Furniture and furnishings fire safety
Furniture supplied by a landlord must be fire resistant. The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1989, 1993, 2010 & most recently by the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2025) set flammability requirements for domestic upholstered furniture. These regulations are enforced by Trading Standards Officers from Kent County Council and apply to landlords who supply upholstered furniture, treated as supplying goods “in the course of business”.
Furniture breaches are serious; they are criminal offences.
Typical breach scenarios include supplying upholstered furniture without permanent compliance labels, supplying items that fail ignition resistance standards and supplying non-compliant second-hand furniture.
All furniture and furnishings within the scope of the 1988 regulations are required to have a label which is compliant with the relevant fire resistance rules. The amendment removes the requirement to have in addition a separate swing label attached on new furniture. It also makes it clear that all upholstered furniture must be labelled but increases the list of items that do not require a label – see regulations above for full details.
The regulations apply to:
- Armchairs, three-piece suites, sofas, sofa beds, futons and other convertible furniture.
- Beds, bases and headboards, mattresses, divans and pillows.
- Garden furniture which could be used indoors and
- Loose, stretch and fitted covers for furniture, scatter cushions, seat pads and pillows.
Upholstered furniture filled with polyurethane foam tends to burn quickly and gives off large amounts of smoke and poisonous fumes.
Older or second-hand furniture may only be used if it has the appropriate label showing that it is cigarette and match-resistant.
Landlords should ensure that they do not let accommodation with furniture that is not fire resistant. Potential penalties include prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court, unlimited fines upon conviction, seizure of non-compliant items and a criminal record. In serious cases, enforcement may be accompanied by public naming.
Statutory guidance is available here: Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2025: UK