Ensure rental properties meet new health and safety regulations
From 1st October 2015, landlords with properties in the UK will have to meet new legislation covering the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. It will now be the responsibility of landlords to ensure that these are fitted and working when a tenant takes up a property. Those who fail to comply could face a penalty of up to £5,000.
To meet the new regulations landlords will have to fit a smoke alarm on each floor of a property. They will also need to provide carbon monoxide alarms within rooms that are at particular risk, including those containing a solid fuel heater. This will mean that the private rental sector will be covered by the same type of regulations as new properties, where it is necessary to install wired smoke alarms.
Once the alarms have been fitted, tenants will still be responsible for maintaining them, including replacing batteries, and testing the systems regularly. However, landlords will need to do so at the start of a new tenancy.
Smoke alarm benefits
The benefits of smoke alarms and other safety systems within residential properties are now more widely known. Only 8% of properties had smoke alarms fitted in 1988, whereas today it’s more than 90%.
This has helped to bring down the levels of fatalities in house fires, but in 2014 over 200 people still died from the effects of smoke and fires in residential buildings. If there isn’t a working smoke detector in a property you’re around four times more at risk of dying than you are in a house that does have fire detection measures.
Meeting the regulations
For landlords with one or more properties, there are companies who can help install and maintain fire systems in order to meet the new regulations. This includes traditional smoke alarms and fire prevention measures, as well as protection systems, such as the use of Automist installers in Gloucester. If you are looking to rent houses in Gloucester businesses like TG SALES AND LETTINGS are a leading estate and letting agent in Gloucester.
With the new legislation set to come into force in a matter of weeks, it’s vital that all landlords start looking now at their requirements to ensure they don’t miss the deadline.
