22/11/2024
**UPDATE ON PRIVATE RENTAL REGULATIONS**
**DEADLINE 1ST DECEMBER**
Once the compliance date of 1 December 2024 is reached, it will be a prosecutable offence for landlords not to comply with these standards.
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THE SMOKE, HEAT AND CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS FOR PRIVATE TENANCIES REGULATIONS (NORTHERN IRELAND) 2024
This letter is to remind you that minimum requirements for smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms, as set out in the above Regulations, apply to all existing tenancies from 1 December 2024.
These Regulations emanate from Section 8 of the Private Tenancies Act (NI) 2022, and the intent is to reduce the risk of fire and consequent loss of life, injury and damage to property within private rental properties.
An existing tenancy means a private tenancy that was granted before 1 September 2024. It should be noted that properties for tenancies granted on or after 1 September 2024, referred to in the Regulations as new tenancies, are already required to be compliant.
The minimum standards for smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms for private tenancies have been set as:
➢ A smoke alarm to be installed in the main living room, and in every circulation space on each storey (hall, landing area).
[Note: in situations where an open fireplace would make a smoke alarm impractical a heat alarm may be fitted, and in circumstances where the room includes an open plan living area, provided the heat alarm in the kitchen is installed in a position where it is not more than 7.5 metres from any point in a room a smoke alarm may be dispensed with.]
➢A heat alarm installed in every kitchen.
➢A carbon monoxide alarm installed in any room or circulation space which contains a fixed combustion appliance or a flue (that will include any bedrooms a flue passes through).
➢Smoke and heat alarms, must be interlinked to ensure the alarms can communicate with each other, therefore providing sufficient cover if one alarm defects all alarms will go off to provide warning.
➢ A carbon monoxide alarm does not need to be linked to smoke and heat alarms,
however if you have more than one carbon monoxide alarm it is recommended
that these should be interlinked to each other, but this is not a legal
requirement.
Alarms can be either 10-year sealed tamper proof units or hard-wired units.
However, existing hard-wired alarms must not be disabled and replaced with battery
alarms.