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The New May 2025 Fire Safety Law: 3 Critical Mistakes Irish Landlords and Builders Make with Enhanced Smoke Detection
The landscape of fire safety in Ireland fundamentally changed on May 1, 2025, with the commencement of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2025. These aren’t minor tweaks—they are a significant uplift to standards, particularly within the detailed guidance of Technical Booklet E.
For landlords, builders, and developers involved in new dwellings, material alterations, or material changes of use, ignoring these changes is a direct route to project failure, costly rework, and severe compliance penalties.
Here are the three critical mistakes we are seeing right now that will instantly fail a final inspection under the new 2025 regulations.
1. MISTAKE: Believing Your Smoke Alarm Coverage is “Good Enough”
The Regulation Shock: Enhanced Detection is Now Mandatory in Every Habitable Room
The biggest shift in the new Technical Booklet E is the requirement for Enhanced Fire Detection. The old standard—a mains-wired smoke alarm on a landing or in a hallway—is no longer acceptable for new dwellings or materially altered flats/apartments.
| OLD STANDARD (Pre-May 2025) | NEW STANDARD (Post-May 2025) |
| Smoke alarms mainly in circulation spaces (landings/hallways). | Enhanced Coverage: Smoke alarms/detectors in all habitable rooms (bedrooms, living rooms) AND circulation spaces. |
| Heat alarms may be fitted in the kitchen. | Mandatory Heat Alarms in every kitchen. |
| Basic interconnectivity. | Advanced Interconnectivity (hard-wired or high-quality wireless radio-linked) for seamless, immediate warning throughout the property. |
The Critical Error: The “Bedroom Blind Spot”
The common mistake is failing to install an interconnected smoke detector in the bedrooms and living rooms. Under the new law, these are no longer optional. Fires often start due to electrical faults or smoking materials in these areas, and the enhanced system ensures a warning is sounded before the fire blocks the escape route in the hall.
ACTION POINT: Review your current system design. If any new dwelling or altered flat doesn’t specify interconnected smoke detection in all bedrooms/living rooms, it is non-compliant.
2. MISTAKE: Ignoring the Fire Service’s “First Five Minutes”
The Regulation Shock: Secure Information Boxes (SIBs) and Wayfinding are Now Required
The 2025 amendments introduced several measures to assist Fire and Rescue Service personnel. The key tools for these measures are Secure Information Boxes (SIBs) and clear, compliant Wayfinding Signage—particularly in blocks of flats or multi-occupancy buildings.
What Are They Missing? (The “Handover Hazard”)
The SIB Gap: Builders are failing to budget for and install a correctly-located SIB that contains the critical Fire Safety Information (Regulation 38). This box must hold:
- Up-to-date building plans, identifying access routes, risers, and shut-off points.
- Access keys, fobs, or codes to allow emergency services swift entry without forced damage.
The Signage Slip-Up: Clear, photoluminescent Wayfinding Signage (including floor and flat numbering) is often overlooked in common escape routes like stairwells. In a smoky or low-light situation, this signage is critical for the Fire Service’s safe and effective operation.
The Financial Risk: Failure to provide the mandated Fire Safety Information (Regulation 38) at the time of completion is a breach of the Building Regulations and can halt the legal handover and occupation of the building, costing developers time and money.
3. MISTAKE: Forgetting The “Final Piece” of Documentation (Regulation 38)
The Regulation Shock: Fire Safety Information is a Legal Requirement on Completion
One of the most important (and most frequently forgotten) updates is the formalisation of Regulation 38. It mandates that Fire Safety Information must be provided to the building owner/occupier on the date of completion or occupation, whichever is earlier.
The Documentation Disaster:
Most builders and landlords focus on installing the systems but fail to compile the required detailed documentation, which includes:
Maintenance instructions and schedules for all fire safety systems (alarms, suppression systems, vents).
Certification from competent persons proving the system installation complies with all relevant Irish Standards (IS 3218 / IS 3217).
The final As-Built plans, clearly showing the location and type of all fire safety equipment installed.
The Bottom Line: Without this complete, accurate, and certified documentation, the project is technically non-compliant, exposing the new owner or landlord to significant legal liability.
✅ Your Next Step to Guarantee Compliance
The 2025 Fire Safety Law is not about choosing what is convenient; it’s about meeting a new, higher threshold for life safety.
If you are a Landlord, Builder, or Property Manager, you must proactively confirm your project specifications meet the new requirements for Enhanced Detection, Secure Information Boxes, and Regulation 38 Documentation.
Don’t wait for a site visit or a devastating incident to find out you’re non-compliant.
Need an expert review of your current or planned fire safety system to ensure compliance with the May 2025 Building Control Amendments?