Domestic or contract? Which fire regulations apply

At a glance

Read on legislation.gov.uk on 5 November 2026 (revised texts). Regulation and article numbers are those instruments'. The FIRA guide is the FIRA and British Furniture Confederation guide (2010, updated 2011); its readings are guidance, not law.

Two instruments, two things they attach to

The first question designers ask is whether the domestic-only scope of the 1988 Regulations leaves hotel and restaurant furniture unregulated. It does not, because the two instruments do different jobs.

• The 1988 Regulations regulate the product and its supplier. Offences under them are offences under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (regulation 16(4)), and their definition of furniture is furniture of any description ordinarily intended for private use in a dwelling (regulation 3(1), replaced from 30 October 2025 by SI 2025/531). Upholstery must pass the cigarette test (regulation 5), fillings must pass the relevant ignitability test (regulation 6), covers must pass the match tests (regulations 8 and 9), upholstered furniture carries a permanent label (regulation 11 and Schedule 7), and no person may supply furniture that does not meet the requirements (regulation 15). A magistrates' court may try an offence only if proceedings start within twelve months (regulation 16).
• The Fire Safety Order regulates the premises and the person who controls them. The Responsible Person must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the fire risks to people on the premises (article 9(1)) and take the general fire precautions that follow from it (articles 5 and 8). The Order does not apply inside a private dwelling (article 6(1)(a)). It does not set an ignition standard for furniture. The FIRA and British Furniture Confederation guide says furniture is part of the building contents, that the assessment sets the level of ignition resistance, and that the level is passed on to whoever specifies or buys the furniture (section 3.4). It sums the position up as non-domestic furniture being regulated indirectly through the Order (section 1).
• The standards are the usual route, and they are guidance. The Home Office guide for sleeping accommodation lists BS 5852, BS 7177, BS 7176 and BS 5867-2, says the standards it refers to are for guidance only, that referring to one gives no presumption of conformity with the Order, and that the level of necessary safety must be dictated by the findings of the risk assessment.

The designer and the supplier are not the Responsible Person. The FIRA and British Furniture Confederation guide says the fire safety of finished furniture on the site is down to the Responsible Person, not the agent or the furniture supplier, so the requirement has to be written into the specification and the contract (sections 6.1.1 and 7.1.1). A supplier to a specific contract is responsible for supplying furniture that meets the level the purchaser sets (section 7.2.1).

Other duties on suppliers, for example under general product safety law, were not examined for this sheet.

Which regime governs this piece: a decision flow

Ask the questions in order. They follow the scope wording of the two instruments and the FIRA and British Furniture Confederation guide. They help you find out which question to put to the Responsible Person or a fire consultant. They do not answer it for a particular building.

• 1. A home. Furniture for a private dwelling is within the 1988 Regulations. The guide says that includes holiday homes and furnished lets, which must meet them in full, whoever supplies the furniture as a business, and including items classed as fixtures and fittings (section 9.5). The Home Office guide says furniture in domestic premises, including any supplied by owners or landlords, must comply. A home office is still a home: office furniture supplied for the home must comply (section 9.4).
• 2. A business premises. Hotels, restaurants, bars, offices and public buildings are dealt with under the Order. The guide says hotels are not covered by the 1988 Regulations and are covered by the Order (section 9.5.2), and that for most hotels and boarding houses the furniture risk level is considered medium, so most seating would comply with Medium Hazard of BS 7176 (section 9.3.1). That is a starting point for the assessment to confirm or change. See our BS 7176 hazard categories sheet.
• 3. Both at once. The guide says chalet hotels and holiday apartments are a grey area, holiday camps and chalet hotels straddle both sectors, and that as a minimum the level should be no less than the 1988 Regulations' and expert advice should be sought (sections 9.5.2 and 9.5.3). It does not name serviced apartments, aparthotels, build-to-rent blocks or members' club bedrooms. Treat them the same way until a fire consultant has decided, in writing, which applies.
• 4. A lining. Wall panelling or a fabric wall lining fixed to a wall or ceiling has a further route in England: Building Regulations requirement B2 and Approved Document B. Our FF&E fire documentation matrix sets out the classes.

One more case from the guide matters to makers. A standard range sold to businesses can carry its own hazard rating, but if the buyer might supply it into the domestic market, the 1988 Regulations must be met, and the supplier should hold written confirmation that it is not being supplied into the domestic market (FAQ 3).

Law, standard and contract: who is responsible for what

Four different things get called ‘the fire regulations’. They bind different people.

Two practical points follow. First, the level must be asked for before pricing: the FIRA guide advises suppliers to obtain written documentation of the required level and to keep it, and its example is six years (FAQ 1). That period is the guide's example, not a legal one. Second, a Crib 5 certificate is not a statement of regime: ignition source 5 appears in the 1988 foam test as well as in BS 7176 Medium Hazard, as our contract versus domestic checklist explains.

The 1988 Regulations: dated changes and the current reform

The 1988 Regulations have been amended several times and are being reformed. This table is dated and sourced from the legislation and the government pages read on 5 November 2026.

