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Your safety is our priority. It’s important that you understand your responsibilities as a leaseholder and as a landlord if you sublet your property.
In this section, you will find information about
Fire doors
Security grilles
Gas safety
Asbestos safety
Fire doors
The safety of our residents is our priority. It is important you understand your responsibilities as a leaseholder and a landlord if you sublet your property.
The Front Entrance Doors (FED) to your home is your responsibility. You must ensure you have a suitable front door which resists fire and meets minimum safety standards. The primary reason we are asking you to change your front door is to ensure the door will hold back fire and save lives.
The Government have been testing composite doors. A composite door is an exterior door made from a multitude of materials, instead of a singular material such as wood, which have been chosen specifically for their fire resistant properties. So far, none have passed the additional testing. As a consequence, we cannot recommend a composite door to you.
If, you have changed your door to a composite door, please contact us to let us know. We are considering next steps and appreciate you replaced your door in good faith at our request.
For more information about fire doors and why they matter, take a look at the London Fire Brigades website.
Replacing your front entry door with Lewisham Homes contractors
Doors, especially front doors are a very important part of fire safety in your building.
As a leaseholder, you are responsible for the front entrance door to your flat, and you are required to ensure your front door provides the correct fire protection.
We currently have a borough wide program for checking all front doors for the stock we manage. This includes those which have been installed in past major works programs. This is in response to recommendations following the Grenfell Tower fire where some front doors failed to provide adequate protection during the fire. The investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire identified that doors installed as fire doors failed further fire tests, as such these doors have been removed from the market.
We have employed contractors to assess the condition of your front door and confirm whether it is fully compliant with current building safety requirements.
The contractor we have employed is Shellen. They are a family run business, based in Belvedere, London and have been manufacturing and installing security and fire rated doors and screens to occupied properties for over 20 years. They have been employed to carry out fire safety and security improvement works.
Shellen were appointed following a robust procurement process. If they contact you, please note they are authorised to do so.
If your door is identified as non-compliant with current regulations through a validation survey carried out by Shellen, You must do one of the following:
1 Replace your door with a fully compliant door. The door must provide a minimum of 30 minutes protection and been installed by a third-party accredited installer. Download detailed technical requirements for the door. You should ensure the door meets these requirements before replacing an order with a company of your choice. You must also ensure the company you employ have the appropriate accreditation and are qualified to fit and certify the door. Once the door has been replaced by a fully accredited installer you must provide evidence to show your door complies with the current requirements. Copies of your certificates for the door and installation certificates should be emailed to HOS@lewishamhomes.org.uk
2 Asking our contractor Shellen to replace your front door. In partnership with the London Borough of Lewisham, Lewisham Homes has initiated a programme where leaseholders can opt to have their front entrance door replaced by Shellen and make payment in either a lump sum or an agreed interest free payment plan for resident leaseholders. Payments will be made to Lewisham Homes Home Ownership Team who will manage the payment process. Shellen will not ask you to pay them.
The doors Shellen are installing have been fully tested and are third-party certified for security and fire. This means your new door set will be fully compliant and certified by a recognised independent authority.
3 If you have certificates to show your front door complies with the current guidance, please send a copy of your certificates for the door and installation to HOS@lewishamhomes.org.uk. The door must provide a minimum of 30 minutes protection and been installed by a third party accredited installer.
4 If we have already replaced your door under a previous door programme, or if you have already changed your door based on a specification we provided and it now does not meet current requirements, please contact us. If we have a record of previous steps taken to renew the door, we will replace your door free of charge.
If you would like Shellen to replace your door, you will find a range of colour, style choices and door configurations available to you along with the prices in this PDF document.
For a free no-obligation quote please email info@shellen.co.uk
Security grilles
Please do not fit a security grille or gate to your front door or the walkway.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) advise that grilles and gates cause a risk to your life in the event of a fire. They delay how quickly you can leave and the Fire Brigade can enter your home.
We are removing gates and grilles fitted to tenanted and leasehold properties because we are responsible for making sure the shared areas in your building are safe. If you have a gate or a grille we will write to you before removing it.
We do not currently charge leaseholders for any costs associated with removing security grilles and gates.
Gas safety
Make sure all gas appliances in your property are safe by having an annual check by a Gas Safe engineer.
If you sublet your property, you are a landlord and it is a legal requirement to provide your tenant with a gas safety certificate.
Leaseholders are responsible for making sure all gas appliances in the leasehold property are safe.
Asbestos safety
We can offer you information and advice about asbestos safety.
