Fire safety

If you live in a flat or shared building, your building will have a Fire Action Notice. It tells you:

• What to do if there's a fire.
• Whether your building has a Stay Put or Evacuate strategy.
• How to leave the building safely if you need to.

If you live in a house, leave your home immediately if there's a fire and call 999.

According to the National Fire Chiefs Council, if there's a fire in another part of your block, you're usually safer staying inside your home. That’s because:

• each flat is a separate fire-resistant compartment - its walls, floors, ceilings and doors are designed to slow down the spread of smoke and fire.
• if a fire starts in one flat, the ‘compartmentation’ helps keep it contained there for a period of time (typically 30–60 minutes).

However, if fire breaks out inside your flat, or if you’re affected by heat or smoke from a fire elsewhere in the building, please follow the instructions below:

• Get everyone in your flat to leave straight away, closing the front door behind you.
• Do not stay behind to try and put the fire out.
• Do not use lifts.
• Wait outside, away from the building.
• Dial 999 and ask for the Fire Service.
• Call us on 0345 111 0000 - or 0300 123 9966 if you live in London or the Southeast - to let us know about the fire so that we can provide support where needed.
• Don’t go back inside until the Fire Brigade says it’s safe to do so.

If the Fire Brigade doesn’t allow you back in, we or your local council can arrange temporary accommodation if you don’t have friends or family you can stay with.

If you need help to evacuate

If there’s a fire in your home and you need to evacuate, if someone in your household would need help to leave, please let us know. We can talk through your needs with you and, if you’re happy for us to do so, we’ll make sure the right information is shared with emergency services.

A simultaneous evacuation strategy means that everyone in the building should leave immediately if the fire alarm sounds or if you discover a fire.

If fire breaks out inside your flat, or if you hear an alarm:

• Get everyone in your flat to leave straight away, closing the front door behind you.
• Do not stay behind to try and put the fire out.
• Do not use lifts.
• Wait outside, away from the building.
• Dial 999 and ask for the Fire Service.
• Call us on 0345 111 0000 - or 0300 123 9966 if you live in London or the Southeast - to let us know about the fire so that we can provide support where needed.
• Don’t go back inside until the Fire Brigade says it’s safe to do so.

If the Fire Brigade doesn’t allow you back in, we or your local council can arrange temporary accommodation if you don’t have friends or family you can stay with.

What if I can’t leave my flat?

If you are unable to leave your home:

• Stay inside and close the door
• Go to a window or balcony if it is safe to do so
• Call 999 and tell them:
  • your full address
  • your flat number
  • that you are unable to leave

The Fire and Rescue Service will advise you and send help.

Do I still need to evacuate if I don’t see smoke or fire?

Yes. With a simultaneous evacuation strategy, everyone must leave when the alarm sounds, even if you cannot see or smell smoke. This helps emergency services respond quickly and safely.

What about false alarms?

We understand that alarms can sometimes activate when there is no fire.
However, you must always treat every alarm as real and evacuate immediately.

The Fire and Rescue Service or responsible staff will confirm when it is safe to return.

If you need help to evacuate

If you or someone in your household would need help to leave the building in an emergency, please let us know. We can talk through your needs with you and, if you’re happy for us to do so, we’ll make sure the right information is shared with emergency services. 

If you live in a flat or shared building, you can usually find your Fire Action Notice:

• Displayed in the communal areas of your building.
• On our website.
• By contacting us if you can't find it.

Your Fire Action Notice explains what to do if there's a fire and whether your building has a Stay Put or Evacuate strategy.

If you live in a house, you don't need a Fire Action Notice — leave your home immediately if there's a fire and call 999.

Many blocks of flats are designed with a Stay Put strategy. This means:

• Your flat is designed to help contain fire and smoke for a period of time.
• If there's a fire in another flat, it's usually safer to stay in your home unless you're affected by fire or smoke.
• The Fire and Rescue Service will tell you if you need to evacuate.

A communal fire alarm could cause unnecessary evacuations and put people at greater risk.

Always follow the Fire Action Notice for your building.

A Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) helps us keep your building safe by:

• Identifying fire risks.
• Checking fire safety measures.
• Telling us what improvements are needed.

They are carried out by a qualified fire risk assessor.

How often we carry out a Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) depends on the level of fire risk in your building.

We assess factors such as:

• The type and height of the building.
• Who lives there.
• The level of fire risk.

Higher-risk buildings are assessed more often to help keep residents safe. If your building needs any improvements, we'll prioritise and complete the necessary work.

It depends on the type of home you live in.

• If you live in a flat, your front door and some doors in communal areas are likely to be fire doors.
• If you live in a house, you may have fire doors depending on how your home was built or altered.

Fire doors are designed to slow the spread of fire and smoke for at least 30 minutes, giving people more time to escape safely and helping to protect homes.

If you think a fire door is damaged or isn't closing properly, please report it to us as soon as possible.

How often we inspect fire doors depends on the height and level of risk of your building.

• In buildings over 11 metres, communal fire doors are inspected every three months, and flat entrance fire doors are inspected every year.
• In buildings under 11 metres, inspection frequency depends on the level of fire risk identified for the building.
• Fire doors are also checked during Fire Risk Assessments.

If we need access to your home to inspect your front door, we'll contact you to arrange an appointment.

The check will only take 5 minutes .

If you have a balcony, please remember that it’s part of a block and what you do or keep on it affects your neighbours. To keep everyone safe:

• Don’t store combustible items on your balcony, e.g. e-bikes or e-scooters, BBQs, rubbish or gas canisters.
• BBQs are a major fire risk, which is why they’re not allowed on balconies.

• If you smoke on your balcony, always put cigarettes fully out and never throw them over the side.

• Only set BBQs up outside, well away from buildings.
• Let your BBQ cool down before taking it back indoors – it can release carbon monoxide fumes for several hours.
• Keep an eye on children and pets to avoid any accidents.
• If you drink alcohol, it’s easy to lose concentration so stay alert around the BBQ.

Find more tips on The London Fire Brigade website.

• Items cause obstructions, which slow people and the emergence services down in an emergency.
• Keep all your personal belongings inside your own home. That means all items, including bikes, buggies, scooters, plant pots, shoes and rubbish.

• Cupboards in communal areas are not for general use and you mustn’t put belongings or rubbish in them.

• If your building has a bin store, always close and lock the door behind you to deter potential anti-social behaviour.

The kitchen is where most accidents occur.

• Don’t leave pans unattended.
• When you’ve finished cooking, make sure the oven or hob are switched off.
• Keep tea towels and dish cloths away from the hob or cooker.
• Don’t cook if you’re feeling tired or have been drinking alcohol – losing concentration can lead to accidents.

The London Fire Brigade also has information about cooking safely here on their website.

• There should be a smoke or heat detector on each floor of your home.

• We install detectors inside the homes we rent, but you need to regularly check that they’re working. To do this, simply push the test button.
• If it makes no sound, or if it makes an intermittent high-pitched beeping sound, replace the batteries as soon as possible.

• Don’t leave or charge e-bikes or e-scooters in communal areas (we may remove them and pass on removal and storage costs), in escape routes or near the entrance to your home.
• Batteries and chargers must meet UK safety standards - only buy from reputable sellers (see ‘lithium batteries’ for more useful advice).
• Never modify batteries or chargers and always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Unplug as soon as your e-bike or e-scooter is charged. Never leave it charging overnight.
• Make sure there’s a working smoke alarm in the area where you’re charging.

Watch this short video about storing and charging safely. It was created by Electrical Safety First, the UK’s leading electrical safety charity.

In an emergency, it’s normal to feel stressed or panicked. Knowing your escape route and practising it means you can act quickly and confidently.

• Enclosed stairwells are designed to protect you during a fire and reaching them quickly makes a big difference.

• Fire and rescue services rely on communal areas being accessible when they arrive so keep them clear of all personal belongings.

• Want advice on your escape route? Most fire and rescue services offer free home visits - find contact details of your local fire service online at www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/fire-and-rescue-services.

If you live in a flat, the Fire Action Notice in the entrance to your building tells you whether you should stay put or evacuate in the unlikely event of a fire:

1. Stay put. If the fire is in another part of the building, you’re usually safer staying inside your home. That’s because each flat is built as a separate compartment which contains fire and stops it spreading. If the fire's inside your home or if you hear an alarm, you should get out. You can find full details about the stay put strategy here .
2. Evacuate. You should do this if the fire is in your flat, or there’s a fire in another part of the building and you hear the alarm. You can find full details about the evacuate strategy here .

Please read the Fire Action Notice carefully. If you have any queries, please contact us.

• By law we have to check most flat front doors in buildings over 11 metres (five storeys) in height. Please give us access when we ask to check yours. Find out more about fire door checks here.
• Because fire doors are an essential safety measure, if you want to change your flat front door, you need to get permission from us first.
• We also check communal fire doors every quarter.
• If you see that a door’s damaged, please let us know as soon as possible.
• Keep communal fire doors closed and report any damage to us.
• Never wedge fire doors or remove door self-closer devices.

• Lithium batteries power e-scooters and e-bikes. They’re the fastest growing cause of fires. See more information in the ‘e-bikes and e-scooters' section.
• Lithium battery fires spread extremely quickly and can be very difficult to escape from. This is why you must never block any exits with charging batteries, e-scooters or e-bikes.
• Lithium batteries generate toxic gases, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, which look similar to steam, so you might not even be aware of the danger if you're close by.

More deaths are caused by fire from smoking than any other type of fire. If you smoke, remember:

• Put cigarettes out completely and dispose of them properly.

• It’s safer to smoke outside but, if you have a balcony, never throw cigarettes over the side.
• If you’re feeling tired, don’t smoke in bed or balance lit cigarettes on the edge of an ashtray.
• If you vape, only use the charger that came with it. Always check the battery for damage, buy from a reputable seller and don’t leave it charging for extended periods.

• Sometimes people might need support to get out of their flat in an emergency, for example because they have a disability, or can’t use the stairs, hear alarms or move quickly.
• Find out more about who might need support. If it relates to you or someone you live with, please let us know. With your consent, we’ll let the emergency services know so they’re prepared and have the right information to deal with incidents effectively.