Are carbon monoxide sensors a legal requirement in tenanted properties?

My understanding (sorry, can’t find the source) is that the Landlord is responsible for providing a smoke alarm, but the tenant is responsible for testing it and replacing the battery.

Reply to the comment left by "Lima7 Seven" at "02/02/2014 - 12:11":

If it were the case, the council would have to provide them.

A friend of mine in a council property had much difficulty getting the council to fork out a fiver for a 9v battery smoke alarm, they certainly would not extend themselves to provide a CO alarm !!!!

... I think it should be mandatory, especially for councils, to provide both to tenants.

Apologises for taking the thread on a tangent here, but what do people think about LLs providing fire extinguishers and fire blankets to their tenants?

I think providing of fire extinguishers to tenants are a big no no - however I would like to have tenants as safe as possible and also I want my investment to be as safe as possible, therefore providing a fire extinguisher would do both these things as well as potentially reduce the damage caused by a fire.

If fire extinguishers are a no no, then can the LL request that the tenant purchases one? Should a LL provide a fire blanket as an alternative?

Reply to the comment left by "Christopher Browne" at "03/02/2014 - 00:26":

The best thing anybody can do in the event of a fire is to get out. Even with proper training, use of a fire extinguisher can be incredibly dangerous, never mind using them without training.
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Hi Chris,

In reverse order your question about fire extinguishers and blankets is a split decision. The fire blanket is simple, cheap and easy to use, needs no maintenance or training and will tend to contain a small fire on the hob before it gets out of hand. So yes a good idea particularly as the resident may well be able to contain the fire and save you a lot of time and money.

Fire extinguishers are a different story. They are expensive, require regular inspection and I have to say probably need training to operate properly. If it goes wrong and fails to work or the tenant can't use it and gets hurt then you have taken on a liability. So no, tell the resident to leave and call the Fire Brigade.

Your question on insurance is really very serious for landlords particularly where they are in long tenure chains or there are lots of parties in the deal. A few minutes working out what your duties are will clarify in your mind your possible liabilities.

Even if you are a leasehold landlord the owners insurance will not pay out if you have been negligent. It is not true to say that risks can't be insured twice, however the insurances will not pay more than the actual loss unless there are explicit terms to the contrary.

So you certainly do need to have liability insurance for all foreseeable risks, a good broker will advise and put together a package for you, probably for no cost.

And finally, the original question, just because it isn't in law yet doesn't you shouldn't fit a CO detector. Boilers do fail and sometimes suddenly and catastrophically. How would you feel if your tenants were poisoned by your boiler.

Having been involved peripherally with CO poisoning cases I can tell you that this is a life changing experience for those who are responsible even if they don't face any actual charges.

So my advice is to put a detector in every room with a boiler and get any hidden flues checked as well. It's easy to get your Gas Safe Inspector to do the checks on the detectors and change all the detector batteries at the same time, it will only add £20 to the cost and it's a real worry taken care of.

Hi John,

Thanks very much for all that info - very good to hear those nuggets of info - I would never have known or been aware of much of that.

Just for clarity, I wasn't suggesting tenants should be fire fighters and I completely appreciate vacating the property if on fire should be the first priority. My only thoughts were a fire extinguisher provided by a landlord could assist with this process potentially. Also I thought maybe a tenant would feel re-assured that a landlord takes their safety seriously and so invests in a fire extinguisher for them.

I realise its a non-starter though to provide fire extinguishers now! Which is potentially a shame as they could potentially be a life saving bit of kit.

Hi

I install them in all my properties the law changed recently with all new installation's of boiler There must be a carbon monoxide if this is not done the fitter and you are held responsible plus building control wont pass the installation.

If something terrible happened they would be plenty of people trying to blame someone.

I do the smoke and CO2 meters and tell tenants to check them and change batteries, not sure any ever did.

On fire blankets, the local council laid down specifications for the fire alarm in a BTL flat I have (way over the top, burn toast in one flat and get 110 db in all the others), amongst all this I had to improve the fire doors and provide a fire blanket.

It is covered in LACORS, just best practice but to flout such recommendations is foolhardy.