What the 2026 consultation does not mention

The consultation is titled ‘Product regulation: fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture’. The terms non-domestic, contract, commercial, hotel, rented accommodation, serviced apartment, build-to-rent, holiday let, Fire Safety Order and Responsible Person do not appear on the chapter we read. We found nothing in it, or in the OPSS news story of 22 January 2025, about contract furniture or the Order. We did not find a proposal to change the Order's duty on the Responsible Person.

What to do while the outcome is awaited

• Specify against the law and standards as they stand. The Regulations as amended from 30 October 2025 and the Order as they stand are what applies. A proposal is not a requirement.
• Add a change-in-law clause (see the wording below) so a change between order and delivery is handled as a variation, not a dispute.
• Ask a test house one question. The FIRA guide says furniture that meets the 1988 Regulations can be classed as meeting Low Hazard of BS 7176, and the guide's account of the BS 7176 foam test is that it effectively replicates the foam test in the Regulations' Schedule 1, which uses an ignition source 5 crib. The consultation proposes ending mandatory open-flame testing. Whether and how that would reach BS 7176 is not addressed in anything we read. It is a question, not a finding.
• Diarise the review. This sheet should be checked again when the government response is published, and in any case by 1 February 2027.

The Responsible Person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for [premises] is [name or role]. They have confirmed in writing, dated [date], the fire level for each space (hazard category for seating and mattresses, curtain type, lining class), recorded in the FF&E schedule [ref]. The Supplier supplies goods that meet that level for the exact build, evidenced as [evidence clause ref]. The Responsible Person remains responsible for the fire risk assessment and the level. Quotations are based on [reference, date]. If no level has been given, the Supplier asks before quoting and does not assume one.

Items [list or schedule refs] are for use in [a private dwelling / a holiday let]. They are to comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 as amended, including the permanent label (regulation 11 and Schedule 7). The Supplier provides a photograph of the label on [each item / a first-off item] and confirms in writing the source of each filling and cover and that they meet the tests in the Regulations.

For [serviced apartments / aparthotel rooms / club bedrooms] at [premises] the fire regime and level are to be confirmed in writing by [fire safety consultant / Responsible Person] before order, with the reason recorded. Until then the Supplier prices [the higher of the 1988 Regulations and BS 7176 [Medium] Hazard] and shows any difference as an option. An item is not moved from one regime to another after approval except by written variation.

Items from the Supplier's standard range are supplied for [non-domestic use only] and the Supplier confirms they will not be supplied into the domestic market for this project. The Supplier holds the compliance file (written level, reports, label photographs) and makes it available for [6] years from [handover]. If the law, a standard edition or the Responsible Person's level changes between order and delivery, [the Client] notifies the Supplier in writing and the effect on the goods and the programme is agreed as a variation before work changes.

Standards and sources

• Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (SI 1988/1324), revised; and the 2025 amending regulations, SI 2025/531: regs 1, 3 to 16 and Schedule 7 read 5 Nov 2026.
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541): articles 1 to 6, 8, 9 read 5 Nov 2026; England and Wales.
• gov.uk: Product regulation: fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture (consultation, 31 Mar to 23 Jun 2026); OPSS update 22 Jan 2025: read 5 Nov 2026; no response published.
• FIRA and BFC guide (2010, updated 2011); Home Office guide, sleeping accommodation (12 Sep 2023): read 5 Nov 2026.

Questions we are asked

Does the 1988 Regulations' domestic-only scope mean hotel furniture is unregulated?

No. The Regulations attach to furniture ordinarily intended for private use in a dwelling. For a hotel, the Fire Safety Order applies to the premises, and the Responsible Person's fire risk assessment, which takes account of the contents, sets the level for the furniture. The FIRA and British Furniture Confederation guide describes non-domestic furniture as regulated indirectly through the Order.

Who is legally responsible for the fire safety of contract furniture?

Under the Order, the Responsible Person for the premises. The FIRA and British Furniture Confederation guide says it is not the agent or the furniture supplier, so the level has to be written into the specification and contract. A supplier to a specific contract is responsible for meeting the level the purchaser sets. Take advice on any other duties.

Do the 1988 Regulations apply to a holiday let or a furnished flat?

The FIRA guide says furniture for holiday homes and furnished residential lets let in the course of business must meet the Regulations in full, and the Home Office guide says furniture in domestic premises, including that supplied by landlords, must comply. Chalet hotels and similar mixed premises are a grey area: at least the 1988 level, and take expert advice.

What changed in the 1988 Regulations in October 2025?

From 30 October 2025, SI 2025/531 took baby and child products out of the definition of furniture, removed the display label requirement and set a twelve-month time limit for prosecutions. The definition of furniture for a dwelling, including beds and divans with their bases and headboards, was not changed.

Will the reform change what hotel furniture has to meet?

We found nothing about contract or non-domestic furniture in the 2026 consultation, which is about domestic upholstered furniture, and no proposal to change the Order. It closed on 23 June 2026 and no response had been published when this sheet was checked. Whether changes to the domestic tests would affect how BS 7176 treats furniture that meets the 1988 Regulations is not addressed: ask a test house.

Do the same rules apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Not necessarily. The Fire Safety Order applies in England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety law, which we have not read. The 2025 amendments to the 1988 Regulations extend to the whole United Kingdom.