Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations Are Changing

New smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations will come in place on 1 October 2022, with all rented properties in England having to comply. Housing Industry Leaders outlines the key changes.

Replacing the previous regulations from 2015, The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022, bring some key changes for all private and registered social housing landlords.

Now, smoke alarms will be mandatory in private and social rented homes and carbon monoxide alarms will be required to be fitted in rooms within properties that have fixed combustion appliances such as gas boilers or fires.

Each Storey Of A House Must Now Be Equipped

Landlords must now ensure that they equip each storey of a house, used as a living accommodation with a smoke alarm, make sure that any room with a fixed combination appliance must also contain a carbon monoxide alarm (this excludes gas cookers), and repair and replace both smoke and carbon monoxide alarms if informed that they are faulty.

It is said that these changes do not include a transition period, so landlords must act and complete any required changes before 1 October 2022, to avoid non-compliance and fines of up to £5,000 per breach.

In addition to this, landlords are being advised to choose alarms that are best suited to the location where they will be installed.

Testing The Smoke Alarms Must Happen Often

The new regulation does not specify whether the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed should be mains or battery operated, but smoke alarms should be British Standard 5839-6 compliant and carbon monoxide alarms should be British Standard 50291 compliant.

There is a responsibility for testing being highlighted, with tenants being asked to carry out tests themselves and inform landlords of any issues.

Though testing alarms is a straightforward process, landlords can be requested to provide instructions on the process of testing alarms, including how often they must be tested.