Inspections
Landlord or Tenant: Who Is Responsible for Fire Equipment?
This causes more confusion than any other question we get from tenants in multi-tenant buildings, and the confusion is usually discovered at the worst possible moment: when a violation is written and both parties assume it belongs to the other.
The short version is that your lease decides, the code does not care, and the inspector will cite whoever is responsible for the space.
The general pattern
In most commercial leases responsibility divides roughly along the line between building systems and tenant space, though there is real variation.
| Typically the landlord | Typically the tenant |
|---|---|
| Sprinkler system and risers | Extinguishers inside the leased space |
| Building fire alarm system | Kitchen suppression for tenant-installed equipment |
| Common-area emergency and exit lighting | Emergency lighting inside the suite |
| Corridors, stairwells, and shared egress | Keeping the tenant’s own exits clear |
| Fire department connections | Housekeeping and storage within the space |
Where it gets genuinely murky
- A restaurant tenant installs cooking equipment under a hood the landlord built — who services the suppression system?
- A tenant subdivides their space, creating a corridor that is now part of the egress path
- Emergency lighting in a shared rear hallway that only two tenants use
- A build-out that added rooms without extending emergency lighting or extinguisher coverage
- Equipment left behind by a previous tenant that nobody has serviced since
The last one is common and worth checking. Inherited equipment tends to have no service history and no obvious owner, and it becomes yours the moment an inspector finds it in your space.
What to do about it
- Read the fire protection and maintenance clauses of your lease before your next inspection, not after.
- If it is ambiguous, get it in writing from the landlord or property manager. An email is fine.
- Inventory what is physically in your space, regardless of who you think owns it.
- Ask the landlord for service records on anything they maintain that serves your space.
- If the landlord is not servicing something and will not, service it yourself and take it up with them separately. A violation in your space is your operating problem first and a lease dispute second.
That last point is the practical one. Being right about the lease does not reopen your business.
Common questions
The landlord says fire protection is included. Is that enough?
Ask what specifically, and ask for the service records. "Included" often means the sprinkler and alarm systems only, leaving extinguishers and emergency lighting inside your suite to you.
Can we service equipment the landlord owns?
You can pay to have it serviced, and tenants sometimes do to protect their own operation. Tell the landlord first, since it is their equipment and there may be an existing service agreement.
Who gets cited?
Generally whoever is responsible for the space where the deficiency is. If it is inside your suite, expect it to come to you, whatever the lease says about ownership.