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Here is some
advice for the many Landlords with rented properties in the Ware, Hoddesdon and
Hertford regions which have Gas Boilers and Appliances.
As from October 2015 Landlords will be required by law to
install working smoke and carbon
monoxide alarms in their properties, under measures announced
by Housing Minister Brandon Lewis on the 11th March 2015. The move will
help prevent up to 26 deaths and 670 injuries a year.
This measure comes with strong support after a
consultation on property condition in the private rented sector and
is part of wider government moves to ensure there are sufficient measures
in place to protect public safety, while at the same time avoiding regulation
which would push up rents and restrict the supply of homes, limiting choice for
tenants.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:
In
1988 just 8% of homes had a smoke alarm installed – now it’s over 90%.
The vast majority of landlords offer a good service and have
installed smoke alarms in their homes, but I’m changing the law to ensure every
tenant can be given this important protection.
But with working smoke alarms providing the vital seconds needed
to escape a fire, I urge all tenants to make sure they regularly test their
alarms to ensure they work when it counts. Testing regularly remains the
tenant’s responsibility.
Communities Minister Stephen Williams said:
We’re
determined to create a bigger, better and safer private rented sector – a key
part of that is to ensure the safety of tenants with fire prevention and carbon monoxide warning.
People are at least 4 times more likely to die in a fire in the
home if there’s no working smoke alarm.
That’s why we are proposing changes to the law that would
require landlords to install working smoke alarms in their properties so
tenants can give their families and those they care about a better chance of
escaping a fire.
Ensuring
the safety of tenants
The proposed changes to the law would require landlords to
install smoke alarms on every floor of their property, and test them at the
start of every tenancy.
Landlords would also need to install carbon monoxide alarms
in high risk rooms – such as those where a solid fuel heating system is
installed.
Those who fail to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms would
face sanctions and could face up to a £5,000 civil penalty.
This would bring private rented properties into line with
existing building regulations that already require newly-built homes to have
hard-wired smoke alarms installed.
And it’s in line with other measures the government has taken to
improve standards in the private rented sector, without wrapping the industry
up in red tape.
I believe this to be a great step forward in the private rented
sector and as an agency will be ensuring all our properties with Gas Boilers
and appliances have the Carbon Monoxide Alarms fitted before the October
deadline.
My thoughts
on the local Property rental market can always be found on my blog but if
you would like some specific advice please feel free to pop into our High
Street office in Stanstead Abbotts or give us a call.
"Your local property experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"
I have been in and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property management companies in the country”
