The new Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations

New obligations placed on landlords

Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week which takes place this week, is an annual event to alert the population to the dangers of this dangerous substance. There have been recent legislative developments in this area, which now change the obligations on landlords with respect to detecting carbon monoxide in their rented properties. Expert Lawyer, Gavin Evans from Simpson Millar takes the opportunity to address the new Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 and their potential impact. Gavin warns landlords, “Ignore these Regulations at your peril.”

With the introduction of the regulations which came into force on 1^st October 2015, landlords are now obliged to install a Carbon Monoxide alarm in every room where there is a solid fuel appliance and also have an obligation to install a smoke alarm on every storey of the property. This applies to all new tenancies entered into the property from 1st October 2015 and to existing tenancies also. However, the government guidance surrounding this law does suggest as good practice that the landlord installs a Carbon Monoxide in all rooms where there is a gas appliance also.

According to the charity CO-Gas Safety, there have been 677 deaths from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning and more than 4,700 ‘near-misses’ in the last 19 years. Carbon Monoxide is known as the ‘silent killer’ because it’s almost impossible to detect its presence without some kind of an alarm. Because we can’t smell, taste or see carbon monoxide poisoning, it can kill without anyone even noticing. According to Stephanie Trotter OBE, the President and Director of CO-Gas Safety, a large number of people have “very limited knowledge about the dangers of CO exposure and how to prevent it. CO cannot be detected using human senses. Sadly most people are also unaware of just how quickly CO can kill – less than 2% of CO in the air can kill in between one and three minutes.”

Under the new regulations, in the private sector landlords are under a legal duty:

• to fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey of their rental property which is used as living accommodation
• to fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where solid fuel is used
• to check that the alarm is working on the first date of the tenancy

(It is recommended that the landlord includes on the tenancy checklist inventory a tickbox to go through with the tenant to confirm that the alarms are in place, have been tested and are in working order.)

Landlords must ensure alarms are there at the start of a tenancy and working. However, property occupants need to take responsibility for routine testing and maintenance. If the alarms develop faults then it’s up to the landlord to replace or repair them once the tenant has notified them.

A breach could see a fine of up to £5,000 per property handed to non-compliant landlords. It will be up to the local housing authority to police compliance with the legislation and they can also hand out remedial notices to landlords who haven’t made the change.

The commercial implications for landlords are that they will have to incur the cost of purchasing smoke and CO alarms and maintaining them and fund the cost of supplying replacement batteries. Landlords are advised though that a number of Fire Services are giving out these alarms free of charge and they may be able to obtain one for free if they have not already complied.

Gavin Evans concluded: “While this legislation is widely welcomed, this will only target a small portion of the UK housing sector and only targets one source of CO leaving other sources and other housing situations unregulated and vulnerable. This is a tiny step in a mammoth journey which is needed to have a real impact on reducing the number of unnecessary deaths and exposures. CO kills and further legislation which reaches the other sectors of the population and sources of CO is needed to make impact on the drive to prevent any further unnecessary deaths and exposures.”

 

For further information on carbon monoxide and its dangers, click here.

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