This fire safety guidance is for residents living in flats. If you’d like fire safety information for residents living in houses, tap here.
Reducing the risk of fire in communal areas, landings, lobbies, and storage areas:
- Items in communal areas and rubbish stored in homes pose some of the biggest fire risks. All communal areas, landings, lobbies, and storage areas must be free of any items and obstructions.
Items left in communal areas (such as scooters, prams, furniture, and rubbish) can block exit routes, hinder evacuation of you and others and provide fuel for fires.
Please make sure you dispose of items correctly and store any items appropriately in your home.
We may remove any items found in communal areas without notice if they pose a hazard or risk to other residents. This includes doormats, furniture, rubbish bins, books, pushchairs, bicycles, etc.
A TORT notice is displayed in the entrance area of your building outlining that items found may be removed without further notice. It also contains more information on our communal area policy.
Never store combustible items in any communal rooms within your building.
What you can do to keep communal areas safe:
- If, as part of your home, you have access to communal areas, your tenancy agreement or lease will state that you should not store items in communal areas and that we will treat any items left as a breach of your tenancy or lease.
Communal areas include stairways, lifts, landings, hallways, and any other spaces that you share with other residents. They also include service or meter cupboards in your building.
If you currently have items – including, but not limited to – prams, buggies, bicycles, plants, furniture, shoes or other household items, stored or left in these spaces, please remove them immediately.
Please also be mindful that uninvited visitors may be able to access communal areas and use or take items they find. The best way to look after your possessions is to keep them inside your home.
What we'll do:
- If we find any items in communal areas, we'll serve a reminder notice on low risk items, and with higher risk items we may remove them without further notice- meaning you'll no longer have access to them.
Your building has a TORT notice displayed in communal area(s) to let you know the type of items that are commonly stored in these areas which should not be stored there. This list has some examples, but is not exhaustive:
- buggies
- petrol or gas-related items (e.g., motorbikes, gas cylinders, BBQs)
- furniture, bedding, and clothing
- paint, canisters, and tins
- household items
- books, paper materials, and boxes
- plants
- door mats
- bin liners and their contents
If any TORT notices within blocks are found to be missing on inspection, we’ll replace them.
Let’s work together to keep you, your family and neighbours safe. We’ll do our part by ensuring we follow our zero-tolerance approach to items found in communal areas and you can help us by making sure you do not leave items in communal areas, even if it’s just temporarily.
Own a mobility scooter, e-bike/e-scooter, or similar battery-powered device?
Correct storage and charging of these devices is really important. They can pose a fire hazard if they aren’t stored and charged correctly.
More fire safety advice on the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) website:
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service offer free Home Fire Safety Assessments:
Colleagues from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service may be able to visit your home and provide fire safety advice and equipment, depending on risk.
