full time onsite staff who are trained in their use.”
Councils using the Cambridgeshire standard
Every council's HMO fire safety standard →Common questions
Which councils use the Cambridgeshire standard?
3 councils: Cambridge, Fenland, Huntingdonshire.
Is the Cambridgeshire standard stricter than LACORS?
In some places, yes. Where it asks for more than LACORS, you need to meet it. Where it asks for less, or says nothing, we use the LACORS minimum instead.
Check your HMO against your council's standard
Answer plain-English questions about your house and get a fire risk assessment report built on your council's rules. £45, no subscription.