Premises for which fire certificates are required

1 Uses of premises for which fire certificate is compulsory

(1)A certificate issued under this Act by the fire authority (in this Act referred to as a “fire certificate”) shall, subject to any exemption conferred by or under this Act, be required in respect of any premises which are put to a use for the time being designated under this section (in this Act referred to as a “designated use”).

(2)For the purposes of this section the Secretary of State may by order designate particular uses of premises, but shall not so designate any particular use unless it falls within at least one of the following classes of use, that is to say—

(a)use as, or for any purpose involving the provision of, sleeping accommodation;

(b)use as, or as part of, an institution providing treatment or care;

(c)use for purposes of entertainment, recreation or instruction or for purposes of any club, society or association;

(d)use for purposes of teaching, training or research;

(e)use for any purpose involving access to the premises by members of the public, whether on payment or otherwise.

[F1(f)use as a place of work.]

(3)An order under this section may provide that a fire certificate shall not by virtue of this section be required for premises of any description specified in the order, notwithstanding that they are or form part of premises which are put to a designated use.

[F2(3A)An order under this section may, as respects any designated use, specify descriptions of premises which qualify for exemption by a fire authority under section 5A of this Act from the requirement for a fire certificate in respect of premises which are put to that use.]

(4)For the purposes of any provision made in an order under this section by virtue of subsection (3) [F3or (3A)] above a description of premises may be framed by reference to the purpose for which premises are used or the frequency of their use for any purpose [F3or their situation, construction or arrangement] or by reference to any other circumstances whatsoever; and different provision may be made in pursuance of [F4subsection (3) or (3A) above] in relation to different designated uses.

(5)An order under this section may include such supplementary and incidental provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order.

(6)An order under this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order thereunder.

(7)The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(8)Without prejudice to any exemption conferred by or under this Act, where premises consisting of a part of a building are put to a designated use, any other part of the building which is occupied together with those premises in connection with that use of them shall for the purposes of this Act be treated as forming part of the premises put to that use.

2 Premises exempt from s. 1

No fire certificate shall by virtue of section 1 of this Act be required in respect of premises . . . F1 consisting of or comprised in a house which is occupied as a single private dwelling.

3 Power of fire authority to make fire certificate compulsory for use of certain premises as a dwelling

(1)This section applies to any premises not for the time being excluded by subsection (2) below which have been, are being or are to be used as a dwelling if—

(a)the premises consist of or comprise a room which has been, is being or is to be used as living accommodation and which—

(i)is below the ground floor of the building which constitutes or comprises the premises; or

(ii)is two or more floors above the ground floor of that building; or

(iii)is a room of which the floor is six metres or more above the surface of the ground on any side of that building; or

(b)explosive or highly flammable materials of any prescribed kind have been, are being or are to be kept anywhere under, in or on the building which constitutes or comprises the premises in a quantity or aggregate quantity greater than the quantity prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph as the maximum in relation to materials of that kind.

(2)This section does not apply to—

(a)any premises consisting of or comprised in a house which is occupied as a single private dwelling; or

(b)any premises consisting of or comprised in a house which is occupied by persons who do not form a single household.

(3)If in the case of any premises it appears to the fire authority that they are premises to which this section applies, the authority may serve a notice under this section relating to those premises on either—

(a)the occupier of the premises; or

(b)the owner of the premises; or

(c)a person (whether the occupier or owner of the premises or not) having the overall management of the building constituting or comprising the premises.

(4)A notice under this section shall be in the prescribed form and shall—

(a)specify the premises to which it relates; and

(b)give particulars of the facts by reason of which it appears to the fire authority that this section applies to the premises; and

(c)specify one of the positions mentioned in subsection (3) above and state that the person on whom the notice is served is being served with it as the occupier of that position; and

(d)indicate that on the coming into force of the notice a fire certificate will, in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (6) below, be required in respect of the premises to which the notice relates; and

(e)state the right of appeal against the notice conferred by section 4 of this Act and the time within which such an appeal may be brought.

