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The government has announced new Regulations requiring private landlords in England to install and check smoke alarms and, in some instances, carbon monoxide alarms in their properties from October 2015. With occupants at least four times more likely to die in a fire in a home where there is no working smoke alarm, the measures aim to help prevent up to 26 deaths and 670 injuries a year.

The Regulations will require a smoke alarm on every floor where there is accommodation and also a CO alarm in any habitable rooms with a solid fuel appliance. Local authorities have a duty to serve notice on the landlord if there is a breach of the Regulations and can execute remedial action if necessary and make a penalty charge up to £5,000. The landlord, managing agent or other representative must also check that alarms work at the start of each tenancy – although regular testing will be the tenant’s responsibility – and replace any that do not. With this in mind, the latest generation of 10-year guarantee alarms can help landlords meet their obligations over the longer term, cost-effectively.

New regulations now in force require that all operating cords that form a loop must be made child safe. According to Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (www.rospa.com) 29 children have been strangled by blind cords in recent years. Blinds in all properties should now be child safe. New blinds will be either safe by design, have in built safety systems or be supplied with separate safety systems. Limitations are now placed on cord lengths and safety devices will prevent cords/chains from forming a hazardous loop. Blinds already fitted must also comply. Blind cords should be secured at least 1.5 meters from the floor. The cord should be fixed in a taut position. There are a number of safety devices available that are cheap and easy to fix.
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 Something simple such as a cleat hook, fixed to the wall, can enable to cord to be secured out of reach.
 Chain break connector – many blinds already have these as part of the pulley controls. These break apart when pressure is applied but can be snapped back together each time. These can easily be fitted in a couple of minutes.
 Cord/chain tidy – these can be fixed to the wall so that the cord is taut, high enough to be out of a child’s reach.

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