Associate solicitor Jessica Irwin, in our Dispute Resolution team, explains the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 will come into force on 1 October 2015, bringing with it a raft of new regulations for landlords to comply with.
The Regulations
The Regulations will impose a duty on landlords to ensure that:
- A smoke alarm is installed on each storey of premises that are wholly or partly used as living accommodation
- A carbon monoxide alarm is installed in any room that is used wholly or partly as living accommodation and contains a solid fuel burning combustion appliance
- The smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in proper working order at the start of any new tenancy
Under the first and second obligations when determining a storey or room, a bathroom or lavatory is to be treated as a room used as living accommodation. Therefore landlords will be under a duty to ensure that a half landing containing a bathroom or toilet alone has a smoke alarm installed.
In defining a ‘new tenancy’ under the third obligation, landlords will only be required to ensure all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order for tenancies starting on or after 1 October 2015.
Enforcement
The regulations provide Local Authorities the power to serve remedial notices on any landlord they have “reasonable grounds to believe” is not complying with their obligations. Accordingly landlords will need to consider incorporating an obligation clause in tenancy agreements requiring tenants to regularly check the alarms, replace any batteries and report faults as soon as possible, in order to ensure landlords continually comply with the Regulations throughout the tenancy.
Where a Local Authority is satisfied a landlord is in breach of their duty to comply with a remedial notice, the authority may require the landlord to pay a penalty charge. The amounts of such penalties are to be determined by the authority, and are subject to a cap of £5,000.
For further information or legal advice, please contact law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
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