Is your holiday apartment fire safe?

Many holiday apartments in Italy, Spain and Greece are unlikely to have taken appropriate fire safety measures, Which? Travel has found. 

Only 14% of Airbnb properties in Italy report having a smoke alarm and 12% declare a carbon monoxide alarm, according to accommodation analysts AirDNA. 

In Spain, 27% had a smoke alarm and 13% a carbon monoxide alarm. In Greece, 21% reported having a smoke alarm but only 11% a carbon monoxide alarm. 

The equivalent figures for the UK were 90% (smoke alarms) and 72% (carbon monoxide alarms) – but in parts of the UK, as many as one in four hosts had not confirmed they have fitted alarms.

Airbnb rules on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

The rules for short-term accommodation in the UK, let through platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO, are identical to the law for any other short-term accommodation.

Anybody who has paying guests in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland needs to have installed a smoke alarm. If they have a gas-powered boiler, heater, cooker or an open fireplace they are also required to fit a carbon monoxide alarm. In some countries in Europe the same laws do not apply.

Airbnb makes it easy to see whether listings have confirmed that they have alarms. It also provides free smoke alarms to hosts who request them. However, hosts aren’t required to have these alarms listed on the site – even in countries where they’re a legal requirement, such as the UK. Airbnb told us that the majority of its listings worldwide do have smoke alarms and it has given out more than 30,000 free detectors. 

It added that it ‘regularly reminds hosts to comply with local laws’ and said it would consider removing them from the platform if alerted of any safety concerns.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in Europe and US

Figures provided in April 2022 by AirDNA, based on percentage of Airbnb owners who have declared they have the alarms.

Do some countries have a higher fire risk than others?

According to Our World In Data, the death rate from fire and burns in the UK was 0.38 per 100,000 people in 2019. That’s much lower than 30 years ago but the fall has levelled off in recent years.

The equivalent figures elsewhere are Spain 0.27, Italy 0.35, Greece 0.49, Portugal 0.64 and the US 0.82. 

Risk will vary depending on the kind of materials used in construction, as well as with smoking rates and other factors. 

It’s particularly important that holiday flats or villas have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms if they have open fires or gas appliances, as well as combustible materials such as timber frames. Unlike some other platforms, Airbnb does allow you to see whether your listing has a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm before your book.

How can you stay fire-safe on holiday?

The National Fire Chiefs Council told us: ‘We would advise anyone staying in UK short-term lets to check safety measures are in place and test any alarms to ensure they are working when they arrive at the accommodation.

'We would also advise that wherever you stay, you familiarise yourself with any emergency plans and exit routes, and apply the same precautions as you would at home such as switching off electricals and closing internal doors at night.’

If you are concerned that your holiday let is unsafe, you should complain to the owners. Also let the booking site know, so that it can remove the apartment from the site if the problems aren’t resolved.