Yorkshire and The Humber
Leeds HMO fire safety requirements
Leeds publishes its own HMO fire safety standard, "Fire Safety Principles for Residential Accommodation (Leeds City Council)" (November 2019).
Is a fire risk assessment needed for the licence?
Not stated by the council
We could not find the council saying whether it wants to see your fire risk assessment. Fire safety law still says the landlord of an HMO must have one.
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?
Fire Safety Principles for Residential Accommodation (Leeds City Council)
Published November 2019.
Read the council's document →When did we last check?
27 September 2026
We re-check every council's documents each month and update this page when they change.
What Leeds 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
- 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
- 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
- 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 | Grade D1, LD2 | 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 | 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)
- * The council's own standard asks for less here, so we show the LACORS minimum. We never go below LACORS.
In the council's own words
The wording these requirements come from, quoted from the published documents.
Fire alarms
Shared regional standard
“Where one or more floor level exceeds 4.5 metres above the ground level ... A mixed grade AFD is required, comprising an LD2 Grade A AFD with a control panel located on the inside wall adjacent to the exit door ... where cooking facilities are located within the bedsits, there should be an interlinked Grade A heat detector in each bedsit and a non-interlinked Grade D smoke alarm in each bedsit ... A mixed grade AFD system is required comprising an LD2 Grade D AFD with interlinked smoke detectors located throughout route of escape ... Large Shared (Higher Risk) HMO - Three to Four Storey Building ... Small Shared HMO - Up To Two Storey Buildings”
Fire doors
Shared regional standard
“A risk room is a room with a function, where its use or contents present a risk of a fire occurring and developing. Typically this would be a kitchen, shared living room or bedsit room. However on risk assessment it could also include bedrooms due to their location”
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
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 Leeds?
Councils using the same standard as Leeds
Common questions
Do I need a fire risk assessment for a Leeds HMO licence?
Can I do my own HMO fire risk assessment in Leeds?
Which fire safety standard does Leeds use for HMOs?
What fire alarm does a 3-storey shared house need in Leeds?
Check your Leeds HMO against the council's standard
Answer plain-English questions about your house and get a fire risk assessment report built on Leeds's rules. £45, no subscription.