Fire risk assessments for
HMOs and shared houses.

Licensing-ready fire risk assessments for houses in multiple occupation, written to the LACORS standard your council enforces. Kevin or Jon on-site, never a junior, never a subcontractor.

What we find

An HMO is a sleeping-risk building with shared escape routes.

HMOs carry a higher fire risk than almost any other residential building: unrelated occupants, individual cooking, more electrical load, and a single protected escape route everyone depends on. That is why councils scrutinise HMO fire safety so closely, and why an inadequate assessment can cost you your licence.

A generic domestic checklist does not engage with the things that actually fail an HMO: the grade and category of detection, the fire doors to every risk room, the protected route, and the interface with the council's licensing conditions.

Clear Fire assesses HMOs on-site against the LACORS Housing Fire Safety guidance your local authority uses, so the report supports your licence application or renewal, and stands up if the council inspects.

What we find in HMOs.

Drawn from Kevin and Jon's combined assessment experience. HMO findings cluster around detection, doors and the protected escape route, the three things a licensing officer checks first.

Detection grade or category wrong

A domestic-grade smoke alarm where the LACORS guidance calls for a Grade A or Grade D interlinked system to the right BS 5839-6 category for the HMO type and size.

Missing or non-compliant fire doors

No FD30(S) doors to bedrooms, kitchens and rooms opening onto the escape route, missing self-closers, or doors with gaps and intumescent strips out of specification.

Escape route through a risk room

The only route out passing through, or beside, an open-plan kitchen, with no protected alternative and no fire-separation to the cooking area.

Compartmentation between lettings

Breached or absent fire separation between individual lettings and the common parts, often where a house has been subdivided without fire-stopping.

Locks needing a key to escape

Final exit or bedroom doors that need a key to open from the inside, instead of thumbturn or simple-action hardware that lets occupants escape without delay.

Overloaded electrics

Multiple high-load appliances per letting on daisy-chained extension leads, and no in-date EICR for the installation.

Kitchen fire provision

No fire blanket or appropriate extinguisher in shared kitchens, and combustible storage close to the hob.

Missing signage & information

No fire-action notices for occupants, and escape routes that are not kept clear of stored belongings and bin bags.

Risk-rated findings. Costed action plan. Insurer-ready.

Your assessment arrives as a signed PDF with a one-page management summary at the front, photographic evidence stitched to every finding, and a separately downloadable evidence appendix.

Findings are prioritised against the PAS 79-1 likelihood-and-consequence matrix into four bands, each with an indicative remediation window.

P1

Immediate

Within 14 days · risk to life
P2

Short-term

Within 3 months · serious
P3

Medium-term

Within 12 months · moderate
P4

Improvement

Best-practice · advisory
Clear Fire · FRA
Conclusions
Sample Report
Clear Fire · FRA
Fire Risk Assessment
HMOs · Type 1
Significant findings
P1P2P3P4
Risk profile
SAMPLE
Client voice

Kevin was superb in responding quickly when asked to step in and replace an inadequate fire risk assessment delivered by another firm.

Charlie Parkes
Verified Google review
★★★★★ · Bonnar FRA

Licence application or renewal due? We can move fast.

Tell us about the property and we'll confirm scope and availability within one working hour. Kevin or Jon on-site, signed report within 24 hours of invoice paid.

Request a same-week visit

Everything you need to know about fire risk assessments for HMOs.

Still have questions?

Kevin and Jon are happy to give you a straight answer before you book, no sales pitch, just plain advice.

Speak to an owner →
Yes. The common parts of an HMO are covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 require the manager to maintain fire safety measures, and a current fire risk assessment is a standard condition of an HMO licence. In practice every licensable HMO needs a written, suitable and sufficient assessment.
Mandatory licensing applies to any HMO occupied by five or more people forming two or more separate households who share amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Since 2018 there is no minimum number of storeys, a five-person, two-household property on a single floor is licensable. Many councils also operate additional or selective licensing that brings smaller HMOs into scope, so it is worth checking your local scheme.
Almost all local authorities assess HMO fire safety against the LACORS Housing – Fire Safety guidance (2008). It sets out the expected fire precautions, detection grade and category, fire doors, protected routes and emergency lighting, proportionate to the type and size of HMO. Clear Fire assessments are written against LACORS so they line up with what your licensing officer expects.
It depends on the HMO type and size. LACORS and BS 5839-6 typically call for a Grade A (mains, panel-based) or Grade D (mains-powered, interlinked) system, to category LD2 or LD3 depending on the layout. A shared house is treated differently from a bedsit-style HMO with locking bedroom doors. The assessment specifies exactly what your property needs rather than defaulting to the most expensive option.
LACORS guidance generally requires FD30 (30-minute) fire doors, with smoke seals and self-closers, to bedrooms, kitchens and any room opening onto the protected escape route, so that a fire in one letting cannot cut off the route for everyone else. Existing solid timber doors can sometimes be upgraded rather than replaced, we assess what is actually required.
The responsible person under the Fire Safety Order is normally the landlord or the managing agent who controls the premises. The Management of HMO Regulations 2006 place specific duties on the "manager" to maintain the fire precautions and keep escape routes clear. Both sets of duties usually sit with the same person.
They are among the most severe in housing. Beyond Fire Safety Order enforcement (notices and prosecution), HMO breaches can lead to unlimited fines, civil penalties of up to £30,000 per offence, rent repayment orders, and in serious cases a banning order. A current, competent fire risk assessment is the single best protection against all of these.
At least annually, on each licence renewal, and immediately after any material change, a new occupant profile, a layout alteration, a change of manager, or a fire. Sleeping risk means HMOs sit at the more frequent end of the review scale.

We assess every type of building.

Our fire risk assessment programme covers 11 other property types, each with its own dedicated page, assessor knowledge and report format.

Offices & Commercial Premises

Type 1–2 assessments for single and multi-tenanted offices. Covers means of escape, compartmentation, alarm systems and responsible person obligations.

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Blocks of Flats

Type 1–4 assessments aligned with PAS 9980. Common parts, cladding, external wall systems, compartmentation and fire door registers.

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Warehouses & Light Industrial

Storage classifications, racking risk, sprinkler interaction, shift-work occupancy and insurers' specific requirements for industrial premises.

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Managing Agents

Multi-site programmes for portfolio managers. Consistent reporting format, shared document portal and annual review schedules across all properties.

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Airbnb & Serviced Accommodation

Short-let and serviced apartment assessments for hosts and operators. Platform compliance, guest safety documentation and local authority requirements.

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Commercial Properties

Retail units, mixed-use developments and landlord-controlled commercial space. Tenant obligations, common areas and change-of-use requirements.

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Retail

Shop and retail unit assessments covering public-facing occupancy, stock storage risk, emergency lighting and staff training evidence.

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Landlords

Private landlord obligations under the Fire Safety Order and the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations. Residential and mixed-use portfolios.

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Pubs & Restaurants

High public footfall, kitchen fire risk, late-night occupancy and licensing implications. Assessments written for hospitality operators and their insurers.

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Small Business

Straightforward, proportionate assessments for small employers. Meets your legal duty without unnecessary complexity or cost.

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Care Homes

Vulnerable occupancy risk profiles, protected escape routes, staff procedures and CQC-aligned documentation for registered care providers.

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Book your assessment

Talk to the assessor, not a call centre.

Tell us about your building and we'll come back to you within one working hour.