Hi all - we have a showroom where two fire exits to the rear lead to an open area which is gated. The landlord open the gates at 9am every day and close them at 7pm. the showroom is opened at 9am and closes at 8pm. The locked gates prevent staff walking around to the front of the building to the fire assembly point and away from the building. he landlord will not change their lock up time which in my opinion is against the requirements of a landlord to ensure safe egress from their building? can anyone clarify this for me. To have a different procedure for 'after hours' would not be affective as there is only one other exit at the front of the building

thanks PH2 - we are putting in another request to provide keys. many thanks

Be careful getting the fire enforcement officers in just yet. It's the RP of the showrooms responsibility to ensure sufficient means of escape, and if the MOE through the yard is required, he may well find himself lumbered with an enforcement notice for not maintaining that escape route. I would advice a solicitor's letter or some lightweight legal action, communicating the fact that the landlord (if a Resp person) is in breach of Article 22 - coordinating & cooperating). if after a period of well documented attempts have been made to address the issue, the landlord does not play ball, then at least the showroom RP can show due diligence when appealing against any enforcement notice served. In addition, if the fire service threaten an enforcement notice when you contact them, try and appease them by entering into a voluntary arrangement to close at 7pm (when the landlord locks the gate) whilst this matter is cleared up. It's a pain, but maybe cheaper than dealing with an appeal against the enforcement notice which may cost £1000s if damages are awarded against you So my advice is be careful on this one. Build up evidence against this landlord before seeking help from the fire service & good luck I would be very interested to see how this issue is resolved, so please do provide updates