Student housing; Smoke alarms (legal advice)

Pav89

Pav89

Pav89

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Hey guys! We've moved into a rented house for the 2nd year of uni. Its alright house but the landlord hasn't really done much since he bought it a couple of years ago. We were wondering if it is illegal to have one smoke alarm in the house.

There are 3 bedrooms in the house; 2 upstairs and one downstairs, with the kitchen, living room and bathroom downstairs. There is one smoke alarm in the corner of one of the bedrooms upstairs. Is this illegal? I've never ever ever been in a student house with 1 smoke alarm, and it is quite worrying that he's reluctant to spend money on the place till he renovates the place into a 5 bed house. So yeah, is it illegal to have one smoke alarm in one of the bedrooms? I'm on the ground floor so wouldn't be able to hear it tbh!

I appreciate your help :)
 
I'm not sure if it's illegal but I remember hearing my bfs old landlord saying if there's more than 3 people staying there there has to be and alarm in every room. Might be getting my wires crossed though!
 
Smoke alarm :confused: ?
Most houses have none. Unless it's different for student houses ? What's illegal about not having smoke alarms ?


EDIT: Nvm, seems there's an actual law about it there, just find it odd as most people I know don't have anything like a smoke detector nor do I...
 
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Unashamedly stolen from another forum found by googling :D:D:D

The applicable legislation depends on the age and type of property. The 1991 Smoke Detectors Act requires that all new houses that have been built since 1992 must, by law, have a smoke detector installed. The minimum requirement being one smoke alarm on each level of the building. However, this is not a piece of legislation aimed specifically at residential letting property, but aimed at all new buildings.

Although there is no legislation requiring smoke alarms to be fitted in other ordinary tenanted properties, it is generally considered that under the common law, Landlords have the duty to ensure the safety of rented property and its contents to Tenants, occupants, neighbours or the public do not suffer injury or damage. This 'duty of care' means that Landlords and their Agents could be liable should a fire cause injury or damage in a tenanted property where smoke alarms are not fitted.

If an agent installs smoke alarms into properties that he manages or they already exist, care must be taken in ensuring that it is clear from the letting agreement who is responsible for the maintenance of the detectors including testing and battery replacement. To neglect this matter could mean that the landlord or agent is responsible, and in the case of a fire could be held liable for being negligent in their duties.

This may be the reason why the landlord is reluctant to allow you to fit a smoke alarm. It may help if you inform them that you are willing to be responsible for the maintenance of the smoke alarms.

There are different rules covering Houses in Multiple Occupation with regard to the installation of smoke detectors and other fire prevention measures. The 2004 Housing Act requires the landlord to do several things about fire safety including, depending on the size of the property, there may have to be smoke alarms and fire extinguishing equipment. If the property is a considered to be a House in Multiple Occupation by your council which is subject to licensing, your landlord must also comply with license conditions in relation to fire safety.

See here for more details http://www.rentways.co.uk/Landlords_Guide.html#Fire
 
I too am not sure on the legalities,my current house has one in every room. I remember one of my previous housemates parents saying that it was also a legal requirement to have a C02 detector, but again I can't be sure.
 
Thanks for the help guys! Oh snap! So its not illegal? Might have to ask the landlord if I can call the fire service to install some then! It's just weird not having a smoke alarm on each floor!

Might also get a carbon monoxide detector as we have one of those old style back boilers situated behind the fireplace. It makes scary noises, just seeing all these flames underneath the fireplace looks scary enough!
 
snowdog said:
EDIT: Nvm, seems there's an actual law about it there, just find it odd as most people I know don't have anything like a smoke detector nor do I...
Click to expand...

For the sake of £5-£10 why wouldn't you? To be honest i find it quite odd that don't have one
 
Also if your land lord does ANY renovations that require building regs.. he has to comply to the fire safety regulations which in the Building Regulations Part B.

Basically you need smoke detectors at the top of stairs, and in landing type areas, heat and smoke detectors in kitchen.

this is just off the top of my head but im pretty sure its correct. also CO carbon monoxide detectors are worth investing in... as these student places can have run down equipment and u can never be too safe!

CO detectors should still be on the roof despite it being heavier than air because it goes up hits the roof then settles on the floor (what British gas guy told me)
 
You need one in every "room". Every corridor/landing counts as a room. On top of that, the alarms have to be a certain decibel level at the head of your bed to ensure that you would wake up even in the deepest of sleeps.

