Fire Safety Law
As your landlord Trent & Dove Housing has responsibilities for the building fabric and communal areas of the buildings in which you live.
One of those responsibilities is making sure that the structure of buildings and communal areas within them meet the fire safety requirements.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires Trent & Dove to carry out Fire Risk Assessments in all communal areas. The purpose of this is to identify and put in place all measures to reduce the risk of a fire starting, quickly spreading or producing lots of smoke that will put lives in danger. One of these measures is restricting items stored by tenants in communal areas of flats/apartments.
Examples of items that MUST NOT be placed in Communal Areas:
- Bicycles & scooters
- Shopping trolleys
- Pictures/wall-hangings
- Curtains & blinds
- Pushchairs, car seats or toys
- Artificial or silk flowers & plants
- Rugs, runners, carpets & offcuts
- Wheelchairs & mobility scooters
- Boots, shoes & clothing
- Furniture/seating
- Planters
Or any other items which may be a trip hazard, form an obstruction or are flammable/combustible.
You can have:
- A small doormat
- A real plant on a window cill with a ceramic pot (if kept watered)
For your safety:
- All escape routes must be kept clear.
- Fire exits must not be obstructed in any way.
- Rubbish should only be left in bins in allocated areas.
- Please report any damage or vandalism to fire exit doors to Customer Services on 01283 528528.
Your Front Door:
- Individual flat entrance doors provide protection from fire so no alterations should be made to these without written consent.
Smokefree Laws:
- It is an offence to smoke in an enclosed public space.
- Trent & Dove Housing has a no smoking policy in all communal areas and this must be adhered to.
Your Tenancy Agreement
Under your Tenancy Agreement, it states that you agree -
- “To keep communal staircases and passageways clean and tidy and not to impede or obstruct any common parts.”
- “You are not permitted to store personal items such as (but not limited to) bicycles, pushchairs, tables, chairs in the communal areas.”
- If an inspection by anyone from Trent & Dove identifies disallowed items in the communal areas appropriate action will be taken to remove the risk.