Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
From 1 October 2022 the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 require all social landlords to provide smoke alarms on every storey of their properties where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation.
The Government has recently introduced a new law that carbon monoxide detectors must be fitted where tenants have a gas boiler and/or a gas or solid fuel fire by 1 October 2022.
Installing Carbon Monoxide Detectors for our tenants
Since April 2022 the District Council started installing Carbon Monoxide detectors during gas servicing appointments as part of our responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our tenants.
Whilst many of our tenants already have a detector, some homes do not. Carbon monoxide detectors are designed to sound when the concentrations of Carbon Monoxide in the air are enough to harm you. When detected, an alarm will sound, and it will be loud enough to alert everybody in the house.
District Council staff will be carrying out the installation of detectors over the next few weeks and have already sent a letter to Council properties without a detector.
Council staff will show proof of I.D and need to fit the detector(s) in the location of your boiler and gas or solid fuel fire(s).
This life saving detector is easy and quick to fit and will contain a long-life battery. Once fitted, we will test the detector every year along with your gas boiler service.
If you are not at home, we will leave a calling card and ask that you contact the number on the calling card to arrange an appointment as soon as possible.
If you are deaf or hard of hearing
If an audible (sound) detector is not suitable (and our records show you are deaf or hard of hearing) we will contact you separately and arrange to provide a more suitable alarm. You will be asked at the visit if you would experience any issues with a standard alarm.
What is Carbon Monoxide?
Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous gas produced by the incomplete burning of any carbon fuel such as natural gas, and can build up in a room when flues, chimneys or air vents are blocked, and this can become deadly to occupants.
It is especially dangerous because you cannot see it, taste it or smell it. It is easy to mistake its effects and symptoms for common ailments: colds, viruses or even a bad hangover. The main symptoms are Headaches, Dizziness, Nausea, Breathlessness, Collapse, and Loss of consciousness.
What should I do if the CO alarm starts making a sound?
- Don’t switch on/off the lights, smoke or strike a match
- If possible, turn off all fuel-burning appliances such as boilers, cookers and fires
- Leave your house
Call the emergency helpline: If you believe your carbon monoxide emergency was caused by a gas appliance:
Contact our Repairs Call Centre on 01636 650 000 and press for Option 2
Seek medical advice
If you feel ill or have any of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning after your alarm goes off, contact your GP immediately or call 999.
If you have any queries, questions or to make a specific appointment please call us on 01636 650000 or via email to CODetector@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk
Information for private rented homes
All landlords are also required to provide carbon monoxide alarms in any room of their properties used wholly or partly as living accommodation where a fixed combustion appliance is present (excluding gas cookers). The new regulations requires landlords to repair or replace any alarm which is found to be faulty during the period of tenancy and landlords are obliged to repair or replace alarms as soon as reasonably practicable.
Further guidance and FAQ’s for both private sector landlords and tenants can be found on the GOV.UK website.