Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 will come into force from the 1st October. It will be mandatory for all landlords and managing agents to ensure that all smoke and CO alarms are properly checked and if not already installed within their properties, then must be done so by the deadline.

A check must be carried out before each new tenancy and a smoke alarm is quite straightforward to ensure that it is in “good working order”. However a CO alarm is not so easy as people may overlook some of the correct procedures.

The main reason is that the alarms have a test button which people will automatically assume is all that is needed to activate for a proper check. This however is a false assumption as the test button only checks whether the battery, buzzer and the electronics are functioning correctly…..and not the gas sensor.

Checking and testing the sensor is the best way to properly ensure that the CO alarm is in working order, this is already mandatory across the USA and must be carried out every 12 months.

 

Sensors have limited life expectancies as John Stones, MD of a Gas Safety Company, explains that they: “....age naturally but can also be unpredictable due to airborne pollutants such as cooking fumes and cigarette smoke.”

He cites that several reports question the reliability of CO alarms and ‘alarmingly’, one report even found that 16% of new CO alarms were not effective in detecting present dangers.

 

At present they are NOT mandatory[exempt in HMO]  but shall be October 2015 . Presently there is proposed draft legislation. At present there is no inference they need to be hardwired. The draft legislation implies battery is minimum standard.

 

The real complexity is in the definition of where they MUST be installed,  as a letting agent non compliance can cause you a problem in that you could fail in a common duty of care to the tenant   We are reviewing the information from HSE and Parliament website –

 

 

Health and Safety Guidance from Lacors [82 page guide]

 

http://www.cieh.org/library/Knowledge/Housing/National_fire_safety_guidance_08.pdf

section 22.2 The type of system to be provided in a particular premises is dependent upon risk. A small single family house will only require a relatively simple provision of smoke alarms. Larger properties will require greater coverage, and large HMOs with a number of detectors will require a more sophisticated system including an integrated control panel and alarm sounders. Virtually all residential premises where people are sleeping will require some form of automatic fire detection and warning system.