Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
-It is a legal requirement for all rental properties in England to adhere to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2022. All landlords should fully understand these regulations, and you or your agent must ensure alarms are in place. Smoke alarms must be installed on every storey of the property where there is a room used as living accommodation. The alarms must be checked and working on the first day of a new tenancy. Any landlord found to be in breach could be fined up to £5,000.
Carbon monoxide alarms must be installed and working in any room which contains a fixed combustion appliance. This includes appliances powered by gas, oil, coal or wood but excludes gas cookers.
Electrical safety obligations
-Any electrical items you have provided in your rental property must continue to be safe throughout the tenancy. As well as all appliances, you must also ensure all electrical systems such as sockets, switches and light fittings are safe.
It is a legal requirement for landlords to carry out electrical safety inspections for all new and existing tenancies.
Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs) must be carried out at least every five years by a competent contractor. After an inspection, you must provide a copy of the inspection document to your Tenants. When a new tenancy starts you must give a copy of the most recent inspection to the tenants. For new builds or where the property has been completely rewired, an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) can be used instead. The reports are valid for up to 5 years.
Gas safety checks for landlords
-Research has shown that more than one in three private landlords are not aware of their responsibility to get gas appliances checked. New and existing tenants must be supplied with an annual gas safety certificate where the boiler and any gas appliances have been checked by a qualified gas safe engineer.
Legionella
-Legionnaires’ disease is an infection like pneumonia, commonly caused by inhaling small droplets of water contaminated with Legionella bacteria. Landlords must assess and control the risk of tenant's exposure to Legionella. Control measures include:
Flushing out the water system before letting the property
Ensuring cold water tanks have a tight lid to stop debris from getting into the system
Setting control parameters to ensure water is stored at the correct temperature
Removing unused pipework
You should inform your tenants about control measures they can take. These could include cleaning showerheads or running all the taps for five minutes if they've been away. Tell them to let you or your agent know if problems occur with the water system, or if the water's not heating properly.
Records should be kept of any legionella assessments and plan follow up checks to be carried out periodically.
Furniture and Furnishings
-The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery. All furnishings should pass the 'smouldering cigarette' and 'match flame' resistance test and carry a label confirming this.
Generally, items manufactured in the UK after 1990 meet the required standards and display the appropriate permanent label confirming compliance. If items do not comply, they should be removed from the property before it's let unless they are deemed an exemption, e.g. furniture manufactured before 1950.
