Used by 8 councils
Wales HMO fire safety standards
Six Welsh councils use the Housing Fire Safety Quick Reference Guide from the All Wales Housing Technical Panel, three of them through Cardiff's amended copy. Flintshire and Wrexham have their own minimum standards. The other Welsh councils follow LACORS.
Read the Wales document →What the Wales standard expects in 3 typical HMOs
Councils publish more than one version of this standard. This table uses the version most of them publish. Your council's page shows its exact version.
2-storey shared house, 5 tenants
- Fire alarm system
- Grade D2, LD3
- 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 D2, LD3
- 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 D2, LD3 | Grade D2, LD3 | 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 D2 (mains alarms with a replaceable backup battery)
- Grade A (a panel system with call points)
- LD3 (escape route only)
- LD2 (escape route plus rooms where fires are likely to start)
What the standard says
Fire alarms
LACORS national guide
“Shared house HMO of three or four storeys (shared cooking facilities) Grade D: LD3 coverage + additional detection to the kitchen, lounge and any cellar containing a risk (interlinked) Shared house HMO of five or six storeys (shared cooking facilities) Grade A: LD2 coverage ... Bedsit HMO of one or two storeys with individual cooking facilities within bedsits A mixed system: Grade D: LD2 coverage in the common areas and heat detectors in bedsits (interlinked) Grade D smoke alarm in each bedsit to protect the sleeping occupants (non-interlinked) Bedsit HMO of three to six storeys with individual cooking facilities within bedsits A mixed system: Grade A: LD2 coverage in the common areas ... Where cooking facilities are sited in shared kitchen, not within bedsits: interlinked smoke alarms with integral battery backup located in each bedsit”
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 shared houses, a multi-purpose fire extinguisher (type 1.5kg dry powder or 6 litre AFFF Foam) is recommended on each floor within the escape route. 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.”
Councils using the Wales standard
Every council's HMO fire safety standard →Common questions
Which councils use the Wales standard?
8 councils: Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Flintshire, Newport, Swansea, Vale of Glamorgan, Wrexham.
Is the Wales 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.