Legal information for private tenants

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 enforceable from 1 October 2022. From that date, all relevant landlords must:

1. Ensure at least one smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of their homes where there is a room used as living accommodation. This has been a legal requirement in the private rented sector since 2015.
2. Ensure a carbon monoxide alarm is equipped in any room used as living accommodation which contains a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers).
3. Ensure smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are repaired or replaced once informed and found that they are faulty as soon as practicable.

The requirements are enforced by local authorities who can impose a fine of up to £5,000 where a landlord fails to comply with a remedial notice.

More information (including FAQ’s) can be found on the government’s website.

Landlords must now get the electrical installation checked at least every five years by a properly qualified person. The electrical installation must be safe, and your landlord must give you proof of this.

More information can be found on the government’s website.

On 20 March 2019, a new law came into force to make sure that rented houses and flats are ‘fit for human habitation’, which means that they are safe, healthy, and free from things that could cause serious harm.

If rented houses and flats are not ‘fit for human habitation’, tenants can take their landlords to court. The court can make the landlord carry out repairs or put right health and safety problems. The court can also make the landlord pay compensation to the tenant.

The aim of the act is to reduce the costs that tenants can face at the outset, and throughout, a tenancy.

More information can be found on the government’s website.

A Rent Repayment Order forces a landlord to refund up to 12 months of rent.

Rent Repayment Orders can be awarded if:

• The property you are renting requires a licence and does not have one
• The landlord has not complied with a council notice
• The tenant has been harassed or evicted without the correct paperwork

More information can be found at Shelter England.