(5)Before a fire authority serve a notice under this section relating to any premises, they shall, if they are not the local authority for the area in which the premises are situated, consult that local authority.

(6)A fire certificate shall be required in respect of any premises which, while this section applies to them and there is in force a notice under this section relating to them, are used as a dwelling.

(7)Where, in the case of any premises, there is in force a notice under this section relating to them and it appears to the fire authority that the notified person has ceased to occupy the specified position, they may serve a fresh notice under this section in respect of the premises; and on the coming into force of a notice served by virtue of this subsection, the previous notice relating to the premises shall cease to have effect.

(8)In this Act—

(a)“the notified person”, in relation to any premises in respect of which a notice under this section is in force, means the person on whom that notice was served; and

(b)“the specified position”, in relation to a notice served under this section, means the position specified in the notice in pursuance of subsection (4)(c) above.

4 Right of appeal against, and coming into force of, notices under s. 3

(1)Where a notice under section 3 of this Act is served in respect of any premises, the person on whom it is served may within twenty-one days from the service of the notice appeal to the court on either or both of the following grounds, that is to say—

(a)that the premises to which the notice relates are not premises to which section 3 applies; or

(b)that he does not occupy the specified position.

(2)On an appeal under this section the court, if satisfied as to either of the grounds mentioned in subsection (1) above, shall by order cancel the notice, but shall otherwise by order confirm it.

(3)A notice served under section 3 of this Act shall come into force only if it does so by virtue of subsection (4) below.

(4)A notice served under section 3 of this Act shall, unless previously withdrawn by the fire authority, come into force—

(a)where no appeal under this section is brought against it within the time mentioned in subsection (1) above, at the end of twenty-one days from the expiration of that time;

(b)where such an appeal is so brought but is withdrawn or dismissed for want of prosecution, at the end of twenty-one days from the date of withdrawal or dismissal of the appeal;

(c)where such an appeal is so brought, is not withdrawn or dismissed as aforesaid, and is finally determined by the confirmation of the notice, at the end of twenty-one days from the date of the final determination of the appeal.

Fire certificates

5 Application for, and issue of, fire certificate

(1)An application for a fire certificate with respect to any premises must be made to the fire authority in the prescribed form and—

(a)must specify the particular use or uses of the premises which it is desired to have covered by the certificate; and

(b)must give such information as may be prescribed about the premises and any prescribed matter connected with them; and

(c)if the premises consist of part of a building, must, in so far as it is available to the applicant, give such information as may be prescribed about the rest of the building and any prescribed matter connected with it.

(2)On receipt of an application for a fire certificate with respect to any premises the fire authority [F1shall notify the applicant of his duties under subsection (2A) below and] may require the applicant within such time as they may specify—

(a)to furnish them with such plans of the premises as they may specify; and

(b)if the premises consist of part of a building, to furnish them, in so far as it is possible for him to do so, with such plans of such other part or parts of the building as they may specify;

and if the applicant fails to furnish the required plans within that time or such further time as the authority may allow, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn at the end of that time or further time, as the case may be.

[F2(2A)Where an application is made for a fire certificate with respect to any premises it is the duty of the occupier to secure that, when the application is made and pending its disposal—

(a)the means of escape in case of fire with which the premises are provided can be safely and effectively used at all material times;

(b)the means for fighting fire with which the premises are provided are maintained in efficient working order; and

(c)any person employed to work in the premises receives instruction or training in what to do in case of fire.]

(3)Where an application for a fire certificate with respect to any premises has been duly made and all such plans (if any) as are required to be furnished under subsection (2) above in connection with it have been duly furnished, it shall be the duty of the fire authority [F3to consider whether or not, in the case of premises which qualify for exemption under section 5A of this Act, to grant exemption and, if they do not grant it, it shall be their duty] to cause to be carried out an inspection of the relevant building (including any part of it which consists of premises to which any exemption conferred by or under this Act applies), and if the fire authority are satisfied as regards any use of the premises which is specified in the application that—

(a)the means of escape in case of fire with which the premises are provided; and

(b)the means (other than means for fighting fire) with which the relevant building is provided for securing that the means of escape with which the premises are provided can be safely and effectively used at all material times; and

(c)the means for fighting fire (whether in the premises or affecting the means of escape) with which the relevant building is provided [F4. . .]; and

(d)the means with which the relevant building is provided for giving to persons in the premises warning in case of fire,

are such as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case in connection with that use of the premises, the authority shall issue a certificate covering that use.

