A Guide to Protecting Your Property for Commercial Landlords

Fire Alarms

As a manager of a commercial property, you are responsible for ensuring that the premises are safe and secure for your tenants. Without the help of a professional fire safety company or security expert, it is easy for hazards to go unnoticed, which could put the occupants of your property in danger. A lack of fire risk assessment or fire safety equipment could also lead to heavy fines, and could affect your tenant’s ability to continue trading.

At FireCare, we specialise in providing comprehensive fire safety and security services to commercial landlords to protect their commercial properties. Whether you need CCTV to keep an eye on your premises at night, or a fire risk assessment, we can help. Our team have put together the following guide to help commercial landlords protect their property against fire, and to secure their premises against trespassers and criminals.

How To Protect Your Property from Fire

As a landlord, it may be your responsibility under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) to ensure that reasonable steps have been taken to reduce the risk of fire. The most effective way to protect your commercial premises from fire is to conduct a thorough fire risk assessment, which should ensure that all hazards are recorded, reduced, or mitigated entirely where possible. Whether you give this responsibility to a tenant or to a professional fire risk assessment company such as FireCare, the following tasks must be completed and recorded:

  • Identify any fire risks (e.g. electrical equipment)
  • Identify any risks which could prevent the safe evacuation of employees or visitors in the event of a fire (e.g. blocked fire exits)
  • Consider those who may be particularly at risk in the event of a fire
  • Where possible, mitigate or reduce any fire risks (e.g. getting electrical equipment tested regularly)
  • Provide general precautions for fire risks which are still present
  • Provide protection against flammable or explosive materials
  • Create an evacuation plan and record it
  • Review your findings when necessary

Implementing Fire Safety Regulations

As a landlord, your role does not oversee the day-to-day operations of your tenants, however it is important that your tenants are aware of your fire safety regulations to mitigate the risk of injury even or loss of life. An efficient way to establish fire safety regulations for your property is through the use of signage and training.

Fire safety training such as basic fire awareness courses or fire marshal courses are a great way to provide peace of mind that your tenants are aware of the risks of fire and how to safely mitigate them. By recommending these courses to your tenants alongside completing a comprehensive risk assessment, you can rest assured that your property is better protected from fire.

How to Protect Your Commercial Property from Trespassers

Most commercial insurance contracts will need some form of security equipment installed to demonstrate that you are actively protecting your property against criminals or trespassers. By installing CCTV or intruder alarms at your commercial property, you are deterring criminals and providing peace of mind to your tenants that their premises is protected.

Finding the best commercial security services at the right price can be tricky, which is why FireCare provides bespoke CCTV, intruder alarm and door access control installation alongside our core fire safety services.

Why Should Commercial Landlords Install Security Equipment?

Alongside prospectively lowering your insurance premiums, security such as commercial CCTV and intruder alarms provides peace of mind that your property is protected. CCTV can be monitored externally through a smartphone or tablet, perfect for commercial landlords who aren’t physically on site every day.

Instead of waiting for an attempted break-in to happen, protect your property from the get-go with security from FireCare.

About FireCare Security & Electrical

At FireCare, we provide pragmatic, comprehensive security and fire safety services to businesses throughout Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey and London.  We will keep you compliant, without causing you inconvenience. To arrange a site survey, complete our contact form, or email info@firecareandsecurity.co.uk.