Fire safety in room rental (NL)

01Why does fire safety matter more in room rental?

In an ordinary family home everyone knows the house, people sleep at the same times and there is one kitchen. In a house let per room, that is different. Residents work shifts and cook at different times. Bedrooms are often behind a closed door, sometimes locked. And residents know each other and the house less well.

Then there is electricity. According to insurers, half of all house fires are caused by electrical appliances, with the tumble dryer in first place. A house with many residents has more appliances, more chargers and often one power strip plugged into another.

Dutch law therefore asks more for room rental than for an ordinary home. And anyone working with the SNF standard, or in a municipality with its own rules for flexible housing, gets extra requirements on top. This article gives an overview. It is not legal advice: the exact requirements depend on the building and the municipality, so if in doubt, check with the municipality, the fire service or a lawyer.

02Where must smoke alarms be fitted?

Since 1 July 2022, all existing homes in the Netherlands must have smoke alarms. The rule is in the Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl), which replaced the Bouwbesluit. For room rental the obligation already applied earlier.

The basic rule for every home:

every floor with a habitable room, or with an enclosed space that an escape route runs through, has a smoke alarm;
this includes the ground floor;
an attic that is not used as a habitable room does not need a smoke alarm.

For room-by-room rental the rules are stricter:

smoke alarms are required in all habitable rooms of the home, so in the bedrooms too;
the alarms must be mains-powered; in other existing homes battery alarms are enough;
if each unit is a separate protected fire sub-compartment (at least 30 minutes fire resistance), smoke alarms are only required in the escape routes and shared rooms.

Smoke alarms on sale must carry a CE mark based on product standard EN 14604. For existing buildings the rules set no requirement for interconnecting the alarms. Interconnection is still often sensible: a fire in the kitchen downstairs should wake the resident in the attic as well.

03Who is responsible: landlord or tenant?

When letting, the landlord must make sure that working smoke alarms are present when a tenant moves in. Maintenance and replacing batteries fall under the general duty of care in article 2.6 of the Bbl.

Because checking in a rented home needs the residents' cooperation, the tenant can also be held responsible for replacing batteries. In practice a clear split works best:

the landlord or manager fits, replaces and tests at fixed moments, and records it;
residents report a beeping or removed alarm straight away, and do not take it down to cook or smoke;
at every check-in and check-out each alarm is tested and noted.

A smoke alarm lasts about ten years. So do not only check whether it beeps, but also look at the replacement date on the alarm. Keep it free of dust: dust in the sensing chamber causes false alarms, and an alarm that often goes off falsely gets taken down by residents.

Know which room adds a heater

A sensor in each room recognises a likely plug-in electric heater and shows which room stays too cold, so you can tackle the cause.

Request a pilot

04Is a carbon monoxide detector required?

In ordinary Dutch homes a carbon monoxide (CO) detector is not required by law, unlike the smoke alarm. The fire service does recommend one, and not only near water heaters and gas fires but also near modern central heating boilers. A faulty or wrongly connected boiler can release carbon monoxide. You cannot smell or see it.

In housing for labour migrants it is different. The SNF standard (version 7.3) requires working smoke and CO detectors at the prescribed locations, and does not allow combined CO and smoke detectors. A municipality can also require it. For example, the set of standards under the flexible housing policy of the municipality of Terneuzen (2024) asks for a CO detector in the boiler room and in every room with another heating appliance.

Also have boilers, gas fires and water heaters checked regularly. The SNF standard (version 7.3) requires a check every two years, shown by a sticker or inspection report. Ventilation remains important too: a combustion appliance needs fresh air. Read more about heating faults in our article on the central heating boiler.

05What applies to escape routes and doors?

A smoke alarm only helps if residents can then get out. For room rental, the Bbl requires every door on the escape route of the home to open easily from the inside. A bedroom door or front door that can only be opened from the inside with a key does not fit that rule.

In practice, check:

corridors and stairs free of bicycles, mattresses, rubbish and boxes;
no locks on the escape route that need a key on the inside;
a second way out, where there is one (for example a back door), not blocked by a wardrobe;
an evacuation plan or emergency procedure that residents know.

Under the SNF standard (version 7.3), every type of housing needs an evacuation plan and an emergency procedure. The information card lists, among other things, the phone numbers of the manager, the fire service, the police and 112, in a language the residents understand.

06Which extinguishing equipment belongs in the house?

For an ordinary home, Dutch law does not require a fire extinguisher. For housing labour migrants it often does. The SNF standard (version 7.3) includes these requirements:

a fire extinguisher within 5 metres of every place where people cook;
a total of 6 litres or 6 kilos of extinguishing agent at the location;
instructions with every extinguisher, and annual maintenance by a certified (REOB) company;
a fire blanket at every cooking facility.

