There has been a revision to the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations in England that will take effect from October 1st which all landlords will need to comply with. These changes will be covered by LPS Real Estate as part of its full management service.
The regulations state that there should be at least one smoke alarm on each floor of a home that has a room used for living accommodation. Landlords must also make sure that there is a carbon monoxide alarm in any room that has a fixed combustion appliance such as gas or oil boilers or log burning stoves.
Another big change for the private rental sector is that landlords will have the responsibility of repairing or replacing any smoke and carbon monoxide alarms as soon as they are informed of any issues or faults by their tenants.
The government has advised that for battery powered alarms, tenants should check if the alarms are working. If they aren’t, they should replace the batteries and if they still don't work, they should report it to their landlord or agent.
As a result of this, we have written to all tenants asking them to check their alarms and inform us of any issues.
It is up to Landlords and agents to ensure that alarms are in proper working condition on the day that the tenancy commences. Failing to do so, could mean facing a relatively big fine of £5000 so it is one regulation that is definitely worth paying attention to.
LPS will continue to install Carbon Monoxide alarms for our fully managed landlords as part of our gas certificate provision and they will be checked each time a 'move in' or 'move out' inventory is completed.
Please get in touch with us if you have any queries.
