Bars on window - legal?

suicide_circus

I'll keep this short.
Renting a room in a houseshare. My bedroom is ground floor and has fixed iron bars on the outside of the window. There is no way of opening or moving these bars. In the case of fire outside my room I would be completely trapped with no means of escape.

Is it legal to rent such a room?

Thanks.

Paulw

I doubt it's legal.

Have a word with your local fire officer. But, also have a word with the landlord.

Mikros

I really doubt that is legal. The building regulations for dwelling places say that the windows in all ground floor bedrooms (unless they have a door in the same room that opens directly outside) should open and function as a means of escape in the event of a fire. The bars were probably put there as a security feature, but it should always be protection of life over protection of property when in doubt. Have a word with your local fire officer.

Gerry Asstrix

Possible fire hazard if there is no other means of escape other then this window

The bars are probably there to stop the property being burgled due the window being exposed and easily allowing access from the outside, something Id worry more about then a fire.

ztoical

Gerry Asstrix wrote: »

The bars are probably there to stop the property being burgled due the window being exposed and easily allowing access from the outside, something Id worry more about then a fire.

I'd worry more about the fire....being burgled sucks [and I say this as someone who woke up several months ago to find a strange man standing over my bed. Thankfully several people across the road saw him break in and called the cops.] but your loosing things that you should have covered by contents insurance. With a fire you could lose your life not so easy to replace.

the_syco

suicide_circus wrote: »

In the case of fire outside my room I would be completely trapped with no means of escape.

If there's only one way out of the room, I'd say it'd be illegal.

Shield

I'll have one of our resident Fire & Rescue experts from ES post on this thread with a definitive answer for you as soon as they're online.

suicide_circus

psni wrote: »

I'll have one of our resident Fire & Rescue experts from ES post on this thread with a definitive answer for you as soon as they're online.

Thanks I'd appreciate that.

Just to confirm, that window is the only escape route if there is a fire in the rest of the house.

Shield

That's awful. Have you spoken with the landlord with a view to getting them taken off for this very reason?

Victor

A lot of properties that have bars on windows have it such that there is a pad lock on the bars and a break glass unit inside with the key.

Bullseye1

It's quite common on old Victorian and Georgian houses in particular lower levels. However they would be considered in contravention of Part B if they were a new development (post Building Regulations and possibly Building Bye Laws) if they are bedroom windows. Consult with your local Building Contol Authority as the building maybe in contravention of a Fire Safety Certificate.

Shield

An experienced Fire and Rescue person has advised:

In general, fire safety legislation doesn't apply to domestic dwellings.
People are free to do all sorts of stupid things in their own home.
From a Building Regulations point of view, some second floor bedroom windows and third floor windows generally need to be openable. This would only apply to building a new house or selling an existing house though.

It would be legal to put the bars on your own house that you're living in, but very silly. A tenant would be within their rights to have them removed, as it is a threat to their safety.
This would come down to a civil matter though, and would not be directly covered by fire safety legislation.
If the building was an apartment it would be a different matter.