The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, as amended, have an impact on furniture supplied as part of a part furnished or furnished let, and needs to comply with certain safety standards.
Examples of furniture that are covered by the regulations include:
- upholstered furniture ordinarily intended for private use like sofas, armchairs, dining chairs, cushions, etc
- beds, divans, sofa beds, headboards, mattresses, pillows
- children’s furniture, cots, carrycots, playpens, prams and pushchairs
- garden furniture
- upholstered furniture in caravans
- loose and stretch covers.
The regulations do not apply to the following:
- upholstered furniture manufactured before the 1st January 1950
- materials used solely to re-cover items of furniture manufactured before 1950 and
- furniture supplied in pleasure boats and the like.
- Upholstered furniture must pass the cigarette test as described in the regulations
- Filling materials must pass the relevant ignitability tests specified e.g. BS5852
- Covering materials will normally have to pass the match test.
- Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018
- Landlords Guide to Water Supply & Your Responsibilities
- Landlord Responsibilities – Gas Regulations
- A Landlords Guide To Smoke Alarms
- Unfair Terms in Tenancy Agreements
The furniture must comply with the following standards:
Various permanent and display labels normally describe the degree of compliance with specific tests.
If no labelling is present the furniture is unlikely to comply and you must assume that it would not comply.
If you want to talk through how to ensure your property complies to the latest regulations, don’t hesitate to get in touch, the team at Horizon are always here to talk about all things landlord and property investment!
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