All private rented properties must have a smoke alarm fitted on every floor. There must be a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance. The landlord must also make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy.
Please see the following booklet for landlords for further information:
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms: guidance for landlords and tenants
Who will enforce the Regulation?
The Council's Private Sector Housing team will carry out this role.
Enforcement Principles
- Principle 1 - The process of determining the fine will be inclusive, open and transparent.
- Principle 2 - The fine imposed is reasonable and covers the full cost to the Authority of enforcement.
- Principle 3 - It is reasonable to assume only a small number of cases will result in non-compliance. The cost of all interventions must be covered by fines associated with a limited number of cases.
- Principle 4 - The enforcement of the Regulations will form part of the everyday work of the Private Sector Housing team.
Cornwall's Landlord Liaison Group considered and determined the level of penalty charge. The group identified and supported the principles and felt they were appropriate. The group comprises of the major landlord representative bodies active in Cornwall.
How to comply
The Government has provided guidance in their explanatory booklet for landlords
What will happen if I do not comply?
- A remedial notice issued to the person considered responsible. The notice gives 28 days to comply.
- If the remedial notice is not complied with, Private Sector Housing will arrange for the work to be completed. The landlord will be required to pay a penalty charge.
- Cornwall Council will seek to recover the penalty charge through the courts.
How much will the penalty charge be?
£5,000