Since 1 October 2015, private landlords have been under an obligation to fit both smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their properties. If landlords fail to do so, they risk a fine of up to £5,000.
This change comes at the same time as legislation tightening the rules around service of Notices Requiring Possession under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to tenants occupying under assured shorthold tenancies. Indeed, landlords who do not provide their tenants with Gas Safety and Energy Performance Certificates cannot now use the “no fault” section 21 procedure to evict them.
Landlords must install a smoke alarm on every floor of a property, and in any room where there is a solid fuel burning appliance, a carbon monoxide alarm must be fitted. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has said the alarms will give tenants “the vital seconds needed to escape a fire”.
Homes without smoke alarms account for 38% of fire-related deaths in Great Britain. It is estimated that working smoke alarms could prevent 25 deaths and 700 injuries annually.
As well as installing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, landlords must also ensure that annual gas safety checks are carried out. An engineer listed on the Gas Safe register must check the appliances and landlords must give a record of the check to tenants when they move in, or if they are already in the property, within 28 days.
An Energy Performance Certificate must be provided to tenants, confirming a property’s Energy Efficiency Rating in a band between A (most efficient) and G (least efficient). An Energy Performance Certificate is valid for 10 years.
In the context of the political debate around Generation Rent and the size of the Housing Benefit bill paid to private landlords, the government is demanding ever greater responsibility from property-owners who provide homes for the approximately one-fifth of households which rent privately.