Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government has taken to improve fire safety in multi-occupancy housing areas with large migrant worker populations.

Caroline Flint (Minister of State (Housing), Department for Communities and Local Government; Don Valley, Labour)

As part of the "Fire Kills campaign" we have run a series of fire safety advertisements in some of the main Polish newspapers in England to promote smoke alarm ownership and maintenance messages. The Government have also implemented management regulations that apply to all houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). The management regulations impose a variety of duties on landlords of such properties, including requirements to keep means of escape from fire free from obstruction and in repair and to maintain fire fighting equipment and alarms. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, 'responsible persons' are required to carry out and implement a fire risk assessment for the commons and shared parts of an HMO. The Government have also introduced mandatory HMO licensing of properties of three or more storeys, housing five or more persons who form two or more households. Landlords of licensable HMOs are required to install smoke alarms and to keep them in proper working order. Landlords who fail to comply with either the management regulations or licence conditions are subject to a fine of £5,000.