As a landlord in Ireland, you have many legal responsibilities to consider. One major component of that is fire safety regulations. By keeping your property in line with regulations you ensure the risk of fire is minimised and that your insurance is valid in the event of a fire.
Responsibilities
Building regulations in Ireland do not apply to any property which was built prior to 1992. This however should not be taken that any landlord in that situation doesn’t have any responsibilities. Landlords of all buildings must adhere to minimum requirements, ensuring the safety of tenants living in their buildings.
Basic responsibilities include suitable fire detection systems and alarms, fire blankets, fire extinguishers, emergency lighting (for multi-unit developments), evacuation plans and the maintenance and updating of all of the above.
Fire Safety Certificate
A fire safety certificate is important not only for insurance purposes but also to ensure your property is up to date regarding regulations. As mentioned above, properties built prior to 1992 do not have to meet building regulations but a landlord can still have an assessor go over the property and advise on any alterations needed in order to obtain a valid current fire safety certificate. This all becomes very important when dealing with banking institutions and mortgage lenders as they will not work with any buildings that do not have a fire safety cert.
Next steps
If you are a landlord and in need of a fire safety certificate, then you should contact your local county council for advice. The cost of an assessment can vary depending on the size of the building but all costs are available on the relevant council’s website. For example in Dublin, the minimum fee associated with a standard fire safety certificate is €125.00 and the maximum fee for the same is €12,500. Again, this will all depend on the size of the development as fees are calculated based on the square footage. You can see Dublin County Councils fees here
Property Management Company
One of the roles of a reputable property management company is to ensure that all certificates etc are up to date and properties are fully equipped to deal with a fire. All fire safety utilities like extinguishers, blankets etc are installed by the company. This takes a lot of stress off landlords shoulders and provides a single point of contact when dealing with all aspects of your properties.
KPM Group has been managing properties in Ireland for over 20 years and is highly experienced in dealing with fire safety and all other aspects of managing your property. If you are a landlord in need of any advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today and a member of staff will be happy to assist you in any way we can.
