All landlords urged to adopt new carbon monoxide safety standard
Landlords could do more to prevent fire, gas and carbon monoxide deaths and injuries, a new report concludes.
The report acknowledges that awareness and management of risk related to fire, gas and CO poisoning has improved significantly in recent decades, particularly in the social housing sector, but says the numbers are still too high.
In particular, the guide points out that there is no comprehensive requirement on housing association and local authority landlords to install CO alarms in their properties despite this now being a requirement for private sector landlords.
Other main recommendations included in the guide are:
- Landlords should review their risk assessments in terms of the installation of CO alarms
- An MOT-style approach to gas safety checks would be helpful and is likely to be introduced in the near future
- Landlords can do more to inform tenants of the risks of CO poisoning
The report also includes practical case studies on health and safety compliance, gas maintenance access and fire management. Wheatley Group has also contributed a case study which outlines the process it has put in place to ensure 100 per cent of its dwellings have a valid gas safety certificate.
Gary Wilson, director of property and business development at River Clyde Homes, said: “Health and safety is an absolute priority for landlords. As demonstrated by the various case studies included in this report, landlords have a good record in avoiding fire, gas and CO fatalities and injuries. But there is always more that could be done to make additional improvements and to mitigate risks still further.”
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