Key changes to smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements

From this month, private tenants in Northern Ireland will have sufficient smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms installed in their homes for the first time as part of the Smoke, Heat and Carbon Monoxide Alarms for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024.  

A statement from Propertymark says this represents a breakthrough as the regulations are the first piece of legislation covering sections seven to 12 of the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, with section eight: “Fire, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms etc” introducing measures that will significantly enhance safety standards across Northern Ireland. 

From today the regulations come into effect for all new private tenancies signed on or after this date, and from December 1 for all existing private tenancies in Northern Ireland.  

Letting agents and their landlords need to be aware that it will also be illegal in Northern Ireland from today to issue a tenancy unless sufficient smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms are present in the property.  

Under the regulations, landlords will be responsible for providing alarms and keeping them in order for detecting smoke, heat and carbon monoxide within any rented property, and to ensure that they are replaced should they become faulty.

The alarms must be in working order before a tenancy starts and carrying out an inventory can ensure compliance with the new rules.  To comply, a smoke alarm must be installed in the room which is most regularly used for general daytime purposes, in every circulation space such as hall ways. 

Additionally, a heat alarm must be installed in every kitchen, and a carbon monoxide alarm installed in any room which contains a flue (including a chimney) or a combustion appliance such as an open fire, heater and stove fuelled by solid fuel, oil or gas but excludes a gas cooker or a gas oven. The alarms should be complaint with British Standards. 

Henry Griffith, policy and vampaigns officer at Propertymark, says: “The rules and regulations for renting in Northern Ireland are changing and we encourage letting agents and their landlords to get ahead of the game, familiarise themselves with the new requirements for smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms, and start implementing these changes as soon as possible in order to comply with the new regulations when they come into full effect later in the year.

“Propertymark has a library of resources to support members and by joining letting agents can access materials and training to not only comply with the latest changes but help their business stand out from the rest.”