Landlord want to charge for smoke alarms - advice?

tinsilver

Hi everyone,

I have recently checked out of my rented house and the landlord is trying to charge me for repair to the smoke alarms. Before I take this to the deposit dispute service I'd like to know if anyone has any advice. What happened was... we were packing up the last few boxes in the moving van and the smoke alarms started going off continuously. These are mains-powered smoke alarms with a battery backup so they couldn't be silenced. I think it was just due to the dust kicked up from moving our stuff out. As we left, I called the letting agency to let them know, as our neighbour has a small child.

They called out their contractor who put in the invoice that "dust/chemicals in the smoke alarm was the cause of it sounding and as such this was removed and the alarms are in full working order and were not in need of replacement." but charged £182 for the call-out and this is what the landlord is claiming from us. The landlord claims that we damaged the smoke alarms with chemicals from cleaning the house, but this isn't so since we only used steam and water since my wife is pregnant. In any case, the contractor probably just hoovered the dust out and put them back.

The thing is, these smoke alarms were going off constantly throughout our entire tenancy - every time we used the oven, had a shower, the central heating came on... We called to complain years ago but the agents did nothing. Our tenancy agreement included a clause stating that we were responsible for changing the 9V batteries and testing that the alarms worked, but that's it.

So we suspect that we're being taken for a ride but could use some advice as to how to strengthen our claim. I believe that the operation of the smoke alarms comes under the responsibility of the landlord - does anyone know the citation of the legislation this comes from? Can anyone with experience in smoke alarm maintenance state if out assumption that it was only dust in the sensor (not chemical damage) is true?

Apologies for all the text,
Many thanks,

Rich and Sue

Just noticed the spelling mistake in the title - oops!

Fire_Fox

Welcome! Did you report the faults with the smoke alarm to your landlord in writing during the tenancy, if so how many times? Normal operation and wear and tear of the smoke alarm is indeed the landlord's responsibility, but if (IF) a tenant damages any appliance with excessive dust or chemicals they would be liable. How long were you living in the property? If it is a while you might try arguing the smoke alarms were not serviced regularly, not sure how far you'd get with that.

tinsilver

Hi Fire Fox. Thanks for replying. We didn't report in writing, only by phone to the letting agency (twice). We were in the property for two years and five months. How regularly should the alarms have been serviced? The property is 8 years old, I think. What would count as excessive dust? I mean, were weren't living in filth - we vacuumed the house every week.

Thanks again!

DRP

tinsilver wrote: »

Hi Fire Fox. Thanks for replying. We didn't report in writing, only by phone to the letting agency (twice). We were in the property for two years and five months. How regularly should the alarms have been serviced? The property is 8 years old, I think. What would count as excessive dust? I mean, were weren't living in filth - we vacuumed the house every week.

Thanks again!

without a paper trail saying you've rung the agent won't really carry much weight.


can you find out from the manufacturer/manual how often the alarms were recommended to be serviced? that would be a start.

martinsurrey

tinsilver wrote: »

Hi Fire Fox. Thanks for replying. We didn't report in writing, only by phone to the letting agency (twice). We were in the property for two years and five months. How regularly should the alarms have been serviced? The property is 8 years old, I think. What would count as excessive dust? I mean, were weren't living in filth - we vacuumed the house every week.

Thanks again!

Did the inventory detail in condition of the inside of the smoke detector, and the level of dust in it?

If not (and of course it didnt) your defence is that it was on the tipping point when you move in, and you didnt cause excessive build up, LL cant prove that it is your dust or cleaning products, you win, you get your deposit back in full.

DRP

martinsurrey wrote: »

Did the inventory detail in condition of the inside of the smoke detector, and the level of dust in it?

If not (and of course it didnt) your defence is that it was on the tipping point when you move in, and you didnt cause excessive build up, LL cant prove that it is your dust or cleaning products, you win, you get your deposit back in full.

^^this

also did your LL provide you with the instruction manual which specifies which cleaning products you can or cannot use?

did LL install the alarm in the correct place? too close to kitchen/bathrrom where steam/cooking fumes can affect it?

Fire_Fox

tinsilver wrote: »

Hi Fire Fox. Thanks for replying. We didn't report in writing, only by phone to the letting agency (twice). We were in the property for two years and five months. How regularly should the alarms have been serviced? The property is 8 years old, I think. What would count as excessive dust? I mean, were weren't living in filth - we vacuumed the house every week.

Thanks again!

I'm not saying the smoke should necessarily ever have been serviced, but if they hadn't been touched for many years you could claim a slow build up of dust in an inaccessible place, say. It's widely recommended vacuum them every so often and use a dust cover when doing building work, perhaps anything dusty like moving. Not doing this they might argue you didn't behave 'in a tenant like manner'.

Agree you would have had a stronger case if you had reported this issue to the landlord in writing, in future always do this and keep copies of everything.

Sorry if this sounds like I am having a pop, I just don't think there is a clear cut case. You obviously have nothing to lose by raising a dispute with your deposit protection service - I assume your deposit was properly lodged and you received the prescribed information?


"Gently vacuum alarm every six months.
Dust can clog a smoke alarm, so carefully vacuum the inside of a battery powered unit using the soft bristle brush. If electrically connected, shut off the power and vacuum the outside vents only. Restore power and test unit when finished."
http://www.firesafetycouncil.com/english/pubsafet/fasa.htm

"Testing your smoke alarm
When a smoke alarm has been fitted it is vital that you test it regularly to ensure it works properly.

Once a week
Test your smoke alarm each week using the test button.

Every six months
Every six months, open the case and gently vacuum the inside to remove dust from the sensor. If the smoke alarm doesn’t open, vacuum through the holes."
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/SmokeAlarms.asp

martinsurrey

DRP wrote: »

^^this

also did your LL provide you with the instruction manual which specifies which cleaning products you can or cannot use?

I wouldn’t confuse the matter with something like that, rely on the facts.

No detail of the condition at check in = no proof of damage by tenant over and above usual wear and tear = any claim is judged to be betterment = LL loses = full deposit back.

Fire_Fox

martinsurrey wrote: »

I wouldn’t confuse the matter with something like that, rely on the facts.

No detail of the condition at check in = no proof of damage by tenant over and above usual wear and tear = any claim is judged to be betterment = LL loses = full deposit back.

But dirt is not normally classed as wear and tear. Of course the onus of proof is on the landlord, so the tenant might win by default.

krlyr

Fire_Fox wrote: »

But dirt is not normally classed as wear and tear. Of course the onus of proof is on the landlord, so the tenant might win by default.

I don't think Martin is disagreeing with you, but making a point that there's no proof the alarms weren't already dirty and damaged prior to OP moving in. Like you say, up to the landlord to prove that, and the lack of any mention in the inventory could mean a simple solution for OP.

Fire_Fox

krlyr wrote: »

I don't think Martin is disagreeing with you, but making a point that there's no proof the alarms weren't already dirty and damaged prior to OP moving in. Like you say, up to the landlord to prove that, and the lack of any mention in the inventory could mean a simple solution for OP.

IMO the proof is in whether the smoke alarms were in working order at the start of the tenancy, and they appear to have been. Appreciate the OP reporting problems during the tenancy but there seems to be no evidence of this. Two years and five months of extra dust/ chemicals is arguably quite a bit if it is recommended to vacuum the alarm every six months.

All that is being charged for is a clean to get them back into working order, not a full replacement or even a repair of damaged parts so there hasn't been any betterment. This clean is likely something the tenant could/ should have done. I hope I am wrong and that the DPS sides with the tenant.