The health and safety of anyone living in the property is number one priority. We have therefore taken a number of steps to protect the household and its occupants.
Smoking
No smoking is permitted on the property at any time. According to statistics this reduces the risk of a fire in shared houses by about 1/3. It is also illegal to smoke in a shared house.
Furniture
All furniture conforms to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) regulations. If you bring any furniture onto the property it will be on the condition that your furniture conforms to the safety regulations as well.
The property has a full mains powered twinax fire alarm system. There are detectors in every room which are checked weekly.
There are combined smoke/heat detectors/sounders in every bedroom and communal location
The house is fitted with a mains powered fire alarm system
There are planned exit routes and appropriate notices in critical locations – these must be kept clear at all times
There are break points in key locations in landing, hallway, kitchen and utility ares
Fire extinguishers
There are numerous fire extinguisher around the house and in many of the rooms. These are checked regularly. It is a criminal offence to interfere with the extinguishers so please do not let them off except in a case of a fire emergency.
Fire extinguisher in hallway
Fire extinguisher in kitchen
Gas safety
A completely new central heating system was installed in Sept 2006. This is a fully pressured system so all hot and cold water is at mains pressure – we enjoy 5 BAR pressure into the house which is very nice. There is a British Gas Three Star service contract in place and a Landlord’s safety certificate is obtained each year, in accordance with gas safety regulations, and this is displayed on the notice board in the lobby area.
Electrics
The electrics in the house were upgraded in Dec 2012 and a current electrical safety certificate is in place. Each circuit on the mains consumer unit is fitted with an RCB cut off which means if there is a problem with any device in the property the electric will cut off immediately preventing a device catching fire. The consumer unit is in a locked cupboard. If the event of a circuit tripping you will need to call the house manager to arrange for them to come and inspect what may have caused the problem. This is to prevent a circuit being switched back on with a faulty device connected. Sometimes a blowing tungsten light bulb can trip a circuit – this still needs to be checked before it is switched back on.
Plugs
All plugs fitting to any device supplied by the owner conforms to British Standard 1363. This standard states that the live and neutral pins are part insulated to stop you putting your fingers accidentally on the pins. Your plugs should also conform to this standard, although this is not a legal requirement.
Your property
Any devices which you bring into the property will be expected to conform to the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 which covers all mains household goods. No candles or other such high risk items may be used on the property at any time. All electrical equipment that you bring into the house must be PAT tested to ensure it is safe to use.
CCTV
A CCTV system is operated by eProperty Services Ltd to protect the house and its occupants. The cameras cover all exterior access to the property and communal areas of the house such as doors and communal fridges, freezers and cooking areas. Only eProperty ServicesLtd has access to the recordings which are retained for the prevention and detection of crime around the house. eProperty Services Ltd is the Data Controller for the purposes of Data Protection and is registered with the Office of the Information Commissioner under registration number A8274619.