London
Wandsworth HMO fire safety requirements
Wandsworth publishes its own HMO fire safety standard, "Fire Safety guidance in HMO properties (Regulatory Services Partnership, for Wandsworth Council)" (June 2025).
Is a fire risk assessment needed for the licence?
Expected, but not sent in
The council's guidance talks about fire risk assessments, but it does not ask you to send one with your application. Fire safety law still says you need 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 guidance in HMO properties (Regulatory Services Partnership, for Wandsworth Council)
Published June 2025.
Read the council's document →When did we last check?
14 October 2026
We re-check every council's documents each month and update this page when they change.
What Wandsworth 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, LD1, 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, LD1, 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)
- LD1 (alarms in all rooms and on the escape route)
In the council's own words
The wording these requirements come from, quoted from the published documents.
Fire alarms
Council's own standard
“EXAMPLE 1: BEDSIT TYPE HMO – up to 2 STOREYS ... Grade D1 Category LD1 (BS5839-6:2019+A1:2020) ... Bedrooms without cooking facilities - mains wired interlinked smoke alarm with tamper proof integral battery back-up. ... Bedrooms with cooking facilities - mains wired interlinked heat alarms with tamper proof integral battery back-up plus an additional non-interlinked smoke alarm ... EXAMPLE 2: BEDSIT TYPE HMO – 3 or 4 STOREYS ... Grade A Category LD1 (BS5839-6: 2019+A1:2020) ... EXAMPLE 1: SHARED HOUSE HMO – UP TO 2 STOREYS ... Grade D1 Category LD2 (BS5839-6:2019+A1:2020) ... EXAMPLE 2: SHARED HOUSE HMO – 3 or 4 STOREYS”
Fire doors
Council's own standard
“All doors leading onto the escape route must be fire doors providing 30-minute fire protection. ... Fire doors 30 minute protection on all exits on to the protected route.”
Escape route
Council's own standard
“Property must have a 30-minute minimum protected route, therefore walls and floors must be of sound 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.
Common questions
Do I need a fire risk assessment for a Wandsworth HMO licence?
Can I do my own HMO fire risk assessment in Wandsworth?
Which fire safety standard does Wandsworth use for HMOs?
What fire alarm does a 3-storey shared house need in Wandsworth?
Check your Wandsworth HMO against the council's standard
Answer plain-English questions about your house and get a fire risk assessment report built on Wandsworth's rules. £45, no subscription.