We will be financially alleviating you.....

We will be financially alleviating you: Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide installations from 1st October 2015.

“Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists has come up with a simple cost effective solution: Adhesive stick on pads.”

The law has passed, and there has already been many comments and posts from membership bodies and various agencies with regards to update information.

It’s good to save lives. Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists has always instinctively recommended to our Landlords and Tenants that working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide dectectors are installed in relevant properties.

These are the new rules as of 1st October 2015 (The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations):
1. Install at least one smoke alarm on each storey of a rental property that is used as living accommodation (also in a stairwell if it’s a walk-up maisonette).

2. Install a carbon monoxide detector in any room that contains a solid fuel appliance which includes coal or wood burning fires and wood burning stoves (homes provided by gas are not covered yet in these rules, but watch this space).

3. Carry out testing to ensure that all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy commencing on 1st October 2015 or thereafter. There is no requirement to check existing alarms in tenancies that are continuing or renewed. The Agent or Landlord should keep evidence of the testing at the start of the Tenancy.

Part of Jeremy Jacob’s gripe on behalf of our Landlords is the accountability placed on a Landlord to ensure they themselves have installed the alarms at the beginning of the tenancy. We were concerned that this had created an artificial cost for our Landlords (especially for those that are not local to their property) at the start of a Tenancy. Estate Agencies are not usually equipped to install such devices (normally by screw driver, drill, screws, use of a ladder etc), and therefore it becomes a cost for a professional to execute. Is this a large enough job for a handy man to execute? This has been our concern. A handy man could therefore charge from £50 plus to install either smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector. Further to this, additional charges are being applied for testing. The devices themselves to purchase can retail for a fraction of the price (e.g. £10.00 - £15.00). As for testing: it requires a push of a button.

Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists has come up with a simple cost effective solution: Adhesive stick on pads. Providing our Landlords are accepting to Jeremy Jacob Letting Specialists placing an adhesive stick-on pad to their walls and ceilings, we have figured out a way to play by the rules and avoid our Landlords being bashed with an arguably and unnecessary/inflated additional cost.

We believe in value(s).