FRA Duty holder in premises which is leased

[Suttonfire]

Hi All,

For a commercial premises which leased to a individual tenant, it is obviously the responsibility of the tenant to access fire risks associated with their undertaken.

However, what are your views on where the responsibility lies with fixed building features, i.e. ensuring sufficient compartmentation between the unit and the neighbouring property, the installation of a fire alarm if required. My understanding is that both the landlord and the leaseholder have duties in this regard under the FSO; however, this can get messy when deciding who takes responsibility (and pays for anything which needs doing!).

To what extent can a landlord put the responsibility on the leaseholder via the terms of the lease?

Thanks

[Mike Buckley]

There could be 3 parties involved here the tenant. the landlord and the owner of the building all of whom may be considered to be responsible persons. As far as I can see the FSO does not detail who is responsible for what.

As far as the lease is concerned I would think that this is a legal contract between the various parties and it can set any requirements agreed between the parties.

[Mr. P]

RRFSO 2005 - part 5 Duties under this order- (3)  'Any duty imposed..... on the RP..... shall also be imposed on every person...... who has to any extent, control of those premises....

[AnthonyB]

Depends on the layout of the premises and services and the lease, however the tenant can't put it all on the landlord as:
-  they are an employer and thus fully subject to the FSO
- have control over part of the premises (via their lease)

so they should have an FRA and provide and maintain protective measures.

Where it is a multi-occupancy the fire alarm is usually communal and maintained by the landlord - however it should still be covered in the tenant FRA as whilst the system may be suitable for the building overall it may not suit the tenant's specific needs (e.g. an inner room situation created on fit out where a detector is needed or extensive detection for property protection although that's outside the scope of the FRA).

Emergency Lighting is usually the tenant's as they have control over it (own meter and distribution board, responsible for changing bulbs, etc) although if it's Central Battery or the building has been split for multi-letting on the cheap and the electrical system not split it may be outside the tenant's control.

Obviously if a single building on an FRI lease the tenant usually cops for everything - and on the other extreme in some serviced offices whilst the tenant still has to do their FRA many of the protective measures remain under landlord control. Premises on a license rather than a lease can be different again.

We primarily work in the commercial landlord/tenant sector and it can be dangerous to assume all responsibilities automatically fall one way or another.

[kurnal]

One thing is for sure over and above every thing else where there is an employer they are the responsible person.

[Tom Sutton]

In the case of a workplace (which includes access to and from, also any areas his/her employees have access), the employer is the RP. Under Art 5(1) as RP he/she is responsible for articles 8 to 22 with a possible get out clause if the RP does not have control, art 33.
 
Under art 5(3) any other person who has to any extent, control of premises and this would include the owner/managing agents if they have control of, say the fabric of the building, providing the RP has brought it to their attention, they would be responsible.
 
I would imagine the tenant?s agreement would show who has control of different items, who pays and I would think in most cases the fabric of the building would be under the control of the owner/managing agent, other items would depend on any legal agreements.

[Fishy]

They will all be Responsible Persons under fire safety legislation, to the extent that they have control - & this will be (in part) informed by the terms of the lease.  Therefore Landlord & tenant are both RPs.  They have a duty to co-operate to ensure that there are no 'gaps' in responsibilities.

[Tom Sutton]

The term Responsible Person (RP) is a designated role, once described as RP in capital letters, and similar to the duty holder under Scottish and NI legislation. In a workplace the employer or employers are designated this role under 3.a if it is not a workplace then the owner or managing agent is designated the role under 3.b and their duties are to implement articles 8 to 22 as defined in 5.1 and 5.2.

Other person who has to any extent, control of premises are not designated but are responsible for any of the items under their control 5.3 and can relieve the RP of certain duties if he/she does not have control and this could be defined in the tenants agreement?

[wee brian]

Well, as its a commercial prems, there is an employer and they get the top line responsibility for their staff etc.

Who pays and how it gets done is down to the terms of the lease. Unlikely to be the landlord, unless they are amateurs!