Communal Hallway: Bicycle fire hazard?

[The Minkey]

I have a friend who rents the upstairs flat in a converted Victorian terrace. The downstairs flat is occupied by its owner. The upstairs flat is owned by friend's landlord. One day the downstairs person decided to bring his two bikes out from the cold and keep them in the communal hallway. Problem being it's not the widest of hallways so you have to squeeze past if you have any shopping to carry and frequently end up with ripped bags, caught clothing, bruises etc. When my friend asked the guy if he could store the bikes in his garden instead, being so much in the way, he refused, and with regard to being a safety hazard in the event of a fire, he said his fire service mate had said they posed no risk. Can this be right? Is he bluffing? Anyone got any experience dealing with this kind of thing?

[the-e-dealer]

Ask the Fire Service - They will inspect for free.

My suspicion is that as its just two floors they wouldn't be too bothered. If it was the fire exit from a block of flats they would be concerned.

[The Minkey]

See your point, but it's the only exit from the upstairs flat. Be ironic if the guy's friend turned up to do the inspection, lol. Still, worth checking with the Fire Service, thanks for the tip :-)

[peterstorm1985]

Take photos, send to landlord, ask if insurance covers the additional risk. Landlord may choose to intervene.

[DJKillaQueen]

My underdtanding of fire regulations is that fire exits should be clear of all obstruction so I think the fire service would probably support your view that they obstruct the only clear exit from your home.

[the-e-dealer]

Yes but Ordinary Homes Don't have Designated Fire Exits.

[bon3yard]

...he could just take it upon himself to be a decent human being instead of a selfish, thoughtless p***k. People eh?

[computedshorty]

You might trip over them ask if you can see his insurance from whom you might wish to claim

[Annette Curtain]

Let the tw@ts tyres down.

Or why not advertise them on Gumtree and give them away.

[DJKillaQueen]

LOL nette.....

As the upstairs flat is rented and the hallway is communal it WOULD come under fire safety legislation as designated under the Housing Act 2004 and the Regulatory Reform (Safety Order) 2005.

Landlords are required to satisfy a whole range of requirements which includes any passageway that may constitute a means of escape.

Here is a link to the document the fire service uses. It clearly states that stairways and hallways that are means of escape should be kept clear of obstruction.

LACORS fire safety

Paragraph 32.4 couldn't be clearer I think and it a legal requirement of your landlord to ensure this is the case.

Give a copy to your neighbour and get your own fire safety inspection done if he won't move the bicycles. Hope that helps.

[Burbage]

The fact that ordinary homes don't have fire exits doesn't mean that ordinary exits shouldn't work as exits when there's a fire, and landlords have a duty to keep common areas that act as exits, even if they're not fire exits, clear. That applies even when the landlord can claim to be 'resident', the tenancy isn't assured, the home isn't either a purpose-built flat or a house of multiple occupation and the lousy council can't even be bothered to run a register or organize routine inspections (it's not, admittedly, a legal requirement. Not outside most civilised countries, at any rate).

Where the landlord is right is in that bicycles are not a particular risk in a fire - the tyres aren't likely to burst explosively, and most bicycles don't burn very well. But we're not talking obout the risk they pose in a fire, it's the risk they pose in a fire exit. I am sure the landlord won't have consciously worded the question so weaselishly, but that sort of occupational habit becomes quickly ingrained.

The problem is what to do about it. The first bit, complaining to the landlord, has been done. In the old days, you would next complain to the environmental health department who would send a letter to the landlord requesting an appointment, at his or her convenience if it wasn't too much trouble, and when they hadn't got a reply then, with the full force of the law behind them, would forget the whole thing safe in the knowledge that, in the meantime, the landlord would serve a notice to quit, pocket the deposit and stick the rent up in time for their next victim. That happened to me twice.

Environmental health aren't even that useful now. And housing offices have their own death traps to sort out. The fire brigade might helped once, but they're now targeting 'vulnerable' people, and aren't likely to see view lives of ordinary tenants as a particularly high priority.

The best I can find is a reference to a 'private tenancies team' on the council's website. They claim to offer advice, though it's not clear if that's just for people in private tenancies obtained through the council, or for those suffering with their own money, too. I doubt their advice will be very helpful, unless the tenants haven't already thought of moving house, but it's probably worth trying. They're coy and confusing about contact details, but they're supposedly on 020 7525 4113.

[The Minkey]

Ah so, lots of food for thought here. I like your thinking, folks ;-)

DJQ, thanks for that link. These points are particularly apt, and may put my friend in a stronger position than he realised:

32.4 Escape routes:

must be free from obstruction at all times, and

regular checks should be made to guarantee this;

there should be no free storage on the escape

routes;

there should be no trip hazards such as trailing

electrical leads or worn carpets; (which might apply to bicycle wheels and pedals particularly as the bikes are just propped against the wall)

Burbage: Thanks for your points, however, in this case the issue isn't with my friend's landlord who owns the upstairs flat, it's with the owner-occupier of the downstairs flat. He really seems to resent having anyone living above him and has at times made life there quite unpleasant. My friend's landlord is OK, but a bit hands-off, so if it can be resolved this without getting him involved, it might be easier all round.

[Twirly]

We had this problem for a while in our hallway, and it was solved by using one of these wall mounted bike racks to lift one bike up whilst the other rested on the ground underneath. Cost about ?15. If one of these could be installed, then you'd have one bike up on the wall and one on the ground which should give you enough space to get past. Might be the easiest solution.

[snowy]

Can't he be persuaded to buy a bike rack and hang them off the wall/ceiling? That removes them from being an obstruction in the hallway and you're all friends again?

ETA: ah Twirly beat me to it. There are ones that suspend off the ceiling too, if there's sufficient height; which clears up all the floor space and stops you banging into things.

[The Minkey]

Bike racks might work if it got the handlebars etc up out of the way. Convincing downstairs that this is a good solution would be a different matter as he thinks any request with regard to his behaviour to be unreasonable in itself.

[Twirly]

Check out the legal situation first, and have some evidence that he's in the wrong. Present him with the bike rack solution, and if he prevaricates, then tell him that if he's not willing to do this, then you will have to take it further. If he still objects, then show him printouts from wherever that shows that the exit should be clear. If all else fails, get your landlord involved/check it out with the CAB. Good luck!