A house with several tenants: what changes

A family house and a shared house can look the same from the street. Inside, the difference is that nobody in a shared house is looking after all of it. Each tenant looks after a room, and the hallway, stairs and kitchen belong to everyone, which often means no one.

That changes four things.

Who notices. In a family home, the person who cooks usually notices the smell, the noise and the wedged door. In a shared house, a tenant may be asleep behind a closed door with headphones on. Smoke needs to be detected early and loudly, and in the places where people actually are. Detectors in the hallway alone are rarely enough when bedrooms have shut doors.

How people get out. Everyone’s way out runs through the same hallway and down the same stair. If a bike, a bag of shoes or a pile of post is left there, every tenant is affected. The kitchen deserves a look too, since it is often off the route and often the room where a fire starts.

What the doors do. In a shared house, the doors between rooms and the escape route matter more. A bedroom door that closes properly gives a sleeping tenant time. A kitchen door held open with a wedge, which is very common, gives a fire a free run into the hall. If a door has a closer and tenants keep disabling it, ask them why. It is often too stiff, or it slams.

Who is in charge. A landlord cannot be in the house every week, so the house needs a routine. Agree who checks the alarms and how often, and write it on a notice in the hall. Keep a simple record. Tell new tenants what to do when the alarm sounds on the day they move in, and not a month later.

Some shared houses need a licence from the local council, and it may attach its own fire conditions. Ask the council what applies to yours, and keep a copy of whatever it says.

A few things are worth doing before anything else. Look at the escape route from the furthest bedroom to the front door. Check that the front door can be opened from inside without a key. See that the kitchen door shuts. Count the alarms and test each one.

If tenants change often, run through the list at each change. It takes a few minutes and gives you a dated record that you looked.