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Fire safety works

Escape routes, emergency lighting and fire stopping

Protected stairs and landings, fire-resisting linings, fire stopping and emergency lighting.

  • Free site visit and measured survey
  • Built to the council’s HMO standards
  • Certificates and photos at handover
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Refurbished staircase and landing with fire doors and emergency lighting forming a protected route
In short: A protected escape route is the stair, landing and hall that lets everyone get out if there is a fire. In an HMO it is usually lined with fire-resisting materials, kept free of fire risks, fitted with fire doors, fire stopped where pipes and cables pass through, and lit by emergency lighting in larger houses.

What do escape routes, emergency lighting and fire stopping include?

  • Fire-resisting plasterboard to walls and ceilings
  • Fire stopping around pipes, cables and voids
  • Upgrading or boxing in under-stair cupboards
  • Emergency lighting to the route
  • Removing fire risks from the route
  • Glazing upgrades in doors and fanlights
  • Final exit door with thumb-turn
  • Photo record of hidden fire stopping

When do landlords need it?

  • Three-storey and larger HMOs
  • Gaps, holes or old cupboards on the stair
  • A fire risk assessment action list

What rules apply in each UK nation?

The law differs between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and councils publish their own HMO standards on top. These are the points that usually matter for this work.

England

  • Fire precautions follow a risk assessment; the LACORS Housing – Fire Safety guide (2008) is guidance, not law, but many councils base their standards on it.
  • Building regulations cover structural changes, new partitions, ensuite drainage, fire-resisting construction and notifiable electrical work.
  • Mandatory HMO licence for 5 or more people in 2 or more households (since October 2018); councils can add additional licensing for smaller HMOs.
  • Smoke alarms on every storey with living accommodation and CO alarms by fixed combustion appliances (other than gas cookers) are required by law.

All HMO rules for England

Wales

  • Fitness for human habitation rules require mains-powered, interlinked smoke alarms on every storey and CO alarms where there is a gas, oil or solid-fuel appliance.
  • Building regulations cover structural work, partitions, drainage, fire-resisting construction and electrics; confirm with building control whether the conversion is a material change of use.
  • Mandatory licence for HMOs with 3 or more storeys and 5 or more people in 2 or more households; Wales did not adopt England’s 2018 change.
  • Council HMO standards and the fire risk assessment set detection, fire doors and escape routes.

All HMO rules for Wales

Scotland

  • The tolerable standard requires interlinked smoke alarms in the main living room and circulation spaces and a heat alarm in the kitchen; licensed HMOs must meet the council’s higher standard.
  • A building warrant may be needed for a change of use or for installing a fire alarm system; check with the council’s building standards service.
  • Every HMO needs a council licence: 3 or more people who are not all from one or two families, sharing basic amenities. Licences last up to 3 years.
  • Councils set HMO fire standards through licence conditions, often including emergency lighting in larger HMOs.

All HMO rules for Scotland

Northern Ireland

  • The NIFRS HMO Fire Safety Guide (July 2026) usually expects Grade D1 interlinked detection in smaller shared houses and a Grade A system with more than 6 occupants or over 200 m².
  • New HMOs need building control approval as well as planning permission.
  • A licence is needed where 3 or more people forming more than two households live as their main home and pay rent; the NI HMO Unit at Belfast City Council licenses for every council.
  • Doors on protected routes are typically FD30 or FD30S, self-closing on three hinges; emergency lighting is required in HMOs of 4 or more storeys.

All HMO rules for Northern Ireland

How much do escape routes, emergency lighting and fire stopping cost?

UK typical budget ranges. See local pages for regional guides.
ItemUK typicalPer
Protected route upgrades: fire-resisting linings, fire stopping, lighting (three-storey house, our estimate)£2,000 – £6,000house
Emergency light fitting, installed (our estimate)£150 – £350fitting
FD30S fire door leaf into an existing frame, with seals, closer and hinges, fitted£300 – £600door

Typical time on site: 3–8 working days. Your fixed price follows a site visit; use the guide-price tool for a figure for your house.

How the job runs

  1. Free site visit and measured survey.
  2. Itemised written quote and programme.
  3. Works with one point of contact and photo updates.
  4. Handover with certificates, drawings and photos.

Questions about escape routes, emergency lighting and fire stopping

Does every HMO need emergency lighting?

Not every one. Guidance tends to expect it where the escape route is long, complex or has no borrowed light, which is more common in larger houses.

What is fire stopping?

Sealing gaps where pipes, cables and ducts pass through fire-resisting walls and floors, so smoke and fire cannot get through.

Why do you photograph the fire stopping?

Because it is hidden once the work is finished. Photos are evidence for you, the council and future surveys.

Can a lounge open onto the stair?

It depends on the layout and the risk assessment. Often the door needs to be a fire door, or the layout needs changing.

Related services

Where we work

Choose a nation and area for local rules, postcodes and regional prices.

England

Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Planning HMO works?

Free site visit, then a fixed written quote itemised against your council’s standards.

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