Fire safety in a commercial lease is a legal obligation that can fall on the tenant, the landlord, or both, depending on the terms of the lease and who controls the premises. Failing to meet your fire safety responsibilities can result in a breach of your lease, a fine, or even imprisonment. This article will help you understand who may be responsible for fire safety in a commercial lease, whether you are a commercial tenant or the landlord of the commercial property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone with control of the commercial premises has responsibility for fire safety. Fire safety responsibility is to the person in control, and hence the \u2018responsible person\u2019. A responsible person can include, for example, a:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responsibilities for safety in a commercial lease<\/a> can overlap. This can mean joint responsibility, meaning you have to meet obligations by working together. It can also be the case where your lease has split repair responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A responsible person has the following obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fire safety assessment must be \u2018suitable and sufficient\u2019, meaning you must decide what to cover as the landlord or tenant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You should identify:<\/p>\n You should also ensure fire safety measures are in place and stay in place. Additionally, you should draft an emergency plan and review it regularly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The obligation to keep the fire emergency route and exits clear at all times may require extra responsibility if these involve third-party land. If this is the case, you must ensure that you document the route. Otherwise, the third party may place you in breach of your fire safety responsibilities by blocking it or altering the route. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the responsibility for fire safety lies with the person in control of the premises, it will usually lie with the tenant in a commercial lease. This is because a commercial tenant often uses the commercial space as a workplace and is an employer with staff on your commercial premises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, if you are a commercial tenant and the retail space you rent is the whole building, you are likely to be the responsible person. Therefore, you are responsible for fire safety in the commercial lease. A commercial lease may detail that the tenant is also responsible for the fire safety equipment in the building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\n1. Carry Out a Fire Risk Assessment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2. Ensure Emergency Exits and Fire Routes are Clear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Commercial Tenant as Responsible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n