Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Regulations - an explanation

Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Regulations explained

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 were implemented on 1 October 2022.

Smoke is dark, fast, toxic, and hot - and it is the biggest killer in domestic fires. This is the stark warning posted on fire safety product supplier First Alert’s website, highlighting the importance of fitting smoke alarms at home. In the UK there are around 200 deaths a year in house fires and a further 20 from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The new regulations require that carbon monoxide alarms be installed in private rented properties rooms with appliances such as gas and oil-fired boilers. They must be in good working condition when a new tenancy begins. There are some significant changes to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide 2015 regulations. Letting agents must know how these new rules can affect them and get their house in order quickly. Letting Agents must review and update their property management practices to ensure they and their landlords comply with the new regulations.

The key elements of the new regulations are:

Smoke Alarms

According to the existing regulations, all private rental homes should have a minimum of one smoke alarm in good condition on each storey. The room must have served as living accommodation since 2015. According to the new regulations, all rented social homes must have such alarms.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

The new regulations require all rented properties to have carbon monoxide alarms in rooms used as living accommodation.

The 2015 regulations state that rooms with wood burners or similar solid fuel combustion appliances must have alarms.

Except for gas cookers, this regulation applies to all rooms with fixed combustion appliances. Rooms having gas cookers are exempted as there is evidence that gas cookers are less responsible for carbon monoxide poisoning than gas boilers.

What Type of Alarms Are Required?

The regulations do not indicate the type of alarms that must be used. Smoke alarms compliant with British Standards BS 5839-6 and carbon monoxide alarms compliant with British Standards BS 50291 are suggested in the Regulations. Alarms that have sealed batteries are considered superior to the ones with replaceable batteries.

How To Test If The Alarms Are Working Fine?

The rules stipulate that Letting Agents must make sure the alarms work fine at the beginning of every tenancy. This is done by simply pressing the test button until the alarm sounds. If a tenant complains that the alarm is not working properly during the tenancy, and their claim is found correct, the landlord is legally bound to repair or replace the alarm as soon as possible.

If a battery-powered alarm stops working during the tenancy, the tenant must check and, if possible, replace the batteries themselves. If the alarm remains defective even after replacing the batteries or tenants cannot change the batteries themselves, they must notify their agent or landlord.

Role Of Letting Agents When They Are Reported A Defective Alarm

Agents and landlords must arrange for the repair or replacement of non-functional alarms as quickly as possible. The local authority can be informed about the issue if action is not taken. They will then send a remedial notice to enforce the replacement or repair within 21 days.

Agents can make written representations to suspend the notice for seven days.

Enforcement

If no action is taken to comply with the notice, the local authority can impose a fine of 5,000 per breach. Landlords can appeal any fines to the First-tier tenancy-agreements-made-easy'>planetrent.co.uk/blog/could-a-tax-tribunal-ruling-mean-btl-investors-avoid-3-stamp-duty-surcharge'>Tribunal.

Exemptions

According to the 2015 regulations, there are exemptions on enforcement of the alarm laws on accommodation shared with the landlord or landlords family. Exemptions are also applicable on homes let on long leases, hostels, refugee homes, hostels, student residences, care homes, hospitals, and accommodations associated with providing healthcare.

Our advice say to Letting Agents is that if they haven’t done so, they must take steps to arrange for the fitting of new alarms and/or repair present alarms. Update your property management practices now or risk not complying with the regulations.

Ringley manages rentals for funds and institutional landlords as well as buy-to-let landlords in the thousands of homes they manage up and down the UK. Ringley has offices in London, Manchester and Cardiff as well as lettings teams in the ground in major cities and a mobile management team.