Housing associations, managing agents and inspection companies working in London run emergency lighting programmes under England's regulatory framework. Here's what applies, how often it's due, and how local providers manage it with Kaarr.
The duty to maintain emergency lighting flows from the fire safety legislation for the building; BS 5266-1 and BS EN 50172 define the design and the monthly/annual testing regime that demonstrates compliance.
London has 33 local authorities (32 boroughs plus the City of London), and each enforces housing standards, HMO licensing and any additional or selective licensing on its own terms. Schemes differ borough by borough, and a few cover the whole borough, so a London portfolio often answers to several regimes at once.
The London Fire Brigade is the fire and rescue authority and enforces the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 across the capital.
Stock ranges from Victorian and Edwardian conversions to 1960s-70s estates and a large number of high-rise blocks. Buildings of 18 metres or seven storeys and above fall within the Building Safety Act 2022 higher-risk regime, which adds duties on top of the routine inspection cycle.
Newham is one London borough whose published licence conditions name emergency lighting. Its additional HMO licence conditions require the licence holder to carry out a fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and to keep fire fighting equipment and the fire alarm in good working order. On request the licence holder must give the council, within 28 days, a copy of the fire risk assessment, the periodic inspection reports and the test certificates for any automatic fire alarm system, emergency lighting and fire fighting equipment in the property. The additional HMO scheme covers properties with three or four unrelated occupants. Check the conditions attached to the current licence, as they can change.
The workflow, report template and scheduling for emergency lighting are the same in every city. See how Kaarr runs emergency lighting, then book a demo with your London stock in mind.
London is in England, so the governing framework is: Fire Safety Order 2005 · BS 5266-1 · BS EN 50172. The duty to maintain emergency lighting flows from the fire safety legislation for the building; BS 5266-1 and BS EN 50172 define the design and the monthly/annual testing regime that demonstrates compliance.
BS 5266-1 sets the testing regime: a brief monthly function test of every luminaire, and an annual full-duration (usually 3-hour) test with a certificate. Kaarr schedules both and chases the evidence.
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