Safety Regulations

Gas Safety

There are very important obligations placed upon Landlords to ensure that all mains or bottled gas appliances supplied by them in a rented property have a certificate of safety. This means central heating boilers, water heaters, cookers, fires and gas refrigerators and the pipework etc supplying them.

All such appliances must be serviced by an engineer who is registered on the GAS SAFE register for domestic appliance work, following which a safety record in a prescribed format must be obtained and a copy issued to the tenant.

The appliances must be properly maintained and the safety record must be renewed annually - the tenant is entitled to receive an updated copy. Non compliance with the Gas Safety Regulations could result in a heavy fine or imprisonment, or both.

As these provisions apply equally to the managing agent as well as the Landlord, you will understand that we must take a clear stance in this matter to the extent that we are unable to accept and/or retain a property on our books unless, in respect of all appliances, either:-

A current record is already in force OR
The Landlord is obtaining a record which is given to us before we install a tenant OR
The Landlord authorises Castle Estates to take the necessary action and obtain a record by one of our authorised maintenance personnel.

The landlord is also responsible for ensuring that all electrical appliances supplied in the accommodation are safe for use. Since 1.1.05 most work carried out on the electrical system must be certified under Part P Building Regulations. The property must have a valid EICR Certificate isssued by a Registered electrician prior to being let. We can arrange for the necessary electrical inspections to be carried out on your behalf and further advice on this important issue is outlined in one of our Landlord fact-sheets and is available on request.

SAFETY TIP: Ensure all the operating manuals and safety instructions for appliances are available at the property for the tenants' reference and guidance.

Smoke Detectors

The law requires that all new houses built after June 1992 and all properties declared as Houses in Multiple Occupation must have electronically linked, mains operated smoke detectors installed on each floor. Although older properties are exempt from this requirement, we strongly recommend that smoke detectors be installed on each floor in all rental properties.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors (CO)

It is very strongly recommended that a carbon monoxide detector be installed in any area where there is a gas fired boiler.

Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amended) Regulations 1998 require that all upholstered furniture and furnishings in rented properties pass the "cigarette test".

If any property is found not to comply the landlord faces fines or imprisonment, or both.

Any Landlord placing a property on the rental market MUST comply with these regulations immediately, and any furniture not complying MUST be removed BEFOREthe tenancy commences.

Similarly, if any items in a property subject to an existing rental are replaced, either during a tenancy or a void period, then those replacement items must continue to satisfy the requirements of these important Regulations. Generally, most furniture purchased from reputable suppliers after March 1990 should comply with the regulations and will be labelled accordingly.

Further advice on this issue is outlined in one of our Landlord factsheets and is available on request.

PRODUCTS COVERED BY THE FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS REGULATIONS

Furniture intended for private use in a dwelling, including children's furniture
Beds, headboards, mattresses
Sofa-bed, futons and other convertibles
Nursery furniture
Garden furniture which is suitable for use in a dwelling
Pillows, cushions and seat-pads
Loose and stretch covers for furniture

PRODUCTS NOT COVERED BY THE REGULATIONS