These regulations align Northern Ireland with fire and carbon monoxide (CO) safety measures already in place in other UK jurisdictions, ensuring consistency and best practice for tenant protection.
The primary goal is to significantly improve tenant safety by equipping properties with advanced fire and CO alarm systems.
- New tenancies must be compliant from 1 September 2024.
- Existing tenancies, granted before the 1st of September, must be compliant from 1st of December 2024.
Key Proposals
- More Alarms, Enhanced Protection: The regulations require landlords to ensure a minimum number of smoke, heat and CO alarms to be installed in their properties.
- Advanced Interconnectivity: Smoke and heat alarms must be interconnected, by wiring or RadioLINK, ensuring a complete warning system throughout the property. It is recommended that if you have more than one carbon monoxide alarm, they are interlinked to each other.
- Reliable Power Sources: Alarms can be mains powered, battery powered (with a tamper proof battery), or a combination of both, for maximum reliability.
- Quality and Compliance: All alarms must be manufactured and certified to British Standards (BS), they must also be installed and maintained in accordance with British Standards.
