The legislation around the lettings industry is always evolving, and it’s important for us to stay up-to-date with any new changes in recent regulations. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (Amendment) Regulations 2022 will become law on the 1st of October 2022 in England and if you’re renting out a property, will be required to ensure that your properties are safe from both carbon monoxide and smoke. Our article provides a brief summary of the amended regulations and their implications for premises owners, landlords and tenants.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 were recently introduced to the Parliament and will come into force on 1st October 2022.
Since October 2015, landlords in England have been required to install carbon monoxide alarms in their residential rented accommodation where a solid fuel heating appliance was fitted and used by a tenant. Going forward, carbon monoxide detectors will be required in any room where there is any type of fixed combustion appliance. In simple terms, this means that oil and gas-fired boilers and built-in gas fires will be caught by the new rules, and gas cookers or hobs are excluded from the definition.
The amendment to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Regulations will require landlords of private and social sectors to install smoke alarms on every floorin properties where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. This includes all rented homes and flats, holiday lets and temporary accommodation.Landlords will also be also required to install and repair existing alarms, and if a tenant raises complaints that the alarm is not working properly, the landlord will be under a statutory obligation to fix the problem “as soon as reasonably practicable”.
While this regulation is proceeding to parliamentary approval, it is clear that there will be fines of up to £5,000 for noncompliance after the 1st of October, therefore landlords and agents will need to make sure that these devices are fitted at the earliest opportunity to ensure full compliance with the law.
Our lettings team will work hard to ensure all properties are reviewed and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are installed as legally required. We will be in touch with our landlords in due course to help them understand the implications of these changes and advise on how many alarms are required at their property.
