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Guidance on the Mandatory Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation

1 Bedrooms where common living room available

2 Bedrooms where no communal living area available

3 Bedroom with cooker

(In normal circumstances children would not be accommodated in bedrooms with cookers. If, exceptionally, they are, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure their safety.)

4 Communal Living Room

Bed space

Wardrobe space

Chest of drawers space

key

		Activity Space
		Dimensions in millimetres
( )		Reduced dimension when measured to a bed

Notes
1 An activity space is measured at floor level.
2 The shaded area of an activity space may overlap only the shaded area of another activity space.

Cooker Space

key

	Activity Space
Z	Not less than the dimensions of the appliance
	Dimensions in millimetres

Note: An activity space is measured at floor level.

A fire detection and alarm system suitable for an HMO with not more than six residents should have smoke alarms installed in accordance with the provisions of 1.-4. below:

1 The standby power supply for the smoke alarm may take the form of a primary battery, a secondary battery or a capacitor. The capacity of the standby supply should be sufficient to power the smoke alarm when the mains power supply is off for at least 72 hours while giving an audible warning of mains power supply being off. There should remain sufficient capacity to provide a warning of smoke for a further 4 minutes.

An audible warning should be given at least once every minute if the capacity of the standby power supply falls below that required to satisfy the recommended standby duration when the mains power supply is on; or persist for at least 15 days when the mains power supply is off.

2 A smoke alarm should be located –

3 Where more than one smoke alarm is installed they should be interconnected so that detection of a fire by any one of them operates the alarm signal in all of them.

4 A smoke alarm should be permanently wired to a circuit. The mains supply to the smoke alarm should take the form of either -

Note
If smoke alarms are of a type that may be interconnected, all smoke alarms should be connected on a single final circuit.

Additional precautions to be taken in HMOs which are maisonettes or flats and have two or more storeys, of which one is at a height of more than 4.5m, are given below.

1 If there is accommodation on more than one level it should be planned so that –

i all living rooms or bedrooms are entered directly from a circulation space enclosed in fire resisting construction having 30 minutes fire resistance (integrity and insulation) and any door in the enclosures should be a fire door with 30 minutes fire resistance (integrity); and

ii where any storey is at a height of more than 11 m there is -

2 If there is accommodation on only one level, but the HMO is entered from a storey below the level of the accommodation it should be planned so that -

i an exit through a door other than its main entrance is provided; or

ii all living rooms or bedrooms are entered directly from a circulation space enclosed in fire resisting construction having 30 minutes fire resistance (integrity and insulation) and any door in the enclosures should be a fire door with 30 minutes fire resistance (integrity) and the distance to be travelled from any door of a living room or bedroom to the head of the internal stair is not more than 9m; or

iii the distance to be travelled from any point within the HMO to the head of the internal stair is not more than 9 m, and the direction of travel is away from cooking facilities.

3 If there is accommodation on only one level, but the HMO is entered from a storey above the level of the accommodation it should be planned so that an exit through a door other than its main entrance is provided from the lower storey.

A system of ducted warm air heating designed to reduce the risk of fire and smoke spread is one where:

1 transfer grilles are not fitted between any room and the entrance hall or stair;

2 supply and return grilles are not more than 450 mm above floor level;

3 if warm air is ducted to an entrance hall or stair, the return air is ducted back to the heater;

4 if a duct passes through any wall, floor, or ceiling of an entrance hall or stair, all joints between the duct and the surrounding construction are sealed;

5 there is a room thermostat in the living room, at a height between 1370 mm and 1830 mm, with a maximum setting of 35^o C, which turns off the heater and any circulation fan if the ambient temperature exceeds that setting; and

6 if the system recirculates air, smoke detectors are provided in every extract duct to cause the recirculation of air to stop and direct all extract air to the outside of the building in the event of fire.

A system of mechanical ventilation designed to reduce the spread of fire and smoke is one where:

1 the system is of a suitable design and construction; and

2 it ensures, so far as is practicable, that air movement is directed away from escape routes; and

3 ducts within the system are of a suitable design and construction; and

4 where a ventilating duct serving sleeping accommodation penetrates walls between sleeping accommodation, either above or below the ceiling, the duct is adequately protected to ensure that it cannot permit the spread of fire. Any automatic damper or shutter or other sealing device in the duct is activated by smoke.

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