HMO fire doors are the FD30 doorsets — usually FD30s, with smoke seals and self-closers — that protect the shared escape route in a house in multiple occupation, fitted to bedrooms, kitchens and other risk rooms opening onto it. FD30 denotes 30 minutes' fire integrity; the 's' adds seals that restrict cold smoke, which is a separate property from the fire resistance and not a thermal insulation rating. The requirements come from HMO licence conditions under the Housing Act 2004, informed by LACORS guidance, plus the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for the common parts.
Private landlords running houses in multiple occupation carry some of the most explicit fire door duties in the private rented sector. Where a property is a licensable HMO under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004, councils attach fire safety conditions to the licence, and those conditions are built on the LACORS housing fire safety guidance (2008), which English authorities still use. The core LACORS principle is a 30-minute protected escape route: the staircase and hallways enclosed in 30-minute fire-resisting construction, with FD30 fire doors to all risk rooms — bedrooms, kitchens and communal living rooms — opening onto it, stepping up to FD30s with smoke seals where smoke control is needed. Alongside housing law, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 covers the common parts, and its Article 17 requires those doors to be kept in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
We are building our offer around exactly this specification. From 2026 we will supply third-party-certified FD30 and FD30s doorsets as complete factory-assembled units, fitted with self-closing devices to BS EN 1154 and the intumescent and smoke seals the specification demands. Each doorset gives 30 minutes' fire integrity — the FD30s variants adding cold-smoke sealing, which is a separate property from the fire resistance and not thermal insulation. Sizes, glazing and hardware will be confirmed at enquiry against each doorset's certified field of application, with no site cutting of apertures, so the door that is installed is the door that was tested. Our certification scheme and scope, and lead times, will be published at launch.
Because HMO enforcement turns on evidence, every doorset will arrive with per-door documentation: certificate references, the full specification (leaf, frame, seals, glazing and ironmongery) and installation guidance, structured so it can go straight into your HMO licence records and the responsible person's fire risk assessment. Where a property sits in a residential building over 11 metres, we will provide documentation that also supports the quarterly communal and annual flat-entrance door checks required under Regulation 10 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. Installation will follow BS 8214, because a certified door fitted badly is not a fire door.
What this sector needs from a doorset partner
- FD30 and FD30s doorsets for bedrooms, kitchens and risk rooms opening onto the protected escape route
- Self-closing devices to BS EN 1154 and the intumescent and smoke seals the specification requires
- Doorsets specified against the council's published HMO fire safety standard and the property's fire risk assessment
- Escape-route doors openable from the inside without a key, with door furniture within the certified scope
- Sizes, glazing and hardware confirmed at enquiry against the certified field of application, with no site cutting of apertures
- Per-door documentation ready for HMO licence records and the responsible person's fire risk assessment
Standards & guidance we work to
- Housing Act 2004, Part 2 (HMO licensing)
- LACORS housing fire safety guidance (2008)
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Article 17
- Fire Safety Act 2021
- Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, Regulation 10 (buildings over 11 metres)
- BS 8214 (installation code of practice)
- BS EN 1154 (door closers)
Recommended certified doorsets for hmos & private landlords
Unsure which rating each opening needs? Compare FD30 vs FD60, browse the full doorset range (FD30–FD120), or run the compliance checker.
Frequently asked questions
Do bedrooms and kitchens in an HMO need fire doors?
Usually, yes. LACORS guidance expects FD30 fire doors — FD30s with smoke seals where smoke control is needed — to all risk rooms opening onto the protected escape route, and it identifies kitchens and communal living rooms as higher-risk rooms; councils write this into HMO licence conditions. In a genuinely low-risk two-storey shared house LACORS may accept sound, well-fitted conventional doors, but that judgement sits with the fire risk assessment and your council's published standard. FD30 denotes 30 minutes' fire integrity, not an insulation rating.
What documentation will you provide for our HMO licence and fire risk assessment?
Every doorset will come with per-door documentation: third-party certificate references, the full specification (leaf, frame, seals, glazing and ironmongery) and installation guidance, ready to place in your HMO licence records and the responsible person's fire risk assessment. Where the building is over 11 metres, that documentation will also support the quarterly communal and annual flat-entrance door checks under Regulation 10. Our certification scheme, scope and lead times will be published at launch.