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HMO fire safety check

A fire safety check for houses in multiple occupation. Record the storeys, occupants, HMO type and the date of the fire risk assessment, then check the escape route, fire doors, detection and alarm, emergency lighting, fire blankets and extinguishers, fire safety signs, electrics and bins, with a detail box for each problem. Add each room as a space with its detector and fire door, and set the actions. Every question is listed below, and you can fill the live form in on this page.

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What fire safety does an HMO need?

The LACORS guide Housing: fire safety is national guidance for landlords and enforcing officers. It covers escape routes, fire doors, fire detection and alarms, emergency lighting where needed, and fire blankets, which it recommends in kitchens. Where the Fire Safety Order applies, the responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment of the common parts, and LACORS says in practice the whole premises need to be taken into account.

Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 17 October 2026 against LACORS: housing fire safety guide (hosted by Mansfield District Council), article 9 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (risk assessment) and regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (fire doors).

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Every question in the HMO fire safety template

An HMO fire safety check against the LACORS housing fire safety guide: escape route, fire doors, detection and alarms, emergency lighting, fire-fighting equipment, kitchens, each room, and the fire risk assessment. 4 sections and 63 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.

Make it your own: every question is editable

This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.

Details you only enter once

Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.

  • Project: the project name
  • Client: the project's customer
  • Site: the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
  • Site address: the site address, from the space or the project

Property

  • ProjectShort answer
    Fills in from the project name
  • ClientShort answer
    Fills in from the project's customer
  • Site*Short answer
    Fills in from the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
  • Site addressShort answer
    Fills in from the site address, from the space or the project
  • Property locationShort answer

    Stand at the front door and tap Mark current location. It records where the check was done, useful across a portfolio.

  • Date*Date
  • TimeTime
  • Checked by*Short answer
  • StoreysNumber
  • OccupantsNumber
  • TypeChoose one
    • Bedsits (separate lets)
    • Shared house (one group)
    • Flats
    • Other
  • Date of the fire risk assessmentDate
  • Days since the fire risk assessmentWorked out by the form
    Shown when “Date of the fire risk assessment” is answered and “Date” is answered
  • CheckThe fire risk assessment is more than a year old. Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order says it must be reviewed regularly to keep it up to date, and particularly when there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or there has been a significant change. Check when it was last reviewed.
    Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
  • GuidanceLACORS Housing: fire safety is national guidance for landlords and enforcing officers on fire safety in HMOs and other housing. Where the Fire Safety Order applies, it requires a fire risk assessment of the common parts, and LACORS says in practice the whole premises need to be taken into account. LACORS says the Order does not apply to a shared house let as a whole to occupants who have exclusive use of it.
  • CheckThis is a routine check of the fire precautions. It is not the fire risk assessment, which the responsible person must have carried out and kept under review under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (article 9) for the common parts.

Fire precautions

  • Escape route clear, with no storage or ignition sourcesChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “Escape route clear, with no storage or ignition sources” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “Escape route clear, with no storage or ignition sources” is “Defect”
  • Fire doors to rooms and kitchens close and latchChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “Fire doors to rooms and kitchens close and latch” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “Fire doors to rooms and kitchens close and latch” is “Defect”
  • Fire detection and alarm tested and workingChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “Fire detection and alarm tested and working” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “Fire detection and alarm tested and working” is “Defect”
  • Emergency lighting working, where fittedChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “Emergency lighting working, where fitted” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “Emergency lighting working, where fitted” is “Defect”
  • Fire blanket in kitchens, extinguishers where providedChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “Fire blanket in kitchens, extinguishers where provided” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “Fire blanket in kitchens, extinguishers where provided” is “Defect”
  • Fire safety signs, where the risk assessment calls for themChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “Fire safety signs, where the risk assessment calls for them” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “Fire safety signs, where the risk assessment calls for them” is “Defect”
  • No overloaded sockets or unsafe heatersChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “No overloaded sockets or unsafe heaters” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “No overloaded sockets or unsafe heaters” is “Defect”
  • Bins and rubbish stored away from the escape routeChoose one
    • OK
    • Defect
    • Not applicable
  • What is wrong?Short answer
    Shown when “Bins and rubbish stored away from the escape route” is “Defect”
  • Photo of the defectPhotos
    Shown when “Bins and rubbish stored away from the escape route” is “Defect”
  • Photos of any problemsPhotos
  • Checks OKWorked out by the form
  • Checks with a defectWorked out by the form
  • Not applicableWorked out by the form
  • CheckDefects found. Set an action for each one with who will fix it and by when, and tell the landlord or managing agent.
    Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
  • Walk Cam: HMO fire safety walk-roundWalk Cam video with voice-to-text

    Optional. Film a guided walk-through on the SiteSurvey app; each clip keeps its spoken note.

Rooms

  • Rooms
    Repeat for each room. Each one asks:
    • Room*Short answer
    • Detector working?Yes or No
    • Fire door closes and latches?Yes or No
    • Fire checks failed in this roomWorked out by the form
    • IssuesShort answer
    • PhotosPhotos
  • Rooms checkedWorked out by the form
  • Detectors not workingWorked out by the form
  • Room fire doors not closingWorked out by the form
  • Rooms with both checks OKWorked out by the form
  • WarningA detector is not working or a room fire door does not close and latch. Tell the landlord or managing agent now and set an action to fix it.
    Shown only when the answers above make it relevant

Actions and sign-off

  • Are further actions needed?Yes or No
  • Further actions
    Repeat for each action. Each one asks:
    Shown when “Are further actions needed?” is Yes
    • What needs doing?*Notes
    • PriorityChoose one
      • Urgent
      • High
      • Medium
      • Low
    • Who will do it?Short answer
    • Due dateDate
    • StatusChoose one
      • Open
      • In progress
      • Completed
  • Next check dueDate

    Set by the fire risk assessment and the landlord's management plan.

  • Days to next dueWorked out by the form
    Shown when “Date” is answered and “Next check due” is answered
  • CheckThe next check due date is before the inspection date. Check the date.
    Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
  • Inspector name*Short answer
  • Position or companyShort answer
  • Inspector signatureSignature
  • CheckSigning records what was found on the day. It does not make unsafe equipment safe or replace a thorough examination, design check or service by a competent person.

See it filled in

A completed HMO fire safety report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.

See completed form (PDF) ↗

HMO fire safety FAQs

Does the Fire Safety Order apply to HMOs?

It applies to the common parts of most HMOs, so the responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment. LACORS says it does not apply to a shared house let as a whole to occupants who have exclusive use of the whole house.

Are fire action notices needed?

LACORS says that in most residential premises of average size and normal risk, fire safety signs and notices will not be needed, but larger or complicated premises are likely to need some. The form checks signs where the risk assessment calls for them.

What about the 2022 regulations?

In England, regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 requires fire door information for residents of buildings with two or more homes. In buildings over 11 metres, communal fire doors must be checked at least every 3 months, with best endeavours to check flat entrance doors every 12 months.

Does each room get checked?

Yes. Each room becomes a space with its detector and fire door, and the form counts doors that do not close.

How is this different from the HMO inspection checklist?

The HMO inspection checklist covers the wider management of the house. This check focuses on fire safety in more detail.

Who uses this?

HMO landlords, managing agents, student accommodation managers and council housing teams.

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