In the UK, tenants have several rights concerning the security and safety of their rented property, and landlords have corresponding obligations:
- Right to Security and Safety: Landlords have a general duty of care to ensure the property is safe and fit for human habitation. This includes providing adequate security measures, such as functional and secure locks on external doors and accessible windows.
- Right to Quiet Enjoyment: This means the tenant has the right to live in their home without unreasonable interference from the landlord. This includes the right to feel secure in their home.
- Right to Change Locks (with conditions):
- External Doors: Tenants usually have the right to change the locks on their external doors for their own security. However, they must inform the landlord and provide the landlord with a new set of keys. Failure to provide keys could be a breach of the tenancy agreement and could cause issues if the landlord needs emergency access (e.g., for fire, flood, or gas leak).
- Internal Doors: Tenants generally have more leeway with internal door locks and usually don’t need to provide keys for these.
- Right to Repair: If a lock or door mechanism is faulty and compromises security or safety, the tenant has the right to report it to the landlord. The landlord then has a responsibility to carry out repairs within a reasonable timeframe.
Who Has to Maintain Doors to Fire Regulations?
The landlord is legally responsible for maintaining the property, including doors and locks, to meet fire safety regulations. This is a crucial obligation, especially concerning the ability to exit a property in an emergency.
Key legislation and duties include:
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO): This applies to virtually all non-domestic premises, including common parts of multi-occupied residential buildings (like flats, where the landlord is typically the “responsible person”). For individual flats, aspects of the FSO can still apply to the landlord’s duties regarding the structure and common parts.
- Housing Act 2004 (and Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018): These Acts place a duty on landlords to ensure properties are fit for human habitation. This includes ensuring premises are safe from fire hazards and that there are safe means of escape.
- Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006: These regulations are specifically for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) but contain strong requirements for fire safety, including the maintenance of fire doors and escape routes.
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (Section 11): This places a duty on landlords to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house, and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water. While not explicitly about locks, a faulty lock preventing safe exit could fall under the general duty to maintain the property safely.
Specifically regarding a lock failing and not being able to get out of a flat (Entrapment):
- This scenario, (“the tenant is unable to leave there flat as the door mechanism is showing signs of wear”), is a serious fire safety hazard and a breach of the landlord’s duty to provide a safe means of escape.
- Means of Escape: Fire regulations require clear and unobstructed means of escape from all parts of a building. A faulty lock that prevents exit directly obstructs a means of escape.
- Maintenance of Fire Doors: If the door is designated as a fire door, it must be maintained to specific standards, including its closing mechanism and ironmongery (like locks and handles), ensuring it can be easily opened from the inside without a key in an emergency. Many modern multi-point locks are designed so the thumbturn or handle on the inside will always retract the bolts for emergency exit. A lock failing to do so is a significant breach.
In summary: The landlord is legally obligated to ensure all doors, especially exit doors, are in good working order and comply with fire safety regulations, allowing for unimpeded exit in an emergency. A lock failure that traps a tenant is a serious breach of these duties.