With an expected absence of any detail, the Communities and Local Government Minister, Penny Mordaunt announced yesterday at the LGA Fire Conference the intention of the government to enforce PRS landlords to install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in their rented properties. It is not clear if this will apply across the board or just to licensed HMOs and she did not say in her speech when this regulation will come in to force.
Here is that part of her speech relating to this:
“I am pleased to be able to announce today that following the consideration of responses to the public discussion paper on Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector we are introducing regulations requiring private sector landlords to install smoke alarms on each storey of their property, carbon monoxide alarms in the rooms considered most at risk from high levels of carbon monoxide and to check the alarms are in working order at the start of any new tenancy.
To aid this we will be providing additional one-off funding to fire and rescue authorities this financial year to enable them to support landlords in the transition to complying with these new regulations.
We estimate the regulations will result in up to 36 fewer fatalities and 1,529 fewer injuries over a 10 year period.
Alongside this targeted regulation for carbon monoxide alarms the government intends to pursue non-regulatory alternatives to encourage installation of carbon monoxide alarms in all private rented sector properties.”