Fire risk assessment in Merton

Wimbledon, Raynes Park and the western wards are dominated by Edwardian and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses, many converted into flats or small HMOs. Mitcham and Colliers Wood have more Victorian terrace conversion stock and post-war purpose-built blocks. Morden is largely suburban family housing. New development has concentrated around Colliers Wood, Wimbledon town centre and along the Northern line extension corridor.

Merton applies mandatory HMO licensing to larger qualifying properties and has operated additional licensing in parts of the borough in the past. Confirm the current position with Merton Council before submitting an application. The student population in Wimbledon means HMO conversion pressure is significant.

Merton sits partly within the ULEZ boundary, so we confirm the postcode before quoting. Wimbledon town centre and Mitcham can be busy, while the suburbs are easier for parking. Student HMOs often need term-time access coordination. Reports are delivered within 24 hours of the visit.

The roads around Wimbledon town centre and towards Wimbledon Park see significant demand for shared housing from students at nearby institutions and young professionals commuting into central London, and much of that demand is met through conversions of Edwardian and 1930s houses into HMOs. These properties often have kitchens fitted after the original build, sometimes on an upper floor to maximise the number of lettable bedrooms, which changes the fire risk profile compared with a conventional ground-floor kitchen and is something we assess specifically. Championship fortnight and other seasonal lettings around the tennis also bring short-term occupiers into some of these properties, and we flag where fire safety information for temporary occupants needs to be clearer than a standard tenancy pack would provide.

Mitcham has a substantial stock of Victorian terrace conversions where shared hallways and missing self-closers on flat entrance doors are recurring findings, alongside post-war purpose-built blocks with their own communal fire safety considerations. Colliers Wood has seen significant new residential development along the Northern line extension corridor, giving us a run of newer mid-rise blocks where the assessment is typically the first or second annual review after handover, checking that communal fire doors and any smoke ventilation system are performing as the original design intended rather than assuming compliance because the building is new.

Morden and Raynes Park are predominantly suburban, with 1930s semi-detached and detached family housing that has increasingly been split into flats or let as small HMOs to meet demand near the Northern line and District line stations. As with similar stock elsewhere in outer London, the recurring issue is that these houses were built for single-family occupation and converted without a corresponding upgrade to fire separation, so party walls, floor voids and staircases inherited from the original build often do not meet the standard expected of a purpose-converted property. We check these elements specifically rather than treating the conversion as equivalent to a purpose-built block of flats.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the freeholder, managing agent, landlord or employer must ensure a written fire risk assessment exists, is acted upon, and is reviewed at least annually. Buildings over 11 metres also require quarterly communal fire door checks, annual flat entrance door checks and wayfinding signage. We can deliver all of it in one visit.