New regulations re Smoke and CO alarms
What are peoples thoughts on the new legal requirements to install new smoke and CO alarms?
Smoke and CO alarms new requirement
The Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis announced yesterday that landlords will be required to have both smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms installed in all rental properties.
The changes are scheduled to come into effect soon after their Parliamentary approval, on 10 October 2015.
Fire and rescue authorities will be directed to provide support with the implementation – providing local private landlords with free alarms.
Brandon Lewis commented:
“In 1988 just 8% of homes had a smoke alarm installed – now it’s over 90%.
The vast majority of landlords offer a good service and have installed smoke alarms in their homes, but I’m changing the law to ensure every tenant can be given this important protection.
But with working smoke alarms providing the vital seconds needed to escape a fire, I urge all tenants to make sure they regularly test their alarms to ensure they work when it counts. Testing regularly remains the tenant’s responsibility.”
The move will help prevent up to 36 deaths and 1,375 injuries a year.
Expectations of a landlord –
- Smoke alarms installed on every floor of the rental property, and test them at the start of every tenancy.
- Carbon monoxide alarms in all high risk rooms – such as those where a solid fuel heating system is installed.
Landlord failing to meet the new regulations could face a maximum £5,000 civil penalty.
Regards
Denise
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Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 1121
7:32 PM, 21st March 2015, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Michael Barnes” at “21/03/2015 – 11:32“:
Michael:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/412926/150313_Document_1__PRS_property_conditions_govt_response_doc__3_.pdf
Regards,
Gary
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 357
9:28 PM, 21st March 2015, About 11 years ago
When I do a refurb In my properties I try and fit hard wired smoke alarms and heat detectors. What annoys me is tenants take them down or break them because they can not work out how to replace the battery in them.
Does not matter how many times you tell them to put then back up, they think it is ok to remove them. Even threating to evict does not convince them to leave them in place.
Guess who they will blame if there is a fire .
Normal cost around £200 but I normally have other work getting done at the same time.
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 1434
10:20 PM, 22nd March 2015, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Gary Nock” at “20/03/2015 – 14:40“:
I have accessed the link you posted, and it is refering to the Deregulation Bill, so yes it is only preventing service of S21. not S8 notices.
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 9
10:23 PM, 29th March 2015, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Polly Robins” at “16/03/2015 – 11:38“:
Hi,
I fitted wireless linked battery powered alarms in 2 properties recently they cost around £10 each and up to 6 can be linked – they take around an hour to fix 5 and press the link button – simple
Member Since March 2015 - Comments: 1
10:30 AM, 30th March 2015, About 11 years ago
Why not just change the regulations so that all new homes have them installed as a matter of course? Obviously it wouldn’t solve the problem in older properties but going forwards it would
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 1121
11:22 AM, 4th April 2015, About 11 years ago
Gas Safe are well ahead of the game. My engineer showed me the new books for Gas Certs yesterday and CO2 detectors are on !
Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 119 - Articles: 2
3:53 PM, 7th April 2015, About 11 years ago
Have you all picked up on this? We will be offering fitting of CO detectors free to all our clients……. subject to Oxford Fire Service securing delivery them to us.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/3-million-fund-means-thousands-more-tenants-will-have-working-smoke-alarms
I would recommend that you contact your local fire service and ask about how you can get hold of them.
Member Since March 2014 - Comments: 196 - Articles: 1
5:21 PM, 3rd October 2015, About 11 years ago
Has anyone come across any guidance as to whether fire alarms still need to be checked at the start of a tenancy in the case of converted flats (not HMO as done in 2007) with a full building hardwired L2 system (as an HMO would have) which is tested annually?
I can’t find anything in the official guidance or the legislation but some of the legalise is confusing.
At worst I’m going to having to do 3-4 separate tests to cover all the detectors in a flat which will annoy the other tenants and are not as simple as just pressing a button.
Comments: 85
2:36 PM, 5th October 2015, About 11 years ago
Member Since August 2013 - Comments: 883
2:42 PM, 5th October 2015, About 11 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Gary Nock” at “04/04/2015 – 11:22“:
Did you ask why they have added this?
Apart for providing evidence that the landlord is breaching the law, I don’t think that this is relevant to the safety of appliances and flues.