Alarm complaints are usually quick to resolve, and they're safety-critical, so they should be.
What the regulations require
Under regulation 4 of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended from 1 October 2022, a private landlord must ensure that:
- a smoke alarm is installed on each storey of the property on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation;
- a carbon monoxide alarm is installed in any room used wholly or partly as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance (gas cookers are excluded);
- the alarms are checked and in working order on the first day of each new tenancy;
- when told an alarm may be faulty, the landlord repairs or replaces it as soon as reasonably practicable.
Local authorities enforce the regulations and can impose a penalty.
Common points of dispute
- A missing carbon monoxide alarm in a room with a boiler or wood burner (a common gap after the 2022 changes).
- An alarm reported as faulty and not replaced promptly.
- No evidence of the check on the first day of the tenancy.
Records to pull
- The check-in record or inventory showing alarms tested on day one.
- When a fault was reported and when it was fixed.
- Where alarms are fitted, and which rooms have fixed combustion appliances.
Answering it
Confirm what's fitted and where, when it was last tested, and what was done about any reported fault, with dates. If something is missing, fit it and say when.
Casebriar separates a tenant complaint into its issues, checks the legal claims it covers against legislation.gov.uk and lists the records you’ll need. It’s in a free pilot with letting agents in England.
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