Fire risk assessments in Hertfordshire
Fire risk assessments and fire safety servicing in Watford, St Albans, Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Hertford and Hitchin.
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T&T Fire Safety carries out fire risk assessments across Hertfordshire’s ten districts for landlords, letting agents, block managers, housing associations and employers. The county’s buildings reflect its new-town history: low-rise flats and maisonettes from the 1950s to the 1970s, student shared houses around Hatfield, and newer apartment blocks near the stations on the commuter lines into London.
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, part of Hertfordshire County Council, enforces fire safety law across the county. We also inspect fire doors and service fire alarm, emergency lighting and AOV systems in shared residential and commercial buildings.
Where we work in Hertfordshire
- Watford
- St Albans
- Stevenage
- Dacorum (Hemel Hempstead)
- Welwyn Hatfield
- East Herts
- North Herts
- Hertsmere
- Three Rivers
- Broxbourne
New-town estates and student shared houses
Stevenage was the first new town designated under the New Towns Act 1946, followed by Hemel Hempstead in 1947 and Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City in 1948. Their estates include walk-up blocks and maisonettes with shared stairwells, landings and stores, many now in mixed ownership with leaseholders and council tenants side by side. Over the decades, replacement front doors, new service runs and boxed-in meters can quietly undo the fire separation these buildings depend on.
Hatfield has a concentration of student HMOs linked to the University of Hertfordshire, and a Three Rivers council review noted that Welwyn Hatfield has significantly more HMOs than its neighbour. Watford, with fast trains to London, has a sizeable shared-housing market of its own and publishes a monthly register of licensed HMOs. In a typical student house the assessment looks at the route out from each bedroom, whether the kitchen opens onto the stair, and whether the alarm system is interlinked and working.
HMO licensing in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire landlords mostly deal with mandatory HMO licensing, which applies to any HMO with five or more people forming two or more households. Watford Borough Council runs mandatory licensing and publishes its HMO register every month. At the time of writing we have not found an additional or selective licensing scheme in St Albans, Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield or the other Hertfordshire districts.
Some councils also use planning controls (Article 4 directions) to manage where new HMOs can open, which is a separate question from licensing. Policies in this area are under review in several districts, so check with your district council before converting a property or letting rooms.
Fire safety law in England
What the law requires in Hertfordshire
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the common parts of Hertfordshire’s blocks and HMOs and to every workplace. For a block of maisonettes in Stevenage or Hemel Hempstead, the Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed that the assessment must cover the building’s structure, its external walls and the flat entrance doors onto shared landings, which on older estates are often replacements of unknown fire rating. Since 1 October 2023 the full assessment must be written down.
For student and professional HMOs, the council can act on fire hazards under the Housing Act 2004, and the HMO management regulations require escape routes to be kept clear and fire alarms kept in working order whether or not the house is licensed. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add duties for every building with two or more flats: fire safety instructions for residents and information about keeping fire doors shut, repeated at least every 12 months.
Fire safety services in Hertfordshire
Fire Risk Assessments
On-site fire risk assessments with written reports and prioritised action plans.
Fire Door Inspections
Fire door inspections with door-by-door records, identified defects and recommended actions.
Fire Alarm Servicing & Installation
Fire alarm servicing, installation and system alterations for residential and commercial premises.
Emergency Lighting Servicing & Installation
Emergency-lighting testing, servicing and installation for residential and commercial premises.
AOV & Smoke Control Servicing
Servicing and functional testing of automatic opening vents and associated smoke-control systems.
Get a free quote in Hertfordshire
Fire safety in Hertfordshire: FAQs
Do Hertfordshire councils run additional HMO licensing?
We have not found a current additional scheme in any Hertfordshire district, but this can change, so check with your council. Mandatory licensing still applies to HMOs with five or more people in two or more households, and the common parts of an HMO should be covered by a fire risk assessment.
I let to University of Hertfordshire students in Hatfield. What fire safety applies?
A shared student house is an HMO. Expect the assessment to check interlinked smoke detection, a protected route from bedrooms to the front door, and fire doors to the kitchen and bedrooms, in line with the LACORS housing guidance councils use. Our landlords and HMOs page has more detail.
Where can I check whether a Watford HMO is licensed?
Watford Borough Council publishes a public HMO register, updated monthly, on its website.
Who enforces fire safety in Hertfordshire?
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which is part of Hertfordshire County Council. The ten district and borough councils deal with housing standards and HMO licensing.
Nearby areas
All areas we coverSources
- Watford Borough Council: HMO register (June 2026)
- Three Rivers DC: review of HMO additional licensing and Article 4
- TCPA: Stevenage new town
- Herts Memories: Hertfordshire’s new towns
- Licensing of HMOs (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018
- Management of HMOs (England) Regulations 2006
Licensing schemes change. Check the current position with your council before relying on this page.