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.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarm rules to be Updated
On the 23rd November 2021, the UK Government announced that the rules for domestic smoke and carbon monoxide alarms within all rented accommodation in England are to be amended.
Following parliamentary approval all landlords in both the social and private rented sectors will be required to repair or replace smoke and carbon monoxide alarms once they have been informed that they are faulty. The testing throughout the tenancy will continue to remain the tenant’s responsibility.
The key change to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 will require landlords to ensure that a carbon monoxide alarm is installed in any room of their homes where there is a fixed combustion appliance, including a gas boiler. Where a new fixed combustion appliance is installed a carbon monoxide alarm will be required to be installed by law. Gas cooker appliances are to be excluded from the new rules.