Renting or Sharing

If you live in rented accommodation or share with other people, there's a higher chance you could have a fire. When renting it's not your home and someone else has to maintain it but it's a mistake to leave it all to the landlord. You're the person living there, and it's your life.

There has to be an adequate means of escape and, depending on the size of the property, there may have to be smoke alarms and fire extinguishing equipment.

Have a look through the ‘your home’ sections as they contain life-saving information and advice.

Watch the video

Don't rely on your landlord, fit a smoke alarm to give you early warning of a fire. Ensure you know where the keys are kept, you may need to find the door or window keys in a hurry. Agree with everyone you live with where they will be kept, and keep them there.

If you have any concerns, contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau or the Environmental Health Officer at your local council for further advice The can give you more details about your landlord's obligations and your council's Environmental Health Officer can force your landlord to provide adequate fire precautions

Student accommodation

Parents may wish to check the safety of student accommodation. If you have concerns about the standard of the accommodation you should contact the university for advice.

For further information on your landlord's responsibilities, visit Communites and Local Government or DirectGov websites.