30 September 2015

Landlords: The deadline is tomorrow, do you know the guidelines?

As the deadline for the new regulations regarding carbon monoxide and smoke alarms gets ever closer, recent research by British Gas has shown that less than 50% of Landlords are aware of them.  There is an element of confusion regarding these rules so we will attempt to simplify things.

What we do know is that Landlords or their agents will, from 1st October, have to be able to provide evidence that a smoke alarm for each floor in a property is in place and working and that a carbon monoxide alarm is in place if solid fuel is in use. 

The Landlord or agent must test the alarms on the day of the tenancy starting, asking the tenant to check is not enough.  We would suggest that a note is made on the inventory stating that the alarms were working on the day of move in and get the tenant to sign to this effect.

Once the tenant is in, it is their responsibility to check / replace batteries but we would still recommend these be tested on inspections and any corrective measures needed are put in writing to the tenant.


For further updates on more up and coming changes, follow our blog..
The full legislation can be found here

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