Fire alarms in rental properties made compulsory under new law

The Government has announced that a new law requiring all rental properties to have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed will come into force in October this year.

Currently there are no legal obligations for landlords to provide smoke alarms in single occupancy rented homes; they are only mandatory in Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) which are commonly considered to be a greater fire risk.

The new law will require smoke alarms to be fitted on every floor of a rental property and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms that present a high risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as those containing solid fuel heating systems e.g. wood or coal fires.

Landlords who do not meet the minimum requirements and fail to comply with a remedial notice within 28 days will face fines of up to £5,000.

To assist with the implementation of these new rules, the Government is also providing £3 million of funding for 445,000 smoke alarms and 40,000 carbon monoxide alarms. Each of England’s 46 fire and rescue authorities will be responsible for distributing the free alarms to private landlords. It will be at each authority’s discretion to determine their own arrangements for the distribution of the alarms between now and when the regulations come into force in October.

The British Property Federation recommend that the obligation should be on landlords and their agents to ensure that there are working detectors at the time the tenancy starts. There should be an obligation on tenants, however, to maintain and test the alarms and to report any faults.

Should you have any questions regarding the regulation change for Fire safety, please do not hesitate to contact the lettings team on 01293 582 333 or email info@inspireestates.co.uk