Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week
From 18th to 24th November 2024, we are proud to support Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week. This annual campaign highlights the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and underscores the critical importance of compliance with the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
As the colder months approach, and with the ongoing pressures of rising energy costs, understanding and adhering to these regulations is essential to protecting lives and ensuring properties are safe and compliant.
Dealing with Chimneys in Rented Property: Requirements for Landlords and Letting Agents
Maintaining a safe and habitable property is a fundamental responsibility for Landlords and letting agents in England.
One key aspect of this maintenance, which is sometimes overlooked, involves chimneys and flues in rented properties. Ensuring they are in safe working order is not only vital for tenant safety but also a legal requirement under several pieces of legislation.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms become compulsory from 1 October 2022
New Regulations state, that all rented properties in England must provide a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms used as living accommodation where there is a fixed combustion appliance, such as gas heaters and boilers, from the beginning of October 2022.
The amended rules (Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022) include a new requirement to ensure when a tenant reports to the landlord or letting agent that an alarm may not be in proper working order, the alarm must be repaired or replaced.
The Draft Statutory Instrument was laid before Parliament on 11 May 2022 and once approved will come into force on 1 October 2022.
The Fire Safety Act 2021
The government has announced the commencement of the Fire Safety Act 2021 from 16 May 2022 in England and Wales. The Act clarifies which parts of residential buildings apply under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), and who is responsible for maintaining fire safety for these areas.
The Fire Safety Act 2021
The new Fire Safety Act 2021 amendment affects buildings containing more than one home, and clarifies that the FSO applies to the structure and external walls, and all doors between the domestic and common parts of the property, which windows, balconies, cladding, insulation and fixings and any common parts, as well as all doors between homes and common areas.