Information for landlords and tenants

Landlord Responsibilities

As a Landlord (this includes those renting privately as well as offering holiday lets) by law you must ensure that:

• Your property has at least one smoke alarm on every level of the property and these must be tested at the start of each new tenancy.
• A carbon monoxide alarm is present in all rooms that contain a solid fuel burning appliance (e.g open fire or wood burning stove).

More information can be found here: The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015: Q&A booklet for the private rented sector – landlords and tenants.

The requirements will be enforced by local authorities who can impose a fine of up to £5,000 where a landlord fails to comply with a remedial notice.

Landlords are also required to:

• Ensure any provided gas appliances, including boilers and gas cookers are checked by a Gas Safe registered gas fitter every year
• Ensure any provided electrical appliances must carry the British Safety Standard sign
• Ensure any provided furnishings are fire resistant and meet safety regulations
• Any gas and electrical appliances that are provided to tenants should have safety certificates dating when they were last checked

Tenant Information

As a tenant you are responsible for testing your smoke alarms regularly, we recommend weekly. For more information about keeping yourself safe from fire in the home read the Fire Safety in the Home booklet (also available in other languages).

Should the property you are renting not have the required smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors fitted you should request these to be fitted by your Landlord. If they do not action this request as soon as is practically possible then you should contact the local housing authority for your area. They are responsible for enforcing the regulations. They will be able to issue a remedial notice requiring a landlord to fit and/or test the alarms within 28 days. Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to £5000 for the Landlord.