
We recently brought you the news that, after six years in the waiting, Welsh Government will implement the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 on 15th July 2022.
Alongside a raft of other changes, for the first time in Wales, the Act introduces the requirement for carbon monoxide alarms.
The requirement for carbon monoxide alarms comes from the new Fitness of Homes for Human Habitation (FFHH) element of the legislation. It states one is required in each room containing a gas appliance, an oil-fired combustion appliance or a solid fuel burning combustion appliance.
This includes rooms with gas boilers and/or gas cookers, which is a notable difference to the rules currently in place in England.
Smoke alarms are normally placed on ceilings because heat and smoke rises, but this isn’t necessarily the best place to install carbon monoxide alarms as the concentration of the gas could reach dangerous levels before reaching ceiling height. As such, carbon monoxide alarms are usually installed lower than smoke alarms.
Landlords will be required to ensure each alarm remains in proper working order, which includes noting its expiry date. Carbon monoxide sensors are typically more fragile than those within smoke alarms, so usually need to be replaced more regularly.
Carbon monoxide cannot be seen, smelt nor tasted, but it can injure and kill quickly, so the worst case scenario speaks for itself.
Additionally, the legislation states that a property will be deemed unfit for human habitation if there isn’t a carbon monoxide alarm installed in a room which requires one, and rent will not be payable by the tenant for the unfit period.
Unlike smoke alarms and electrical safety certificates, which landlords are given a grace period to arrange in some cases, carbon monoxide alarms will be required as soon as the Act comes in, so by 15th July 2022.
We will, of course, ensure that the clients for whom we manage properties are fully compliant with the new legislation. We'll be in touch with all our managed clients once we've established the most sensible, cost-effective route to compliance.
Want to know more? Head on over to the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 or Welsh Government’s accompanying guidance.