Furniture & Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988
Furniture & Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988
This regulation requires all upholstered furniture sold in the course of business to have a fire regulation compliance certificate attached. This includes mattresses as well as chairs & sofas.
The regulation doesn't apply to furniture made before 1950.
Furniture supplied in rented properties must also comply.
The purpose of this reg is to reduce the death toll from furniture. A lot of pre-1988 furniture was highly flammable, able to go from a smouldering cigarette butt to a major blaze in a minute. A lot of upholstery also produced toxic smoke on burning.
The market in pre-1988 upholstered furniture is now minimal. Generally only something a bit special attracts buyers. Auction houses, charities etc normally don't take anything without a fire certificate.