Owners often assume every internal door in a let must be a certified fire door. The reality is more nuanced. Whether you need fire doors holiday cottage rules require depends very much on your building, and for many simple Hampshire properties, sound conventional doors are acceptable.
When fire doors holiday cottage rules apply
The Home Office guidance is reassuring for low-risk premises. It says that in most instances it should be possible to accept solid, conventional doors that are a good fit in their frames, typically a 44mm thick door of solid timber or with a flaxboard or chipboard core. In other words, a decent solid door, well fitted, is often enough for a simple cottage.
The exceptions matter though. Hollow core and thin panel doors, and any plain non-fire-resisting glazing in doors or frames, provide little fire resistance and will normally need replacing with new 30-minute fire-resisting doors.
Doors protect the escape route
The job of these doors is to hold back fire and smoke long enough for guests to use the escape route. The guidance says doors and walls protecting escape routes should be kept in good condition with no holes or damaged areas that would let fire and smoke through. A door is only as good as its frame, seals and the gaps around it.
Flats are different
If your let is a flat in a block and the front door opens onto a communal corridor or stairs, the rules tighten considerably. The All-Wales guidance notes that in this situation the entrance door must be a self-closing fire door giving at least 30 minutes’ resistance, and internal doors may need to be fire doors too. Check how this interacts with the wider building’s responsible person duties.
Keep doors closed
The guidance repeatedly stresses that keeping doors closed, especially at night, slows the spread of fire and smoke. Encourage this in your guest information, particularly for the kitchen and lounge where fires most often start.
Get the judgement right
Deciding whether your existing doors pass muster is exactly the kind of call where the guidance says to seek a competent fire safety specialist in case of doubt. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service can advise, and a competent assessor will tell you which doors, if any, need upgrading as part of your fire risk assessment.
When a holiday cottage actually needs fire doors
Not every let needs fire doors, and your fire risk assessment decides. They earn their place where they protect an escape route, for example a door between an integral garage or kitchen and the hallway, or where travel distances are long. A fire door only works as a system: the correct door, intumescent strips, the right gaps, and a self-closer that actually shuts it. A fire door wedged open does nothing, so guests need to understand not to prop them. The Home Office guidance points to self-closing solid doors where escape distances are tight. Check the closers and the seals on changeover, since a door that no longer latches has quietly stopped protecting anyone. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service can advise on older properties where retrofitting is tricky.
Where a full fire door is not justified, upgrading a standard door with intumescent strips and a closer can still improve protection, and a competent assessor will tell you when that is enough.
Get the right advice for your property
Unsure whether your doors are up to standard? For advice tailored to your property from a competent professional, speak to Jamie at ESI: Fire Safety on 01276 300 351.
