Rental Queries

Leeds_Fella

Hi all,

Do landlords have to supply and fit smoke alarms or carbon monoxide alarms by law?

clutton_2

no they dont - but good landlords probably do.

Maddie

If you're in Leeds I know the fire brigade up here do free home fire safety checks & will supply fire alarms free of charge.

Bungarm2001

Yes they do if they are licenced and/or have an HMO.

GOOD LL's will install them anyway, regardless. We are currently replacing all our fire alarms with hard wired fire /CO2 combined alarms as some of our tenants in the past have seen fit to remove the batteries or just not replace them when they go flat.

Incidently, to the LL's..if you still have battery alarms in your properties, it's a good idea to get the tenants to sign something stating they will test the alarm(s) every week and replace batteries as and when. If I remember rightly, there is such an agreement on the Landlordzone website that can be printed off.

Not sure about the absolute legality of it, but at least it will make the tenant aware that their safety is partly in their own hands..

clutton_2

i dont know whether yoru local council private landlord accreditation scheme will provide free smoke alarms if yoru landlord registers with them

tbs624

Maddie wrote: »

If you're in Leeds I know the fire brigade up here do free home fire safety checks & will supply fire alarms free of charge.

I think it's smoke alarms rather than fire alarms that are sometimes provided FOC;)

A LL has no legal obligation to provide smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors unless, as Bungarm says, its an HMO. However, the other exception to this is for properties built after 1992 , which are legally required to be fitted with a basic mains-powered smoke alarm for each floor level.

tbs624

Bungarm2001 wrote: »

Incidently, to the LL's..if you still have battery alarms in your properties, it's a good idea to get the tenants to sign something stating they will test the alarm(s) every week and replace batteries as and when. ..

It's a LL's responsibility to make sure that a provided smoke alarm is in working order and so demonstrating that it works on the day that they move in, then suggesting that a tenant checks it regularly is a good idea, as is checking it if attending for a property inspection. The hard-wired ones should also be tested on a regular basis: some seem able to do this by using their standard cooking skills The hardwired ones also have a back-up battery.

As others have said most good LLs do provide them but if your LL doesn't its probably worth a tenant considering getting their own for their peace of mind.

Bungarm2001

Sorry tbs624, I did mean 'smoke' alarms...;) (having one of those days today! )

We are accredited LL's with all the councils where we have properties, and not all councils insist on the LL fitting smoke and CO2 alarms, but some certainly do. They withdraw your accreditation if you don't. Not exactly 'by law' but if you want to keep the accreditation, you have to comply. We are more than happy to.

One council did provide free combined battery alarms at accreditation, but when we asked for 6, one for each property that was within their area, we were given 4, so what was that all about???

"It's a LL's responsibility to make sure that a provided smoke alarm is in working order and so demonstrating that it works on the day that they move in, then suggesting that a tenant checks it regularly is a good idea, as is checking it if attending for a property inspection. The hard-wired ones should also be tested on a regular basis: some seem able to do this by using their standard cooking skills The hardwired ones also have a back-up battery."

We always do this when we see them in as well as demonstrating that everything else is in working order. We give them the 'tenant awareness' form copy signed by them and us along with a copy of the inventory. Seems like the right thing to do.