PASC UK Members can ask for help with their fire questions either by phone or by email. And in complex cases we involve Paul Bray, our retained fire expert.
The fire support in this area of the website consists of an explanation of the wider changes below, then three sections, Fire Safety Papers to help you navigate the changes, Fire Webinars from experts to help answer your questions, and finally a comprehensive set of free to use (PASC UK have paid for these) Fire Signs in English and Welsh.
The Fire Support work has been one the most significant pieces of work undertaken by PASC UK and we have direct helped over 1400 PASC UK Members with their Fire Risk Assessments. Our thanks to the team at the Home Office (now at MHCLG) Paul Bray and all the other experts that were engaged to carry out this work.
From 1 October 2023 all owners that let their property for money, even for a single night, regardless of the platform upon which they advertise, will need to have a full written and recorded Fire Risk Assessment, by law. New Guidance had been published by the Home Office in March 2023, that covers smaller accommodation, (no more than two storey, no more than 4 bedrooms, no more than sleeps 10, and not having an open-plan kitchen) and the law came into effect in October 2023.
This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/
If your property falls outside the Small Paying Guest Guidance, link above, then you should follow ‘Sleeping Accommodation V2). https://www.gov.uk/government/
There is a PASC UK paper in the Fire Safety Papers section to assist with interpreting this Guidance, called ’Supplementary Guidance to Sleeping Accommodation V2’ https://www.pascuk.co.uk/resou
These are now Statutory and must be followed.
In November 2024 the Home Office published the draft Guidance to replace ‘Sleeping Accommodation V2’. This document can now be found here: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/fire-safety-measures-for-persons-with-duties-sleeping-accommodation/
PASC UK have read and reviewed the new Guidance, and have published two papers to assist owners with understanding what is coming. These are called “Notes on Home Office Fire Guidance November 2024′ and ‘PASC UK Advice Note, Annex A – New Sleeping Accommodation Guide’. Both of these can be found on the Fire Safety Papers Page. https://www.pascuk.co.uk/resou
These will help guide owners of properties that fall outside the Small Paying Guest Guide with mitigation steps that may be required, depending upon the property. The New Sleeping Accommodation Guide has condensed most of the suggested mitigations into a Single Annex A. PASC UK has held Fire Webinars in Conjunction with the Home Office on Annex A and these can be viewed in the Fire Webinars section: https://www.pascuk.co.uk/resou
PASC UK are part of the Fire Panel that reviews all new Fire Guidance, and the review of the new version of Sleeping Accommodation V2 is complete, and the Guidance is now set for publication later in 2026. We do not expect any significant changes from those covered in the PASC UK papers.
Joining PASC UK is easy, a single property is just £90 (plus VAT from 1 January 2025) per annum. Membership gives a range of benefits including email and phone support and numerous sector specific papers on topics ranging from legal papers providing Terms and Conditions, CCTV etc, plus papers dealing with VOA, Business Rates, EV Charging etc as well as access to discounts via the PASC UK Buying Club.