ARLA has urged housing minister Brandon Lewis to reconsider the time period in which landlords will have to comply with the requirement to install smoke alarms on each floor of every property, and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with solid fuel appliances.
Managing director David Cox said that the draft Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 could kick in for new tenancies on October 1, but that there should be a deadline of January 1 for all other tenancies.
ARLA’s intervention follows the muddle in the House of Lords, where a committee of peers expressed their concerns about the realistic timing of the implementation and refused to rubber-stamp the draft Regulations – with three weeks to go before the scheduled implementation. They raised a number of concerns, including the short deadline, whether landlords and agents were aware, and whether the requirement should be extended to the social housing sector.
The matter will now return to a full sitting of the Lords for discussion next week.
In a letter to Lewis, Cox underlines: “We fully support the principle that all tenants should benefit and expect a working smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in their property.”
Cox suggests:
- All new tenancies from 1 October 2015 should comply with the regulations as drafted;
- However, all existing tenancies should be allowed to have until 1 January 2016 to comply. This, says Cox, is not to allow landlords the ability to shirk their responsibilities, but rather to ensure that it is practically possible to buy and install alarms in time; especially for letting agents who need to ensure compliance across their large portfolios of rented homes.
- Cox also proposes amending the Regulations so that landlords must make sure the alarms are tested either a fortnight prior or post the start of each new tenancy. For example, a tenancy commencing on 1 November 2015, testing must take place between 18 October and 15 November 2015. He says this allows some leeway for those landlords that have multiple properties and agents who can be managing multiple check-ins on the same day.
Besides the fact that tenants should probably be the ones looking after their own safety, this deadline still looks troublesome. Portfolio landlords will be sweating getting their properties compliant. No doubt the government will start issuing fines on the 2nd October despite dilly-dallying up to now!
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So Cox has suggested testing 2 weeks before the start of a tenancy. This will add extra visits for the agent/landlords and is unnecessary. Perhaps he is seeking a job in Government! An agent might choose to do this so it does not delay the start of a tenancy or they may choose to test it when the inventory is taken or updated, but a set period will further complicate matters unnecessarily.
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Oh yes ? and who precisely is going to be doing the checking on behalf of the authorities ?
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We have worked hard to get most of our properties compliant already. We cant just do it in a week or two its taken a few months to process and book in etc. A two week window from a date of a tenant moving in is a good idea.
A better idea would be that tenants are responsible for installing their own smoke alarms/co and looking after themselves if they wish.
I know when I was a tenants/student I had a pack of smoke alarms and put them in wherever I was staying and took them with me. In my own home now I have bought smoke and co alarms. Its called taking personal responsibility.
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