Friday 2nd September 2022
UPDATED: RULES TO RENTED PROPERTIES IN ENGLAND - OCTOBER 2022
For some time, the government has talked about revising the regulations which place an obligation on private landlords to have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms fitted in rental properties. At present, landlords must have one smoke alarm fitted per storey and a carbon monoxide alarm where there is a solid fuel appliance, such as an open fire.
For landlords, the main change is to the requirement regarding carbon monoxide alarms. Carbon monoxide alarms will now be required where there is any fitted combustion appliance, other than a gas cooker. This means gas and oil fired boilers, which previously did not require a CO alarm, will now need one. As a result, a CO alarm will be required unless a property has entirely electric heating. A CO alarm can be battery operated and does not need to be wired in.
There is also a requirement in the regulations for landlords to replace or repair any non-working CO alarm as “soon as reasonably practicable” if a tenant or their representative reports it as not working.
There will be very limited transitional provisions and all tenancies in place on 1 October 2022 must have a CO detector and alarm fitted by that date. This will apply to tenancies that are already in place and landlords and agents will need to take urgent action to ensure that properties have alarms in place by that date.
Enforcement of the regulations remains with the Local Authority who can serve a remedial notice and, if that notice is not complied with, issue a penalty of up to £5,000.
At Wilsons, we stock the FireAngel Carbon Monoxide Alarm, code 4207-1 - we have already seen an uplift in sales of this product this month.
You can read the full report on the .GOV website HERE
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Here at Wilsons we are running a Fire Prevention Campaign to highlight the dangers of fires within the home. People should be educated in smoke and fire safety because when it comes to fire, a few seconds can mean the difference between safety and tragedy.
Whilst we could not find any information for an official fire prevention week in the UK, the US Fire Prevention Week is held annually in October. It is observed during the week of October 9th to commemorate the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. The fire started on October 8, 1871. It lasted for two whole days and left the city in destruction with many deaths. Fire Prevention Week first started in 1922, the 100-year anniversary being in 2022.
Closer to home, the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017 was the deadliest residential fire in the UK since WW2.
Take this week as an opportunity to talk about fire safety with your family and ensure your family and friends are more confident in the case of a fire emergency.
- Test your smoke alarms & carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month
- Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home as a minimum
- Ensure that any chimneys, fireplaces and / or wood burning stoves are inspected by a professional every year.
- Ensure that you and your loved ones know your escape plan should a fire ever break out in your home – and practise the plan each year.
- Have 2 ways out – should your main route of escape be blocked by fire, have an alternative route planned.
- Get out and stay out!
Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms make different sounds. It's therefore very important to know what those sounds are, what they mean, and what to do if you hear them.
A Smoke Alarm has 3 long sounding beeps that will repeat.
A Carbon Monoxide alarm has 4 short beeps that will repeat.