Since 2013 it has been a legal requirement for all houses of multiple occupation (HMO) – which does not include purpose-built flats such as high-rises – to have a fire certificate which has to be renewed every three years.
The move led to a significantly increased workload for the Fire and Rescue Service’s fire protection team, resulting in a 15-month waiting list for applications to be concluded.
And, according to the service, a backlog still exists, with a total of 174 of the 432 applications received to date still in progress.
Fire and Rescue Service station commander Marc Le Cornu said that of those in progress 51 are yet to be visited by the service to determine if they are an HMO and therefore need a certificate.
If a property is determined to be an HMO, owners are given three months to provide building floor plans, after which the Fire Service issues formal notice of what work is required to bring the property up to standard.
A certificate is only issued when the work has been inspected as being of a satisfactory standard.
