Safety Regulations – Smoke Alarms and CO Alarms

Requirement for Smoke alarms

As of 1st October 2015 while the premises are occupied under a tenancy the landlord must ensure that a smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of the premises. As regards individual flats located on one floor then there will have to be at least one alarm within the flat itself or alternatively are provided outside the flat on the same floor of the building, i.e. a communal alarm.

Likewise, for flats comprising more than one storey there will need to be a smoke alarm on each floor.

It is the location of an alarm which sounds which is crucial; not the positioning of detectors.

The Regulations do not stipulate what kind of alarm is required. Ideally it should be a hard wired alarm system. It can, however, be a single stand-alone alarm. Landlords are recommended by the RLA to fit ten year long life non-tamper proof alarms, otherwise there is a problem of batteries being taken out and not being replaced.

Carbon Monoxide alarms

Likewise, during any period beginning on or after 1st October 2015 when the premises are occupied under a tenancy a carbon monoxide alarm must be provided by the landlord in any room in premises which is used wholly or partly as living accommodation which contains a solid fuel burning combustion appliance. This applies to any kind of wood burning stove or an open coal fire. It will also extend to equipment such as a solid fuel Aga in the kitchen. This is already a requirement with new installations of solid fuel burning combustion appliances as under Building Regulations there is a requirement to install a carbon monoxide alarm. This is now extended to any existing appliances already in place before Building Regulations imposed this requirement or where building regulations are not observed.