Compliance in Communal Areas for London Landlords with Multiple Units
Landlords with properties that share hallways, stairwells or gardens have fire safety, electrical and gas obligations in those shared spaces. This guide explains what applies.
What Counts as a Communal Area
In the context of residential rental properties, communal areas are spaces shared by more than one dwelling — hallways, stairwells, landings, shared gardens, bin stores, parking areas and any shared utility rooms. These spaces have compliance obligations separate from the individual rental units.
Fire Safety in Communal Areas
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the common parts of any building containing two or more dwellings. The responsible person (the landlord or freeholder) must:
- Carry out a fire risk assessment of all common parts
- Implement and maintain fire safety measures identified in the assessment
- Review the assessment annually or after significant changes
Fire safety measures typically required include smoke/heat detectors in the hallway and stairwell, fire doors on all flat entrance doors, appropriate escape route signage and emergency lighting.
Electrical Safety in Communal Areas
The fixed electrical installation in communal areas must be inspected and tested by a qualified electrician. The EICR for the communal installation is separate from any EICR for individual flats. This covers communal lighting, external lighting, door entry systems and any communal electrical equipment.
Gas in Communal Areas
If there are gas appliances in communal areas (rare in residential properties but possible in plant rooms or communal boiler rooms), these require annual gas safety inspection under the Gas Safety Regulations.
Emergency Lighting
Communal stairwells and escape routes should have emergency lighting that activates if mains power fails. This is required by BS 5266 and most fire risk assessors will recommend it for any communal stairwell serving more than two flats.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020 apply to communal areas?
Yes — the regulations apply to private rental properties including common parts of buildings that contain flats let by private landlords.
Who carries out the fire risk assessment for communal areas?
The "responsible person" under the Fire Safety Order — typically the freeholder, management company or landlord who controls the common parts. It must be carried out by a competent person, which in practice means either a trained person within the organisation or an external fire risk assessor.
Do I need a fire door on each flat front door?
In most cases yes — flat entrance doors onto a common stairwell or corridor should be fire-rated (FD30S) with self-closers. This is typically required as a condition of HMO licensing and is recommended by fire risk assessors for any building with shared escape routes.
Is there a legal requirement for emergency lighting in shared stairwells?
There is no single regulation that mandates emergency lighting in domestic communal stairwells but fire risk assessors will almost always recommend it, and licence conditions for HMOs commonly require it. It is considered best practice.