Landlords And Letting Agents: Urgent Action Required
Despite the House of Lords throwing out the governments Draft Regulations for mandatory smoke alarms to be fitted in all rental properties by October 1st, it looks very possible that this legislation could still be in place by the due date.
A guide to the requirements was published just a few days ago even though the legislation has not yet been approved by parliament and now, with the House of Lords demanding a debate before the new rules come into force, it is impossible to be certain of what will happen next.
Even though Peers cited the legislation as being poorly worded and criticized the government for a lack of information to those affected, if the chaos is sorted out by the end of the month, there will be no grace periods for landlords to comply and those found to be in in breach could face fines of up to £5,000.
Under the Draft Regulations, the requirement is for a working smoke alarm to be fitted on each floor and a carbon monoxide alarm fitted in any room where solid fuel is used. These regulations cover both new tenancies and existing ones.
Landlords or their letting agents, will be responsible for ensuring that the alarms work at the start of the tenancy, after which the tenants themselves will become responsible for looking after them.
HMO's will be exempted because they have their own regulations on alarms and these new rules will only apply in England.
A certain amount of free alarms are available from your local fire and rescue services but you need to be quick if you want to get your hands on one.
Whatever happens in the coming weeks, you can be sure that this new legislation will come in to force at some point, so why not get ahead of the game and start fitting alarms in your properties now.
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Written by Deb Roberts
Source Estates IT Ltd
