Fire Alarm Servicing for HMO Portfolios: A Guide for Letting Agents and Management Companies

Where the responsibility sits

The licence holder is legally responsible for meeting the licence conditions, but in practice the managing agent is the person the council writes to, the person the tenant calls when an alarm chirps, and the person who has to produce the certificate at inspection. If you manage HMOs under a full management agreement, the fire alarm servicing calendar is yours to run.

That is manageable for two properties and a headache for twenty, mostly because installations were done by different contractors at different times, each with its own certificate format and renewal date.

What an annual service visit actually includes

A proper BS 5839-6 service visit is more than pressing the test button. On a Grade D system the engineer should:

• Test every smoke and heat alarm individually and confirm the interlink triggers all the others.
• Check the mains supply and backup battery condition on each alarm, and the date of manufacture against the replacement date.
• Clean detector chambers where dust or cooking residue is causing sensitivity problems, a common cause of false alarms in HMOs.
• Check that alarms have not been removed, covered or disconnected by tenants, and that the layout still matches the certificate (a converted living room is the classic gap).
• Test emergency lighting and check extinguishers and blankets if they are on the same contract.
• Issue a certificate on the day and note any remedial work with a fixed price.

How often, and who can do it

Grade D systems in HMOs are normally serviced annually, and licence conditions usually ask for a certificate no more than twelve months old. Grade A panel systems follow BS 5839-1 and are serviced at least every six months. Between visits the alarm should be tested regularly, at least weekly under BS 5839-6, by the landlord, agent or a nominated tenant, and the test logged.

The service must be done by a competent person. Councils and insurers look for a fire alarm company that installs and services to BS 5839 and issues a formal certificate, rather than a general handyman signing a sheet.

Running one calendar for the whole portfolio

The simplest way to stop certificates lapsing is to move every property onto one contractor and one calendar. When Security Red Alert takes on a portfolio, the first visit to each property is a takeover inspection: we test the existing system, record what is installed, issue a fresh certificate if it passes and quote any remedial work if it does not. From then on:

• Every property has a service date and we contact you before it is due, not after it has lapsed.
• Visits to properties in the same area are grouped on the same day, which keeps the per-property price down.
• Certificates are issued in one consistent format and sent to you the same day, so the file for each property is complete.
• You get one invoice a month rather than one per visit.
• Tenant access can be arranged by us directly, or through you, whichever your landlords prefer.

What it costs

• Annual service and certificate: from £80 per property per visit.
• Takeover inspection of an existing system: from £80, credited against remedial work if a new system is needed.
• New Grade D LD2 system where the existing one fails: from £600 installed, certificate on the day.
• Emergency lighting tests and extinguisher servicing: added to the same visit and quoted per property.

Switching contractor without a gap

You do not need to wait for existing contracts to end. Send us the list of properties with their current certificate dates and we will schedule takeover visits so that no certificate lapses in between. Security Red Alert works with letting agents and HMO management companies across South London, central London and all 32 boroughs. Call 020 8946 5567 or send the portfolio list through the enquiry form.