If you rent out a property, you have a legal responsibility to ensure your tenants are safe in their home. Fire damage, gas leaks and burglaries can cause irreparable damage but compliance with safety regulations can easily prevent this.
That’s why Kings Lettings have created this guide for landlords that tells you exactly how to protect your tenants while they occupy your rental property.
FIRE SAFETY ASSESSMENTS
It is recommended that you carry out a fire safety assessment on every property you are responsible for before you acquire new tenants. Following this, each assessment should be reviewed every 2 years and updated every 4 years.
This will help you determine which measures are already in place to keep your tenants safe, and what needs to be updated.
You can use the Institute of Fire Engineers’ Fire Risk Assessors Register to find a competent Fire Risk Assessor local to your area.
FIRE AND CARBON MONOXIDE REGULATIONS
Fire and carbon monoxide leaks can cause devastating damage to the lives of your tenants.
That is why landlords must:
- Provide a smoke alarm on every floor of the rental property
- Install a smoke alarm in any room with a solid fuel burning appliance such as a fireplace or wood burning stove
- Make sure furniture and carpets are fire safety compliant
- Check that escape routes are accessible at all times
- Provide fire alarms and extinguishers if the property is a large HMO (house in multiple occupation)
- Install fire doors in HMOs
- Ensure their landlord insurance policy covers the cost of repairs after a fire, as well as alternative accommodation for their tenants while the repairs take place
GAS SAFETY
How to comply with gas safety regulations:
- Gas equipment supplied by a landlord must be safely installed and maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Your registered engineer must do an annual safety check on every gas appliance and flue
- A copy of the gas safety check records must be given to tenants before they move into the property, and within 28 days of each check
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
When conducting electrical safety checks, landlords must make sure that:
- Electrical systems are safe. This includes all sockets, switches and electrical fittings
- Any appliances they supply are safe for use, such as cookers, fridges and washing machines
- Their property has an electrical installation condition report (EICR) completed every 5 years
SECURE DOORS AND LOCKS
It is a landlord’s responsibility to provide their tenants with a secure home.
This means:
- Doors should be fitted with the correct lock. This differs depending on the type of door, for example, wooden doors should be fitted with a 5-lever mortice lock to avoid burglary
- HMOs must be fitted with rim cylinder latches/turn knobs on the inside that are easily openable in the case of a fire
- Doors must be certified to PAS 24 to avoid ‘lock bumping’
- You should instal modern UPVC windows with key locks
Although it is not a legal requirement, you could consider installing external lighting and video doorbells to deter burglars, and make your tenants feel safer in their home.
If you are still uncertain about how to keep your tenants safe, please feel free to get in touch or visit our guide that explains how to prepare your property to let. Alternatively, visit our landlord FAQs to unlock further advice on becoming a landlord with Kings Lettings.
KINGS LETTINGS, 103 HIGH STREET, MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE, SL6 1JX
Lettings and property management offices in London, Reading, Maidenhead, Staines & Windsor.
T: +44 (0)16 2863 2188 | E: MAIDENHEAD@KINGS-LETTINGS.CO.UK
