Fire risk assessment software for student accommodation.

Student HMOs are typically converted residential properties, often older buildings with construction features (timber floors, lath-and-plaster compartmentation, original staircases) that were not designed for high-density occupation. The local authority HMO licensing regime applies to most properties with five or more student occupants, and licensing conditions typically include specific fire safety standards.

For the FRA, the evaluation of compartmentation, fire detection coverage, and escape route protection in a converted property is more nuanced than in PBSA. The assessor needs to consider what construction features will deliver in fire conditions, beyond what the original architectural drawings suggest.

Student accommodation has more stakeholders than general residential. The operator (whether a university, a private PBSA operator, or a buy-to-let landlord) holds the operational responsibility. Where a university partners with a private operator (Nominations agreements, head leases), both have an interest in the FRA position. The student union may have a residential committee that takes an interest. The local authority licensing officer (for HMOs) takes an interest. The fire and rescue service takes an interest at incident time.

For the FRA programme, this means the audit trail and the issued report need to be defensible to a wider range of audiences than for general residential. FRA Flow produces a BS 9792-shaped report that holds up at the operator level, the partnership level, and the licensing level.