Inventory Management Solutions

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1989 and 1993) set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery.

Identification

When buying new or second-hand furniture for a rental property, you should always check to see that there is an appropriate label. Furniture or furnishings purchased after March 1st 1990 from a reputable supplier should all have attached labels. There are two types of labels:

• DISPLAY LABELS: - all furniture will carry the appropriate display label at point of sale.
• PERMANENT LABELS: - all new furniture (except mattresses and bed-bases) and covers for furniture must carry a permanent and non detachable label.

The legislation applicable toThe Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations and guides can be downloaded from the following links

• Statutory Instrument 1988/No. 1324
• Statutory Instrument 1989/No. 2358
• Statutory Instrument 1993/No. 207

There is also a guide to the regulations available, published by the UK Department to Business.

To Summarise

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989 and 1993) are UK law and are designed to ensure that upholstery components and composites used for furniture supplied in the UK meet specified ignition resistance levels and are suitable labeled. There are six main elements contained within the Regulations:

1. Filling materials must meet specified ignition requirements
2. Upholstery composites must be cigarette resistant
3. Covers must be match resistant with certain exceptions
4. A permanent label must be fitted to every item of new furniture with the exception of mattresses and bed-bases
5. A display label must be fitted to every item of new furniture at the point of sale (with the exception of mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads, loose covers sold separately from the furniture and stretch covers)
6. The first supplier of domestic upholstered furniture in the UK must maintain records for five years to prove compliance.