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More criticism for upcoming fire legislations
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Yet more criticism has been levelled at the upcoming Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, which are scheduled to come into force on October 1st.
Charity Electrical Safety First said that the upcoming legislations are flawed, as they do not provide information on electrical safety for tenants.
Safety
The regulations will see landlords permitted to install smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms in all of their rental properties. Phil Buckle, director general of Electrical Safety First said, ‘while we applaud any safety improvements for the PRS, we have been extremely disappointed that electrical safety has not included in these new regulations.’[1]
Electrical Safety First believe that electricity is responsible for almost half of all domestic fires in the UK, which cost around £1bn each year. The charity states that electricity-related incidents in Britain kill one person per week and seriously injure an average of 350,000 people per year.
‘Given the huge expansion in the PRS, where a third of properties fail to meet basic standards, concerns around electrical safety can only increase. So we were deeply concerned when our call for regular electrical checks in privately rented accommodation was omitted from these new regulations,’ Buckle added.[1]
More criticism for upcoming fire legislations
Checks
The charity has called for mandatory, five year electrical checks of the installation of electrical equipment in all privately rented accommodation. In addition, it has called for the introduction of Residual Current Devices, which help to prevent a fatal electric-shock to be installed in all private rented sector homes.
Previously, the charity campaigned successfully for mandatory electrical safety checks in PRS homes to be included in the Scottish Housing Bill. It says it is now looking to extend this protection to tenants in Wales and England.
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/charity-criticises-incoming-fire-safety-regulations
