23 Feb Carbon Monoxide Safety in Rental Properties

As the leading lettings agent in Virginia Water and the surrounding area, we work closely with our landlords to ensure that they are keeping up to date with all the latest legislation when it comes to the residential lettings sector. The need for landlords to be ever vigilant about changes in their responsibilities is particularly important when it comes to tenant safety.

As a landlord, it is your responsibility to ensure that all tenants are safe. This means fitting your homes with carbon monoxide alarms to protect them from CO poisoning. A lethal level of poisoning can happen quickly and without warning, so it’s important to take every precaution possible to keep your tenants safe.

Remember, if you’re thinking of moving to this area in the new year, take some time to browse our properties for sale in Virginia Water and the surrounding areas. If you have any questions, you can also visit our award-winning website or call us on 01344 843000 and email us.

New Rules

New rules unveiled by the government have been brought in to ensure the safety of tenants in both the private and the social sectors. According to research by Propertymark, more than 20 deaths per year are caused by CO poisoning and many more from housefires; this simple intervention could prevent these unnecessary deaths.

The reforms come as a result of a two-month consultation period and will form part of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015.

The key changes to the rules include smoke alarms now being mandatory in all social rented homes; CO alarms are now mandatory in rooms with a gas appliance – fires/heaters this excludes gas cookers. Carbon Monoxide alarms will also be mandatory when installing any gas heating appliance (again, excluding cookers) and, while regular testing of alarms will be the responsibility of the tenant/resident, landlords will be expected to repair or replace alarms upon being told they’re faulty.

Where can I get a CO Alarm?

Carbon Monoxide is a silent killer and with the number of solid fuel fires being installed in homes increasing, plus the continuing threat of malfunctioning gas boilers functioning alarms are vital for the safety of tenants.

You can buy CO alarms from most DIY stores in the UK and on occasion, local fire stations may offer free smoke and CO alarms.

It’s an area in which you shouldn’t try to cut costs, make sure you have quality products installed correctly; and seeing as your property has to be inspected by a Gas Safe Engineer every year, it is good practice to have your boiler serviced at the same time.

For Our Landlords

We are committed to ensuring that all of our landlords are fully compliant when it comes to tenant safety legislation and so if you need any help with the installation or maintenance of your alarms, make sure you contact us and we can put you in touch with a professional installer.

Get in Touch

If you are thinking of moving to the area or buying a property to rent, make sure you take a look at our amazing catalogue of properties for sale in Virginia Water and the surrounding areas.

If you’d like to speak to someone about properties to let in Virginia Water, a member of our expert team would be happy to help. You can call us on 01344 843000 or email us. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.