(4)Where the fire authority, after causing to be carried out under subsection (3) above an inspection of the relevant building, are, as regards any use of the premises specified in the application, not satisfied that the means mentioned in that subsection are such as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case in connection with that use, they shall by notice served on the applicant—

(a)inform him of that fact and of the steps which would have to be taken (whether by way of making alterations to any part of the relevant building or of otherwise providing that building or, as the case may be, the premises with any of those means) to satisfy them as aforesaid as regards that use; and

(b)notify him that they will not issue a fire certificate covering that use unless those steps are taken (whether by the applicant or otherwise) within a specified time;

and if at the end of that time or such further time as may be allowed by the authority or by any order made by a court on, or in proceedings arising out of, an appeal under section 9 of this Act against the notice, a certificate covering that use has not been issued, it shall be deemed to have been refused.

[F5(5)In this Act, “escape”, in relation to premises, means escape from them to some place of safety beyond the building which constitutes or comprises the premises and any area enclosed by it or enclosed with it; and according, for the purposes of any provision of this Act relating to means of escape, consideration may be given to, and conditions or requirements imposed as respects, any place or thing by means of which a person escapes from premises to a place of safety.]

[F15A Powers for fire authority to grant exemption in particular cases

(1)A fire authority may, if they think fit as regards any premises which appear to them to be premises qualifying for exemption under this section as respects any particular use, grant exemption from the requirement to have a fire certificate covering that use.

(2)Exemption under this section for any premises as respects any use of them may be granted by the fire authority, with or without the making of an application for the purpose,—

(a)on the making of an application for a fire certificate with respect to the premises covering that use; or

(b)at any time during the currency of a fire certificate with respect to the premises which covers that use.

(3)In deciding whether or not to grant exemption under this section for any premises the fire authority shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case and in particular to the degree of seriousness of the risk in case of fire to persons in the premises.

(4)For the purpose of making that decision the fire authority may—

(a)require the applicant or, as the case may be, the occupier of the premises to give such information as they require about the premises and any matter connected with them; and

(b)cause to be carried out an inspection of the relevant building.

(5)The fire authority shall not grant exemption under this section for any premises without causing an inspection to be carried out under subsection (4) above unless they have caused the premises to be inspected (under that or any other power) within the preceding twelve months.

(6)The effect of the grant of exemption under this section as respects any particular use of premises is that, during the currency of the exemption, no fire certificate in respect of the premises is required to cover that use and accordingly—

(a)where the grant is made on an application for a fire certificate, the grant disposes of the application or of so much of it as relates to that use; and

(b)where the grant is made during the currency of a fire certificate, the certificate shall wholly or as respects that use cease to have effect.

(7)On granting an exemption under this section, the fire authority shall, by notice to the applicant for the fire certificate or the occupier of the premises, as the case may be, inform him that they have granted exemption as respects the particular use or uses of the premises specified in the notice and of the effect of the grant.

(8)A notice of the grant of exemption for any premises as respects a particular use of them may include a statement specifying the greatest number of persons of a description specified in the statement for the purposes of that use who, in the opinion of the fire authority, can safely be in the premises at any one time.

(9)Where a notice of the grant of exemption for any premises includes a statement under subsection (8) above, the fire authority may, by notice served on the occupier of the premises, direct that, as from a date specified in the notice, the statement—

(a)is cancelled; or

(b)is to have effect as varied by the notice;

and, on such a variation the statement shall be treated, so long as the variation remains in force, as if the variation were specified in it.]