Furniture Fire Safety
Topics Covered
Guidance on fire safety for the furniture in your properties.
The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988 make the following requirements:
All new domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery (except mattresses, bedbases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads and loose and stretch covers for furniture) must carry a display label at the point of sale. This is the retailer's responsibility.
Examples of display labels
All new domestic upholstered furniture (except mattresses and bed bases) and loose and stretch covers are required to carry a permanent label providing information about their fire retarding properties. Such a label will indicate compliance, although lack of one would not necessarily imply non-compliance as the label might have been removed.
Labels
Although mattresses and bedbases do not have to carry a label under these regulations there are separate labelling requirements under British Standard 7177: 1989)
All furniture (new and second hand) must meet the Fire Resistance Requirements:
- Furniture must pass a cigarette-resistance test
- Cover fabric, whether for use in permanent or loose covers, must pass a match-resistance test
- Filling materials for all furniture must pass ignitability tests.
What the requirements apply to
The Regulations apply to any of the following that contain upholstery:
- furniture (including nursery furniture, and garden furniture which can be used indoors)
- beds, headboards of beds, mattresses
- sofa beds, futons and other convertibles
- scatter cushions and seat pads
- pillows
- loose and stretch covers for furniture.
The Regulations do not apply to:
- sleeping bags
- bedclothes (including duvets)
- loose covers for mattresses
- pillowcases
- curtains
- carpets
The Regulations do not apply to furniture made before 1950 or re-upholstery of furniture made before that date.
The Regulations apply to persons who hire out furniture and persons (such as landlords) who, in the course of their business, hire out furniture. Where the tenant provides their own furniture the landlord will not be liable for ensuring that the furniture meets fire safety standards.
Since 1st January 1997, all upholstered furniture provided in privately rented accommodation has been required to comply with the fire- and flame-retarding requirements of the Regulations unless either:
- the furniture was manufactured before 1950 or
- the tenancy commenced prior to March 1993.
Where a tenancy began prior to March 1993 the furniture supplied at that time does not have to meet fire resistance requirements. However, all additional or replacement furniture added after this time must comply with fire resistance requirements.
When a new tenant moves in on a new tenancy agreement this exemption ends and ALL supplied furniture in the new tenancy must comply with the law.
