Rented property kitchen door removed

cowsnhope

Hi
My friend has recently rented a flat which has a mould problem, Environmental Health came out to look at this and whilst there said that the kitchen should have a door. The kitchen clearly had a door at some point but it has been removed; if there was a fire then my friend's single exit from the flat could be blocked. There are no fire alarms that I have seen. The LA has done nothing about the mould problems so I'm wondering if they can be made to do something about this apparent fire safety risk and how long my friend can reasonably be expected to wait for something to be done.
Thank you

ognum

Your friend clearly ihas a landlord who is not interested. My suggestion would be for her to buy herself smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide monitor. She is right a good landlord would have supplied them but it's not worth her risking her life just because they are not supplied!

cowsnhope

Thank you. I think you are right about buying an alarm however I mentioned that there wasn't one because I've had a look at building regs and that does seem to say that an alarm can be a substitute for a door but I'm not sure that its safe or if I've understood this correctly. Its possible that an alarm would be safer in this case as I'm not sure my friend would always shut a door if there was one and an open door is a bit pointless if there is a fire, having said that it would be his responsibility to shut it and if he chose not to then that's really his own fault. I'm ok with my friend compromising his own safety but less so when his LL is doing it.

agrinnall

Get you friend to call the local fire station and ask them to come out to inspect the property - they will advise all the things that need to be done, and your friend can then decide whether to do them himself or place the onus on the landlord (my local fire station fitted two long-life smoke alarms free when they came to my house).

cowsnhope

Thank you agrinnall that's brilliant - my friend is on benefits and alarms that are suitable for kitchens are not cheep.

dodger1

I took my kitchen door off to give the place a more open plan look. Doesn't change the safety aspect at all. Just get the alarms fitted and all we be well but I'd never have one fitted in the kitchen (smoke alarm no but carbon monoxide yes).

Mr_Pitiful

dodger1 wrote: »

Just get the alarms fitted and all we be well but I'd never have one fitted in the kitchen (smoke alarm no but carbon monoxide yes).

Heat alarm is the way to go for kitchens :

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safety+Security/Smoke+Heat+Detectors/Heat+Alarm+9V/d200/sd3167/p18408

ognum

Mr_Pitiful wrote: »

Heat alarm is the way to go for kitchens :

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Safety+Security/Smoke+Heat+Detectors/Heat+Alarm+9V/d200/sd3167/p18408

Excellent idea:T

anselld

cowsnhope wrote: »

Hi
My friend has recently rented a flat which has a mould problem, Environmental Health came out to look at this and whilst there said that the kitchen should have a door. The kitchen clearly had a door at some point but it has been removed; if there was a fire then my friend's single exit from the flat could be blocked. There are no fire alarms that I have seen. The LA has done nothing about the mould problems so I'm wondering if they can be made to do something about this apparent fire safety risk and how long my friend can reasonably be expected to wait for something to be done.
Thank you

If the EHO has already visited and identified a serious hazard then they will probably serve an enforcement notice on the landlord and it will state how long they have to fix it. Failure to meet the timescale could then lead to prosecution.

cowsnhope

Thank you, I was not there when the EHO visited but my friend said that they would send him a letter which he could then send to the LA. I got the impression from my friend that the letter was going to be more of a recommendation than something as strong as an enforcement notice - I guess I'll just wait to see the letter and assume that if it is a serious risk then they'll take appropriate action and if the risk is not high then I don't need to worry.
Thank you all for your help.

dimbo61

The Fire service will come out and do a Fire Risk Assessment if you ask them too.
Now this might really put a rocker under the LA/LL and give a list of things that need to be done IE kitchen door (Fire door), smoke alarms, heat alarms, fire blanket etc.
The LL may serve an S21 when the fixed term is up ONLY PROBLEM !