2 minute read
Compliance made simple (part2
Part 2 in our series on “Compliance made simple.”
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As property investors and letting agents, we are regularly having conversations with people about compliance. What often comes across is that people find it changeable and confusing. It is changeable, this is true, but it needn’t be confusing.
With this in mind, we have put together a series on some of the most common compliance issues, in an attempt to explain them in a way which is succinct and nonconfusing. The second in this series is one that the majority of us will have heard of – Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 (and amendment which comes into force on 1st October 2022)
The Regulations:
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations came into force on 1st October 2015. It is the landlord's responsibility to ensure that working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, if applicable, are installed.
Requirements & Duties:
Private sector landlords are required to install at least one smoke alarm on each storey of the premises as well as a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance. HMO Requirements vary upon the size and number of storeys the property has.
If battery operated smoke alarms are fitted to the premises, the Landlord must ensure they are in working order at the start of the tenancy. The tenant is then responsible for testing the alarms periodically and changing batteries as required.
Whilst carbon monoxide alarm regulations apply only to solid fuel appliances, it is good practice to install a CO alarm where there is a gas appliance too. Penalties:
If a landlord does not install the appropriate alarms, the local authority can impose a fine of up to £5,000 NB: New regulations come into force on 1st October 2022 which amend the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015. These new regulations state that all rented properties in England, must provide a carbon monoxide alarm, in rooms used as living accommodation, where there is a fixed combustion appliance, such as gas heaters and boilers. Where previously, the requirements only applied to solid fuel combustion appliances, such as wood burners. The rules, will, however, not extend to gas cookers.
