My Lords, Amendment 13 in my name sets out to highlight what may be a gap in the protection afforded by the fire safety order. The fire safety order does not apply to domestic premises, other than bedsit properties or houses in multiple occupation, so hitherto the protection afforded by the order did not extend to houses in respect of residential blocks. It effectively stopped at the flat’s front door. The order applied only to the common parts and the planning and arrangements for escape through those common parts of the building.
It appears to be the position of the Government—and I stand to be corrected if I am wrong—that they have always assumed that where someone lets their property for a period of time through Airbnb or some other website, which they otherwise use as their residence, or do so for part of the year, then during the time that the flat is let through Airbnb or some similar organisation, the flat is subject to the protections of the order. However, I doubt that this can be a correct interpretation of the order as it currently stands: domestic premises are defined in the order as all those premises, and parts of premises, occupied as a private dwelling which are not used in common by the occupants of more than one such dwelling.
If a person lets out his private dwelling for part of a year, or just a room in that private dwelling, it is difficult to see why or how the premises ceases to be a private dwelling; with a room let out through Airbnb it certainly does not mean that that room or the whole premises are being used in common by the occupants of more than one dwelling. If we look at the terms of service provided by Airbnb, there is talk of “guests” and the statement:
“You understand that a confirmed booking of an Accommodation (“Accommodation Booking”) is a limited licence granted to you by the Host to enter, occupy and use the Accommodation for the duration of your stay, during which time the Host (only where and to the extent permitted by law) retains the right to re-enter the accommodation according to the agreement with the Host.”
Having guests in your private dwelling where you retain the right to re-enter is not a typical situation that the law treats as your property ceasing to be a private dwelling because you have let it out.
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The government guidance is confusing in respect of the letting of rooms in dwellings. Letting Rooms in Your Home: A Guide for Resident Landlords identifies that properties classed as bedsits or shared accommodation—HMOs—must be licensed and comply with various regulations, including the fire safety order. However, it goes on to state that
“if the property is a House in Multiple Occupation fire safety could be an important consideration … But as for any other home, it is generally a good idea to ensure that the occupier ‘knows their way round’ the house, to help prevention and escape from fire. Smoke alarms are strongly advised: ideally one should be fitted on each floor of the property. It is also highly recommended to keep at least a fire blanket in the kitchen; and depending whether, for example, several people are likely to be cooking and/or smoking, having a fire extinguisher could be a sensible precaution.”
If Airbnb and the like automatically create a type of rented accommodation that takes premises from being domestic premises occupied as a private dwelling and makes them subject to the fire safety order, one would expect the guidance to say that—but of course it does not. Article 26 of the fire safety order states:
“Every enforcing authority must enforce the provisions of this Order … in relation to premises for which it is the enforcing authority”.
Enforcement of the order involves an assessment by the fire authority of what in its patch comes under the fire safety order, as well as some kind of inspection regime. Some fire authorities in centres may attract many tourists—such as central London or any other big city—for whom there are plenty of flats that are
offered through Airbnb or similar sites. The remainder of the time, they are used as private dwellings. It must be a matter of serious doubt whether the fire authority has the capacity to handle all these properties, or even know how many such properties are out there; it is even more doubtful that the owner of such a property has been advised or read the guidance that spells out that the premises may be suddenly subject to the fire safety order while they are being used for guests through Airbnb or a similar site.
Freedom of information inquiries have revealed that no fire authority has ever done a risk assessment on an Airbnb property and that authorities are unaware of how many there are in their areas. If the Government are correct that the order does not require this amendment to bring Airbnb properties within the protection of the order, no harm will be done by spelling it out in the way that this amendment does. The Bill provides a reminder of an issue for the Government: people renting premises temporarily should be protected by the appropriate fire prevention measures being in place for the property. It should have been assessed and the information should have been properly conveyed to them by their host; this should be an obligation under law. At the moment, the law is silent in that respect, which is the point of this amendment.
I repeat and emphasise the point that in people’s homes there will be a single staircase to get out of the building. Have people been told what the arrangements are to get to the corridors? We need to look at this carefully. Many homes are being used on a temporary basis effectively as hotels or a place to stay. What work has been done by the company or the owner to ensure that the guests are properly aware of the risks and how to get out of a building safely? I do not believe that we are there yet; this raises an important issue. I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, can see the point that I am trying to make and that he will address it when he responds to the debate. I beg to move.