A Devon MP has called for new legislation to come into force to make it a requirement that all rental properties are fitted with smoke and fire alarms.
Adrian Sanders, Lib Dem MP for Torbay, called for the legislation after the tragic deaths of two children, who died in a fire at a rental property in the Torbay area of Devon in 2009. He believes it’s unacceptable that five people a week are dying as a result of house fires where there are no smoke or fire alarms fitted and feels that it’s essential that all rental properties should legally have to have alarms fitted as a matter of course.
The Fire Safety (Protection of Tenants) Bill has now been officially read in the House of Commons and a date has been set for its second reading, on November 19th 2010.
The Bill specifies that fire alarms fitted in rental properties should be hard wired, rather than have batteries. This gets over the issue of batteries running out or being taken out and not replaced, which is often also linked to tragic fire instances.
Although many landlords do already fit smoke and fire alarms in their properties, and it’s recommended to do so, Mr Sanders said there are still a small minority who don’t look after their tenants as much as they should and this new Bill could offer them much-needed greater protection.
What do you think? Is the proposed Fire Safety (Protection of Tenants) Bill a good idea?
For more details on fire safety issue in rental properties, check out this previous post – Preparing to Let Your Property: Fire Safety