Smoke Alarm Regulations

As most of us are aware, inhaling smoke and carbon dioxide can be very harmful for your body. Smoke can inflame your airways which can cause respiratory failure. Furthermore, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause severe damage to the body. A high amount of carbon monoxide will reduce the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream. As a result, oxygen will not be able to reach vital organs and tissues. High levels of carbon monoxide in the body can result in brain damage, heart failure, and death. To prevent these catastrophic outcomes, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are available to protect us. So, what are the Smoke alarm regulations?

Key Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations

In 2015 the British government introduced the smoke and Carbon Monoxide regulations to improve fire safety and to further protect rented homes. Below is a list of what we believe are the key regulations.

1. Any property that is either fully or partly used as living accommodation should have a smoke alarm installed on every storey of the premises.
2. Rooms used in any away as living accommodation or contain an appliance which uses solid fuel burning combustion must have a carbon monoxide alarm installed.
3. When a new tenant moves into the premises, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must be tested and confirmed to be in good working condition.
4. As a recommendation, landlords should conduct regular tests to confirm that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in good working conditions. This is not a legal obligation.

How to comply with the Regulations

Landlords are expected to comply with these regulations. As a property owner it’s your responsibility to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your property. Below is a list on points to consider as a landlord.

You must understand what constitutes as a storey used as living accommodation. For instance, a bathroom may not be viewed as a living accommodation, but the smoke and carbon monoxide regulations class it as one. In addition, a floor in a property which is only used for access is not classed as living accommodation, so it doesn’t require an alarm.

The regulations do not specify a specific type of smoke or carbon monoxide alarm to be installed. Your responsibility is to ensure that you have one installed and its in good working condition.

All alarms must be installed and operating from the first day of any new tenancy. Therefore, to avoid large fines, it’s recommended that you check the condition of the existing alarms in case you need to install new ones.

Once the tenant is living in the property, they should conduct monthly tests to ensure the alarms are working. Furthermore, private landlords are recommended to test the alarms to provide additional safety and peace of mind.

As we previously stated, this article highlighted recommendations we believe to be important. For further understanding of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Regulations please see the link below.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations