Used by 11 councils
Homestamp HMO fire safety guide
Homestamp is a fire and security guide for shared houses. Councils across the West Midlands, Cheshire and beyond still point landlords to it.
Read the Homestamp document →What the Homestamp 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 D2, LD3
- 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 required
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
- Not required
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
- Not 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 | 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 required | Not required | Not 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
Shared regional standard
“A system of mains powered automatic smoke detectors with battery back up, to achieve a Grade D system in accordance with the current BS 5839 Part 6 (or equivalent), must be installed. ... In kitchens a heat detector, rather than a smoke detector, must be installed. ... By providing a detector/ sounder in the communal areas ... Detectors must be sited in all areas containing a fire risk. ... The main system shall provide heat detectors in individual lets and smoke detectors in common areas and any storerooms/cellars (interlinked system). ... single point smoke alarms are also required. These detectors are not interlinked between rooms. ... GRADE A of the current BS 5859 Part 6 (or equivalent). Automatic detection must provide LD2 coverage. ... comprising of GRADE A (main system) and GRADE D (Single point smoke alarms). The main system must provide LD2 coverage.”
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
Shared regional standard
“Subject to a fire risk assessment emergency lighting should not be necessary, provided that the escape route is not long or complex and there is effective artificial or borrowed lighting. ... Where emergency lighting is considered to be necessary, it should be provided in accordance with the current BS 5266 Part 1 (or equivalent) to cover the protected escape route.”
Fire extinguishers
Shared regional standard
“Landlords should consider the following points where extinguishers are to be provided ... devices. Unless a fire is very small, it is best ... on balance to encourage people simply to”
Common questions
Which councils use the Homestamp standard?
11 councils: Bromsgrove, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Redditch, Sandwell, Solihull, Tewkesbury, Walsall, Warrington, Wolverhampton.
Is the Homestamp 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.