On 1st October 2015 the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 came into force. From that date, private rented sector landlords have been required to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every floor of their properties and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room where solid fuel is used.
The new rules make the provision of both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors compulsory, but don’t explicitly state exactly where landlords should site them. At present the legislation dictates that a landlord must ensure:
- “a smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of the premises on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation”
- “a carbon monoxide alarm is equipped in any room of the premises which is used wholly or partly as living accommodation and contains a solid fuel burning combustion appliance”
This allows you to calculate the amount of detectors required relative to the types of rooms on each floor, but fails to give guidance as to the exact placement or the type of smoke detector. Basically, landlords must ensure that alarms are provided and working, but routine maintenance and testing then falls to the occupants of the property. Should the alarms develop a fault or expire it remains the responsibility of a landlord to replace them.
