Change to Jersey law on fire certificates for homes

Jersey property owners who have converted their buildings into flats or bedsits may have to have them inspected by fire safety officers.

A law change means more rented properties in which multiple people live will need a fire certificate.

Martyn Maguire, the director of safer communities at Jersey Fire and Rescue, said it would improve safety.

The law was tightened on 1 January to change which buildings need to be inspected by the Jersey Fire Service.

Mr Maguire said: "The aim of this new legislation is to... protect the lives of people living in them from the dangers of fire.

"We want to ensure these properties have suitable and sufficient fire safety measures in place, and they are to the same standard as those required in fire certificated buildings."

He said fire officers would now inspect buildings that had been converted to flats or bedsits, where cooking or bathroom facilities were shared, and in some cases where people lived below ground level or above the first floor.