By Tony Booth

The new Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order was meant for commercial premises and introduced tighter fire-safety regulations for the landlords and managers of these premises.

Unfortunately, they are also being applied to certain HMO's (houses in multiple occupation) by some local authorities, which can bring mandatory fire authority obligations in direct conflict with local authority impositions.

While chaos reigns, landlords can face severe fines from one or the other, depending on which set of rules they choose to follow.

The two sets of regulations that are now in direct conflict with each other are the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order in England, whose counterpart in Scotland is Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, and the Housing Health and Safety rating System (HHSRS).