Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015
New regulations require private sector landlords, from 1 October 2015, to have at least one working smoke alarm installed on every storey of their rental property and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room where a solid fuel appliance is used.
A landlord must also make sure that the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy and throughout a tenancy.
Our Private Sector Housing Team are responsible for enforcing these regulations and are required to issue a remedial notice to a landlord where they believe that a property does not have the required smoke and/or carbon monoxide detection. If the landlord fails to comply with the notice, we must if the occupier consents arrange to have the appropriate smoke and/or carbon monoxide detection fitted in default of the notice. We can also issue a landlord with a fixed penalty notice of up to £5,000 where a notice has not been complied.
The council recently approved a fee structure for the fixed penalty notices served in relation to this legislation. Please refer to the Statement of Principles below for further details.
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) has been given a limited supply of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms by the government. Private landlords can request alarms for up to ten properties on the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service website.
See the Q and A Booklet for the Private Sector further information regarding The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015.
For further help and advice, or to refer a rented property without the required smoke or carbon monoxide detection to our private sector housing team, please call 01246 345748 or email: hia@chesterfield.gov.uk