Municipalities sometimes copy such requirements into their own rules. The Terneuzen standards (2024), for example, also ask for 6 litres or 6 kilos of extinguishing agent, a fire blanket at every cooking place and a smoke alarm at the washing machine and dryer.

A fire blanket is the first tool for a pan of burning fat. Water on burning fat makes it worse. Show residents where the extinguisher and fire blanket are at check-in.

07When do you need a fire-safety notification or extra installation?

A home let per room falls under the Bbl category of residential use for room-by-room rental. For that, a gebruiksmelding (notification of fire-safe use) is required, regardless of the number of people.

The notification goes to the municipality at least 4 weeks before the building is taken into use, through the Omgevingsloket.
It is prohibited to use the building without a notification, and an incomplete notification does not count.
The municipality can attach tailored rules to a notification, for example on the permitted number of people.

A fire alarm system is not required for ordinary residential use, and according to the Bbl not for new buildings for room rental either. Older rules sometimes did require one, so many such buildings have one. If a building is used as lodging (logiesfunctie), such as a guesthouse or lodging building, different rules apply. A fire alarm system may then be needed, for example when the lodging area is larger than 250 m².

Which use class your building has and exactly which requirements apply varies by case. Check with the municipality or the fire service before you place residents.

08Why are extra heaters and full power strips a risk?

When a room feels cold or clammy, residents add an electric heater. It uses a lot of power. If it goes on a power strip together with a kettle, a charger and a TV, the strip gets overloaded. Power strips have a maximum load. Strips plugged into each other make it worse.

Rules of thumb to give residents:

plug large appliances, such as a heater, washing machine, dryer or deep fryer, directly into a wall socket;
never plug one power strip into another;
fully unroll a cable reel before using it, otherwise it can heat up and short-circuit;
charge an e-bike during the day while someone is home, and use the original charger.

Under the SNF standard (version 7.3), the inspector also looks at visible overloading of the electricity network, such as double plugs and hotplates. Some municipalities ask for an inspection report of the electrical installation no older than one year; the Terneuzen standards are an example.

The best approach is to remove the cause: a room that is warm enough does not need a heater. eyesonrooms measures temperature and humidity per room and recognises a likely plug-in electric heater from the measurements. That shows you which room to look at. The system is not a smoke alarm and does not replace one. To see what such a heater costs, read our article on the electricity cost of a plug-in heater.

09Checklist: what do you check, and how often?

A fixed routine stops fire safety getting attention only when an inspection is due. Record every test and check, with the date and a photo. Then you can show what you have done at an inspection, a municipal check or an insurance claim.

What	Rule or source	When to check
Smoke alarm on every floor	Bbl, since 1 July 2022	At every check-in, check-out and periodic inspection
Smoke alarm in every habitable room, mains-powered	Bbl, room rental	As above; watch the replacement date (about 10 years)
CO detector near boiler and gas appliances	Fire service advice; required in SNF standard 7.3	Test at every inspection
Extinguisher within 5 m of every cooking place	SNF standard 7.3	Annual maintenance by a REOB company
Fire blanket at every cooking place	SNF standard 7.3	Every inspection: present and reachable
Boiler, gas fire and water heater checked	SNF standard 7.3: every two years	Date on sticker or report
Escape route clear, doors open from inside	Bbl, room rental	Every inspection
No strip on a strip, no coiled cable reel	SNF standard 7.3 (overloading)	Every inspection, per room
Fire-safety notification filed	Bbl, room rental	At least 4 weeks before use
Information card with 112 and emergency procedure, in residents' language	SNF standard 7.3	Every inspection: is it still there?

If you work with the SNF standard, always check the current version on normeringflexwonen.nl. The standard is updated regularly; the requirements above come from version 7.3.

Tip: make the smoke alarm test a fixed point in every inspection, with a photo of the alarm and its replacement date. A year later you will still know exactly which alarm was tested when.

10Frequently asked questions

Do bedrooms need smoke alarms in room rental?

Yes. In room-by-room rental, smoke alarms are required in all habitable rooms of the home, connected to the mains. Only if each unit is its own protected fire sub-compartment do they apply just to escape routes and shared rooms.

Who replaces the smoke alarm battery?

The landlord must provide working smoke alarms at the start of the tenancy. Maintenance falls under the duty of care, but because checks need the residents' cooperation, the tenant can also be held responsible for replacing batteries.

Is a CO detector required?

Not in an ordinary home. The fire service does recommend one near water heaters, gas fires and boilers. The SNF standard and some municipal rules for flexible housing do require it.

Do I need a fire-safety notification for a house let per room?

Yes. Residential use for room-by-room rental requires a notification of fire-safe use, regardless of the number of people. File it through the Omgevingsloket at least 4 weeks before use.

Can I use a combined smoke and CO detector?

In an ordinary home that is up to you. The SNF standard (version 7.3) does not allow combined CO and smoke detectors, so anyone under the SNF fits two separate devices.

Fire safety in room rental and housing for labour migrants