The government has announced that it’s launching a review into the requirement for carbon monoxide alarms in homes across England.
The review will address whether alarms should be required for all methods of heating, including gas and oil, the cost of alarms and new research on deaths caused by carbon monoxide.
There has already been a recent formal government consultation specifically into smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in the private rental sector – that process has ended although it appears unlikely that it will trigger any change in the current regulations.
As they stand, regulations require landlords – or agents acting on their behalf – to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their properties on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room wholly or partly used as living accommodation containing a solid fuel burning appliance.
Current guidance also recommends that tenants test these alarms, ideally monthly.
This latest consultation – which will start at an unspecified date later this year – will examine current regulations closely to establish whether they remain fit for purpose.
This will include whether there should be a blanket requirement to install alarms for all methods of heating, including gas and oil. The review will also consider whether the cost of alarms is affecting installation rates and will look at new research into the number of carbon monoxide poisonings.
The announcement follows on-going discussions between ministers at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Eddie Hughes MP, who has called for extending the regulations to cover all social housing tenants and all combustion appliance types.
A separate statement from ARLA says it “will be arguing for government to listen to expertise within the industry and the need for sensible regulations with practical lead in time for installation.”
