Agent helps landlords prepare for the latest fire safety regulations.

Townends Estate Agents is urging landlords to implement new fire regulations now to ensure they are compliant before the new legislation, relating to smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, comes into force on 10th October 2015.  Townends’ Home Safety Kits, which go beyond basic requirements, give landlords the reassurance they are fully compliant, avoiding a heavy penalty and offering tenants greater peace of mind.

Under the new legislation, all landlords in the private rental sector across the UK will be required to install smoke alarms on every floor of their rental properties and test them at the start of every tenancy. Carbon monoxide alarms must also be installed in all high risk rooms – such as those which contain a solid fuel burning combustion appliance. Landlords failing to meet the new regulations could face a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for breach of duty.

Caroline Kavanagh, Managing Director of Townends Estate Agents, comments: “Letting a property should be viewed as a business and landlords have a duty of care to ensure the safety of their tenants, just as an employer would their employees. We fully support the introduction of this ruling and want to make it as easy as possible for all of our landlords to be fully compliant as soon as possible. Landlords should view this as an opportunity to demonstrate their professionalism through thorough due diligence and put themselves one step ahead.”

Townends’ Home Safety Kit ensures adequate precautions are provided for landlords and includes smoke alarms, a carbon monoxide alarm, a fire blanket and fire extinguisher.

“We understand that landlords often feel their list of obligations is ever growing and many find it a challenge keeping up with the number of requirements affecting landlords. However, sufficient knowledge of current legislation is imperative and with over 40% of fire related deaths occurring in properties without working smoke alarms, every landlord should want to treat their rental property with the same precautionary measures as they would their own home” concludes Caroline Kavanagh.

 

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

how to present your property for sale
Breaking News

Property values hit £300k for first time

The latest Halifax House Price Index for January 2025. On a monthly basis, house prices increased by 0.7% between December and January, reversing the decline of -0.5% seen between November and December of last year.   Annually, house prices were up 1% versus this time last year, with this annual rate of growth accelerating when…
Read More
Breaking News

Average UK house price rises at the start of 2026

• House prices increased by +0.7% in January, following a -0.5% fall in December • Average property price is now £300,077, rising above £300k for the first time • Annual growth at +1.0%, up from +0.4% in December • Regional differences in house price performance have become more pronounced   Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages,…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

London basements boost value by up to 20%

The latest market analysis by prime London property brokerage, Jefferies London, reveals that London homebuyers who want to secure a property with a basement face a tough task. Not only do these much sought-after spaces increase a property’s value by up to 20%, but they’re also incredibly rare, found in only 2% of the capital’s…
Read More
Breaking News

Bailey applies the brakes but ‘two more 2026 cuts priced in’

Vote to hold rates ‘closer than expected’ as Bank of England eyes April for 2% inflation target Focus turns to US and Japan in impact they play on shape of global investment flows says Rathbones’ Head of Market Analysis Kirsten Pettigrew, Senior Financial Planner, warns of making financial decisions based on speculation around rate trajectories…
Read More
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England to hold interest rates at 3.75%

Following the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates at 3.75%, here are some thoughts from the Industry. Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgages expert says: “Today’s Bank Rate hold was widely expected given underlying inflation and wage growth data, and it’s currently likely we’ll see the next Bank Rate cut in June. Average mortgage rates…
Read More
Breaking News

Building Safety Approval Process Urgently Needs Fixing

Bradley Lay, a Leading Construction M&A Expert Calls on Government to Urgently Fix Building Safety Approval Process as Insolvencies Surge A leading UK construction expert has called on the Government to urgently reassess the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approval process, warning that delays in the current system are “slowly killing the economy”, triggering thousands of…
Read More