LANDLORDS - SAFETY ISSUES AND LEGISLATION

Our Lettings Team will ensure that all current legislation is met continuously in respect to safety in your property and will fully advise you on the requirements. We can arrange safety testing from reputable local companies and we will be happy to undertake the organisation of the inspections if required. The relevant legislations and requirements are summarised below:

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998

The owner of any gas installation pipe work and gas appliances must ensure that they are safe prior to letting a property. This involves ensuring that a safety check is completed prior to tenant's occupation, and then every twelve months, by a CORGI Registered Engineer who holds the necessary ACOP certification. The certificate/report produced is held by our company on file and a copy is provided to the tenant.

Further information can be found on www.hse.gov.uk/gas/

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1993)

All upholstery and upholstered furnishings, eg sofas, armchairs, mattresses, pillows, supplied as part of the tenancy must comply with current fire resistance standards. Items such as carpets, curtains and bedding are not included and any furniture manufactured prior to 1950 will be exempt providing that they have not been re-upholstered with an illegal filling. Such furnishings must carry the appropriate permanent labels to show that they comply. Any furnishings which do not comply with the regulations must be removed prior to the start of the tenancy.

Electricity

Whilst the legislation for electrical safety is less explicit than that of gas safety and there is no Corgi equivalent for inspection standards, it is nevertheless a statutory duty for Landlords and Agents to ensure that all electrical wiring and equipment present in a rental property is safe for use and maintained adequately. The two main Acts of Parliament that impose a statutory duty on Landlords with respect to the safety of electrical equipment are:

The Consumer Protection Act 1987 The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

There are also several items of secondary legislation under the umbrella of the Consumer Protection act which are directly relevant to the supply of electrical goods, including:

The Low Voltage Electical Equipment Regulations 1989 The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 The General Product Safety Regulations 1994 The Plugs and sockets etc (safety) Regulations 1994

From 1st January 2005, new rules came into force controlling who could carry out certain works on certain electrical installations in a property and the procedures around those works. The regulations state that a 'competent person' has to carry out works in certain areas of a property and these are known as 'notifiable' works. The competent person can 'self certify' the relevant works and has to provide the client and the local authority building control department, with a copy certificate relating to the 'notifiable' works. For further information regarding these regulations, please do not hesitate to contact our Residential Lettings Department. We therefore consider it essential that an electrical safety check is conducted prior to the letting of a property and that a regular inspection programme is implemented.

Oil and Solid Fuel

Although there is no specific legislation which applies to fuels such as oil and solid fuel, we recommend that appliances are serviced regularly to ensure their safety.

Smoke Detectors

Properties built after June 1992 must have mains interlinked smoke detectors on each floor. Older properties do not fall under these regulations, however, we would recommend that a let property have at least one fully operational battery operated detector on each floor as a minimum requirement.

For further information please contact our Lettings & Management Department on: 0121 472 2200 or email: enquiries@britanniapropertyservices.com