Fire safety guidelines are in place across the UK to help keep properties and guests safe while holiday letting, which is why it’s so important to know and understand any changes. 

On the 1st October 2023 the government introduced new Fire safety Regulations and we wanted to share some information which could be relevant to you when choosing a holiday home.

Due to the new regulations for fire safety for holiday homes in England and Wales (Guidance specific to Wales here) Holiday home owners have had to make some changes to the external door locks within their properties

Thumb turn locks are now strongly recommended on all exit doors – If holiday home owners are unable to fit these locks then they must clearly communicate to state that their holiday home may be unsuitable for disabled people. 

As parents of autistic children we understand that while this new regulation is supposed to mean that holiday homes are MORE accessible to disabled people, there is a significant portion of our community that would need the added security of key locks on external doors and the new rules mean that in reality, the holiday homes are now LESS accessible.

While it is not illegal for holiday home owners to keep key locks, the vast majority have decided to comply with the recommendations which means that we are unable to guarantee that any of the holiday homes on our website have external doors that are lockable with a key.