Fire-safety certificate price hike bombshell

Jersey Fire and Rescue Service says about 700 premises will be affected by the £320 rise which it says it is introducing in phases due to budget cuts passed by the States last year.

No extra staff will be hired from the additional funds.

Today, the president of the Hospitality Association has criticised the rise, which is due to start being phased in from next year, while the head of the Landlords Association has claimed the hike may force landlords to increase rents.

An Island charity which asked not to be named said the increased fees would ‘greatly impact’ on its budget in an already ‘difficult economic climate’.

Since 2013 it has been a legal requirement for houses which provide sleeping accommodation for more than five people with some accommodation above the first floor or below the ground floor, to have a fire-safety certificate.

A letter which has been sent out to businesses and charities by the Jersey Fire and Rescue Service says that fees will be increased in a phased approach over three years, starting in January 2018.

The current fee for a new fire certificate – which has to be renewed every three years – for floor areas at 99 sq metres or less is £80. Fees are set to rise to £186.66 next year, £293.32 in 2019 and £400 by 2020.

Larger properties will also face a phased increase in price for fire certificates.

Fiona Kerley, president of the Jersey Hospitality Association, said: ‘For the larger hotels it’s not going to make a massive difference to them but it’s the smaller ones that it will hit.

‘I think £80 is a reasonable charge for everyone but £400 is too much for a small hotel. It’s a small charge compared to some of the others coming in [the proposed liquid waste charge] but it is another charge for the hotel industry.’

Robert Weston, president of the Landlords Association, who is also a hotelier, added that some landlords may have to put up their rent prices to cover the increased charges.

He said: ‘The result will be the loss of some disgruntled private landlords and of private rented accommodation, which will have to be replaced by government, which has a legal obligation to house the whole population adequately but is already short of the funds to do so.’

As previously reported, following the Medium Term Financial Plan Addition debate last year Jersey Fire and Rescue Service has to find £150,000 in staff savings on top of finding £170,000 in extra revenue by 2019.

Paul Brown, deputy chief fire officer, said: ‘We are doing this because of a decision made by the States Assembly when the MTFP was passed. The government looked at all departments and we are here to help fund priorities in government, which means we have our own budget and we need to look at ways in which we can bring our costs down.

‘The £400 is a charge that will be issued every three years and we are providing a fairly special service at an expense to us.’

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