Landlords, Are You Ready For New Carbon Monoxide Alarm Legislation?

On 1^st October 2022, The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 will come into force that could result in hefty fines for non-complying Landlords.

The amendment to Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 states that from October 1st 2022, all relevant landlords must:

1. Ensure at least one smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of their homes where there is a room used as living accommodation. This has been a legal requirement in the private rented sector since 2015.

2. Ensure a carbon monoxide alarm is equipped in any room used as living accommodation which contains a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers).

3. Ensure smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are repaired or replaced once informed and found that they are faulty.

These requirements will be enforced by local authorities who can impose a fine of up to £5,000 where a Landlord fails to comply with a remedial notice.

The regulations apply to all homes rented by private Landlords or registered providers of social housing, unless excluded.

Tenancies that are exempt from these regulations include:

– Shared accommodation with a landlord or landlord’s family
– Long leases
– Student halls of residence
– Hotels and refuges
– Care homes
– Hospitals and hospices
– Low cost ownership homes
– Other accommodation relating to health care provision

The regulations require checks to be made by or on behalf of the Landlord to ensure that each prescribed alarm is in proper working order on the day the tenancy begins if it is a new tenancy.

Landlords will be responsible for repairing or replacing any faulty alarms, and according to the regulations it’s the responsibility of the Landlord to keep a record of when the alarms are tested.

With new regulations being introduced for the private rental sector (PRS) on a regular basis and some fairly hefty penalties for not complying, we invest a lot of time in making sure that our properties fall in line with the most up to date changes in legislation and that our Landlords are kept on the right side of the law.

The Hannells Lettings team have been preparing for weeks to make sure that all of our managed properties fall in line with these new Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Alarm regulations and ensure that our Landlords don’t find themselves on the receiving end of an expensive fine.

If you’re a private Landlord and manage your own properties, you’ll need to arrange having the relevant alarms fitted throughout your rental properties.

If you use a letting agent to manage your properties and you’ve not had any communication about these new regulations, it might be worth getting in touch just to make sure they’ve got it covered as it won’t be the letting agent that receives the fine, it’ll be you.

If you’re a Landlord and have questions about these new regulations, or any aspect of letting a property, we’re here to help.

Feel free to get in touch with our specialist lettings team via email lettings@hannells.co.uk or give Jenna and the team a call on 01332 294 396.

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