Internet cafe on ground floor with 2 occupied bed-sits on the first floor

[SidM]

Does the RRO permit installing fire doors to the bed sits? Am not sure the definition of a HMO would be satisifed in this situation.

[kurnal]

The occupiers of the bed sits are relevant persons, the responsible person must make sure that the relevant persons would not be at  risk in the event of  a fire in the cafe.  The bed sits would normally be expected to have their own independent means of escape without any openings into the cafe, and separated from the cafe to a one hour standard of fire resistance.
So yes the Fire Safety Order could extend to the bedsits but compliance would probably require much more than fire doors,

[AnthonyB]

You can install as much fire precautions as you want - the RRO doesn't limit you - you could have a small lock up shop and put an L1 fire alarm in, Oxy-Reduct, a 50Kg wheeled extinguisher, emergency floodlights, etc

I think you are saying:

A building has an Internet cafe on ground floor with 2 occupied bed-sits on the first floor. Does the RRO apply & if so would putting FD30S fire doors on the bed sits satisfy the minimum necessary fire precautions?

Does it apply - it could as Kurnal says
Are the doors enough - Unlikely on their own

More info on the property would help, such as age, whether the bedsits are off a stair with a separate entrance to the cafe, has the 1st floor always been flats/bedsits or did it used to be the retail units 1st floor and much more

[PhilB]

The bedsits would be domestic premises...the order does not apply. So an enforcement notice could not be used to require anything to be provided within the bedsits.

The occupants are most probably relevant persons and the RP must consider them when carrying out his risk assessment. But as far as enforcement goes the only section of the order than can be used is article 31, i.e. prohibit or restrict the use.

West Mids recently caught a cold by making requirements in an enforcement notice issued on student flats. The fire safety order is not always the answer, there is more appropriate legislation out there e.g the housing act.

[kurnal]

Thats a range of answers some of which completely contradict each other - but all can be right. Not much help is it?

Phil is absolutely correct when he says the bedsits are domestic premises and the Order does not apply. Thats right as far as the bedsits are concerned - but my answer - from the limited information- was loooking at it from the cafe side. If a fire inthe cafe could possibly affect the bedsits (- ie unless the bedsits have complete fire separation and independent access and egress from the cafe-) then the Responsible person for the Cafe and the Landlord (as the building is in multiple occupation) have clear duties under the Fire safety Order to the Relevant Persons who live in the bedsits. They must assess the risk to the persons in the bedsits arising from a fire in the cafe and any common areas and implement general fire precautions to control the risk. If the bedsit entrance doors are part of the necessary risk control measures identified by the fire risk assessment then they are a requirement of the Fire Safety Order.