New Legislation for Residential Lettings

With the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 coming in to effect on 1 October 2022, residential landlords in England need to ensure they are complying with the reviewed Regulations, which amend the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, and will extend to the social housing sector too.

Since 2015 landlords in the private rented sector have had to ensure there is a smoke alarm fitted on each storey of a residential property where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation (a room in which a person spends a significant amount of time), and a carbon monoxide alarm fitted in a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation which has a solid fuel burning appliance (a stove or an open fireplace). Whilst the smoke alarm requirements will remain the same, the amended Regulations will require a landlord in England to fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where there is a fixed combustion appliance (a fixed apparatus where fuel of any type is burned to generate heat. These could be powered by gas, oil, coal, or wood, but excludes gas cookers).

According to the guidance there is no requirement for the alarms to be hardwired into the building, but smoke alarms should comply with British Standards BS 5839-6, while carbon monoxide alarms should comply with British Standards BS 50291. The Regulations also include a new requirement that the landlord must repair or replace an alarm if the tenant reports that an alarm may not be in proper working order.

If you want more information on this topic, or any other residential management matter, please contact the Estate Management Team – Estate Management – Weldon Beesly.