Safety Legislation
The Furniture & Furnishings (fire) (safety) Regulations 1988
The regulations were primarily introduced to control the danger from toxic fumes produced from foam. The regulations do not, however, only apply to foam fillings – they apply to ALL fillings. There are various tests which differing items must pass such as the ignitability, cigarette and match tests.
These regulations apply to any upholstered furniture i.e. sofas, armchairs, mattresses, divans, pillows. The do not apply to other furnishings such as carpets, curtains or bedding.
Any furniture manufactured prior to 1950 will be exempt, however, you will need to check that it has not been re-upholstered with an illegal filling.
If you are considering renting your property out furnished, please speak to one of our team for more advice.
The Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998
All gas installation pipe-work and gas appliances must be tested to prove being safe, prior to letting a property.
This safety check must be carried out by a GAS SAFE Engineer who also has the necessary NACS (National Accreditation Certification Scheme) certification.
We will arrange for a gas service and inspection to be carried out, if necessary, once instructed on the rental property. This will automatically be renewed annually as part of our full management service.
The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994
The regulations for electricity are not as strict or as clear as other safety regulations.
The main legislations covering this subject would be the Consumer Protection Act 1987 which states that anything supplied or hired to the consumer MUST be safe, and The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.
There are also several items of secondary legislation directly relevant to the supply of electrical goods, including:
- The Low Voltage Electrical Equipment Regulations 1989
- The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994
- The General Product Safety Regulations 1994
- The Plugs and sockets etc (safety) Regulations 1994
There is no statutory requirement for equipment to undergo a safety check by a qualified engineer but we would advise that such a check be arranged – especially if you are considering supplying a number of electrical items with your property.
This is known as a PAT test – Portable Appliance Test and is usually carried out at the same time as a gas safety inspection, annually.
The Plugs & Sockets Regulations 1994
These regulations state that plugs must be ‘sleeved’ and sockets must comply.
Part "P" Building regulations (Electrical Safety in Dwellings)
From the 1st January 2005, new rules came into force controlling who could carry out certain works on certain electrical installations in a property and the procedures around those works. Failure to comply with these Regulations is a criminal offence, which could result in a maximum fine of £5,000 and or imprisonment.
In very general terms these regulations require that works, repairs, maintenance etc, on “electrical installation” in certain areas of property, are now known as “notifiable” works and as such must only be carried out by a competent person
The competent person can “self-certify” the relevant works and he (or she) then has a responsibility to provide the agent and the local authority building control department with a copy Certificate relating to the notifiable works.
Someone who is not a “competent person” could still do the works as long as appropriate approval is sought from the local authority Building Control department, before and after the works are carried out. In most cases an officer from the department will wish to visit the property and inspect the works and may require the contractor to submit suitable drawings or schematics.
Smoke Detectors
Under Building Regulations, properties built after 1991 must have mains, interlinked smoke detectors on each floor. Although there is no specific legislation for older properties, we would recommend that any property being let should have battery operated detectors on every floor, as a minimum.
During the tenancy, the tenant is responsible for ensuring the detector is in working order and the battery is replaced regularly.
Please speak to a member of our team for more information on all Regulations.