The Association of Residential Letting Agents has become the latest organisation to raise concerns over the upcoming Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations.
Passed officially by Parliament, the regulations come into effect on the 1st October. However, ARLA believes that this simply isn’t enough time for landlords and letting agents to fully comply with the regulations.
Concern
‘Whilst ARLA is entirely supportive of the aims of the regulations, we remain concerned that the Government has ignored calls from across the private rented sector to reconsider the timeframe for its implementation,’ said ARLA managing director David Cox.[1]
‘Following final scrutiny of the measures yesterday in the House of Lords, landlords have until the 1st October 2015 to ensure that all tenancies have a smoke alarm fitted on every floor of their property where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. They will also be required to put a carbon monoxide alarm in any room where a solid fuel is burnt.[1]’
Cox acknowledges that these measures are completely sensible, but said that, ‘ARLA is concerned that landlords will not have enough time to comply with the requirements, as it is simply impracticable for letting agents, who may manage a huge amount of properties, to gain access to the properties and to install these alarms on behalf of their clients in the time frame allotted.’[1]
Issues
ARLA has written to the Government to outline its concerns. Cox said that the organisation believes, ‘all existing tenancies should be allowed to have until 1st January 2016 to comply.’ He went on to say that, ‘we were encouraged to see that Lord Marlesford showed support for our proposals in Parliament and again put our suggestion to the Government.’[1]
‘However, despite our efforts it appears that the Government will now go ahead and implement the new requirements as planned. We urge our members to ensure that they do all they can to ensure that their properties comply with the new regulations before the measures come into effect,’ he concluded.[1]
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/arla-calls-for-smoke-alarm-rule-to-be-delayed