Posts with tag: fire safety

ARLA want smoke alarm regulations delayed

Published On: September 18, 2015 at 10:45 am

Tags: ARLA,fire safety,smoke alarm regulations

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 1^st 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 1^st 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]

ARLA want smoke alarm regulations delayed

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 1^st 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

Delay in smoke alarm legislation slammed

Published On: September 9, 2015 at 2:46 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: fire safety,fire safety legislation,smoke alarms

Landlords across the UK have slammed the Government for what they perceive as unnecessary delays in the introduction of legislation which will make it compulsory to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in rented accommodation.

Delays

Early in 2015, draft regulations were drawn up making it a requirement for private sector landlords to install at least one smoke alarm on every floor of their property from 1^st October. This is to give local authorities greater power to fine landlords who fail to adhere to the new rules up to £5,000.

Yesterday, the House of Lords rejected the draft legislation at its last stage, stating that with the proposed introduction less than three weeks away, the Government has not done enough to inform landlords of the changes. In addition, the legislation was found to be poorly worded.

The British Property Federation, which represents landlords and is a supporter of the legislation, has warned that when the changes are finally approved, landlords will be left with just days to comply, leaving them more susceptible to being fined.

Disappointed

Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation, said, ‘we have been fully supportive of the campaign to make smoke alarms compulsory in private rented properties and are therefore extremely disappointed to see this unnecessary delay in proceedings.’[1]

Delay in smoke alarm legislation slammed

‘The original timeframe for the legislation was tight, but allowing time for a further debate in the Lords is going to make this even worse. Coupled with the fact that there has been no publicity on the changes, we are worried that many landlords are going to be caught out by the fine as a result of government’s disorganisation and lack of clarity,’ Fletcher continued.[1]

Concluding, Fletcher said, ‘it is particularly frustrating that one of the reasons that this revocation has happened is because the introduction is worded poorly, as there has been no consultation on this.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/delay-in-smoke-alarm-legislation-puts-landlords-at-risk-of-5k-fine.html

Warning to take fire safety seriously

Published On: September 3, 2015 at 9:47 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: fire,fire safety,fire safety regulations

Letting agents and property managers of blocks of flats with fire doors are being warned over their fire safety responsibilities.

The warning has come in the lead up to Fire Door Safety Week, which is taking place from September 14-20.

Fatal

‘The rates of fire deaths and casualties are reducing, but there are still an average of 25 fatalities or injuries from building fires every day,’ said Hannah Mansell, spokesperson for Fire Door Safety Week. ‘Fire doors are a crucial first line of defence in many of these fires, and yet they remain a significant area of neglect,’ he continued.[1]

Mansell went on to say, ‘ten years on from a new law being introduced, fire door failure is still a consistent feature of prosecutions. Just this year alone we know of hundreds of thousands of pounds of fines and prison sentences for people who have failed to meet their fire safety responsibilities.’[2] She claims that the organisation finds faults in fire doors in privately rented accommodation far too frequently.

Safety

Sponsors of fire safety week include the National Landlords Association and the Federation of Private Residents’ Association.

Warning to take fire safety seriously

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order of 2005, employers or people who are known to have control over a premises are permitted to carry out fire risk assessments and to subsequently act accordingly. This person is known as the responsible person.

A full fire risk assessment should highlight actions that need to be taken to ensure the building is sufficiently permitted from fire. This assessment must be reviewed annually and amended as soon as changes are made to a building.

Despite this, the organisers of Fire Door Safety Week have said that since the act was introduced in 2005, there has been a continual stream of prosecutions against property owners, landlords and letting agents.

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/agents-and-property-managers-must-take-fire-threat-seriously

Landlords urged to be savvy on new fire legislation

Published On: July 23, 2015 at 2:44 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: carbon monoxide,fire safety,fire safety legislation

Landlords are being urged to make sure that they implement new fire safety measures in their property, to ensure they are ready for new legislation, which comes in later in the year.

Calls

Townends Estate Agents has called for landlords to be compliant with legislation relating to smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, ahead of changes coming into force from 10^th October.

Under this new legislation, all landlords in the privately rented sector in Britain will be permitted to install smoke alarms on each floor of their rental properties. Landlords will also be required to test these alarms at the start of each tenancy.

Carbon monoxide alarms will also have to be included in high-risk rooms, for example those that contain a fuel burning combustion appliance. All landlords in breach of these regulations could face a penalty of £5,000 for breach of duty.[1]

Landlords urged to be savvy on new fire legislation

Safety

Managing Director of Townends Estate Agents Caroline Kavanagh said, ‘letting a property should be viewed as a business and landlords have a duty of care to ensure the safety of their tenants, just as an employer would their employees.’ She said their her company, ‘fully support the introduction of this ruling and want to make it as easy as possible for all our landlords to be fully compliant as soon as possible. Landlords should view this as an opportunity to demonstrate their professionalism through thorough due diligence and put themselves one step ahead.’[2]

‘We understand that landlords often feel their list of obligations is ever growing and many find it a challenge keeping up with the number of requirements affecting landlords,’ Kavanagh continued. She believes that, ‘sufficient knowledge of current legislation is imperative and with over 40% of fire related deaths occurring in properties without working smoke alarms, every landlord should want to treat their rental property with the same precautionary measures as they would their own home.’[3]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/landlords-urged-to-implement-new-fire-regulations.html

Student landlord faces jail following fire safety breaches

Published On: July 10, 2015 at 2:51 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: fire risk assessment,fire safety,student landlord

A student landlord from Bristol has been given a suspended jail sentence, following a breach of numerous fire safety regulations.

Garreth Wilson’s neglect towards legislation was first revealed in 2012, when students in the property had to be rescued following a fire. Mr Wilson was then found guilty of breaching fire safety law, but after another inspection a few months later, Avon Fire and Rescue found that sufficient safety measures had still not been introduced

Neglect

Mr Wilson’s breaches of fire regulations included:

insufficient written fire risk assessment
inadequate fire escape routes
no self-closing fire doors
non-maintenance of fire safety equipment

In court, Mr Wilson admitted to a further three breaches of legislation and as a result was given another three months suspended sentence, to go with the four months he had previously been issued.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service’s head of technical fire safety group manager Matt Peskett, said, ‘we are satisfied with the outcome of this case and that the sentence reflects the severity of the charges. As the responsible person for the property, Mr Wilson had a duty to ensure the safety of those living in the accommodation. Without adequate fire safety measures lives were put at risk.’[1]

Student landlord faces jail following fire safety breaches

‘Part of the role of the fire and rescue service is to enforce the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and ensure all business premises and public places comply so people are safe when inside,’ Peskett added.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/7/suspended-sentence-for-student-landlord