He should be sending people around to test the alarms yearly.

e: Do you have fire doors too?
 
Grrrrr said:
For the sake of £5-£10 why wouldn't you? To be honest i find it quite odd that don't have one
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I find the opposite, I find it odd to have one, first time I read it's an actual requirement :confused:...

And besides, it ain't ''my'' home, it's my parents home...
It's just, you don't expect to have a fire...
 
int said:
You need one in every "room". Every corridor/landing counts as a room. On top of that, the alarms have to be a certain decibel level at the head of your bed to ensure that you would wake up even in the deepest of sleeps.

He should be sending people around to test the alarms yearly.

e: Do you have fire doors too?
Click to expand...

No fire doors, saying that I've not been in another student house which does not have fire doors aka the doors shut themselves =/. So yeah, no fire doors, no smoke alarms and a scary boiler...
 
snowdog said:
I find the opposite, I find it odd to have one, first time I read it's an actual requirement :confused:...

And besides, it ain't ''my'' home, it's my parents home...
It's just, you don't expect to have a fire...
Click to expand...


Wow...just wow.....you don't care about your parents home; their investment, and the heartache it could bring if you don't have a smoke alarm and find the fire early?
 
inferno said:
Wow, it could save your life!
Click to expand...
Pav89 said:
Wow...just wow.....you don't care about your parents home; their investment, and the heartache it could bring if you don't have a smoke alarm and find the fire early?
Click to expand...
What's the chance of actually getting a fire ?
I care about the house, but I don't see a fire as a realistic threat atm...

Anyways, I know the smart thing to do is to buy a detector, but I just don't see me or my parents doing it...

Also what investment? They rent it they never bought it...
 
Are you in Newcastle or Bradford? When I was working in Sunderland and we housed more than 3 people in a house it was classed as a lower level HMO (so it didn't need a HMO license but needed some things done to it including the hard wired fire alarm system). If the house has 5 or more bedrooms or 3 stories high (and used as HMO) it needs a HMO license and a few others things such as firedoors and so on. With family houses it was a different story usually just required the usual smoke alarm on each floor.

Basically just go on the website of the local council into the housing section and have a look at their HMO requirements as they will vary from council to council. If you're worried and landlord not doing anything just contact your local fire department people and ask them to assess your house, they'll stick those free smoke alarms where they see fit and hell might even give you a chip frier.

EDIT: To those who can't "afford" a smoke alarm, most fire departments now give them out for free if you ask them to assess your home.
 
snowdog said:
Smoke alarm :confused: ?
Most houses have none. Unless it's different for student houses ? What's illegal about not having smoke alarms ?


EDIT: Nvm, seems there's an actual law about it there, just find it odd as most people I know don't have anything like a smoke detector nor do I...
Click to expand...

Bloody hell - no smoke alarms! You do like to live dangerously don't you. I don't know ANYONE who doesn't have at least one.
 
neoboy said:
Are you in Newcastle or Bradford? When I was working in Sunderland and we housed more than 3 people in a house it was classed as a lower level HMO (so it didn't need a HMO license but needed some things done to it including the hard wired fire alarm system). If the house has 5 or more bedrooms or 3 stories high (and used as HMO) it needs a HMO license and a few others things such as firedoors and so on. With family houses it was a different story usually just required the usual smoke alarm on each floor.

Basically just go on the website of the local council into the housing section and have a look at their HMO requirements as they will vary from council to council. If you're worried and landlord not doing anything just contact your local fire department people and ask them to assess your house, they'll stick those free smoke alarms where they see fit and hell might even give you a chip frier.
Click to expand...

I'm at Newcastle Uni, so yeah, Newcastle ATM. Cheers, I'll check out the council website. Thanks for the info btw! We only have ground floor and first floor with 3 bedrooms altogether, so I suppose it doesn't need this HMO.
 
snowdog said:
What's the chance of actually getting a fire ?
I care about the house, but I don't see a fire as a realistic threat atm...

Anyways, I know the smart thing to do is to buy a detector, but I just don't see me or my parents doing it...

Also what investment? They rent it they never bought it...
Click to expand...

Most people are not killed by fire - the smoke gets them. From the outbreak of even a tiny fire to the time smoke fills the house in a black toxic choking fog is just minutes. Cost - about 1 hour at minimum wage so no reason not to. Can be issued free by fire service in the UK.

Re-reading your post you miss the point completely. The idea is to get people awake and aware of a fire so they get out of the house IMMEDIATELY. It is NOT to protect property.
 
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