Smoke & CO alarms for landlords in Rugby
Smoke & CO alarms works exactly the same for every landlord in England, Rugby included - there's no local variation on the legal duty itself. What is specific to Rugby is the area it covers, below.
Landlords must have at least one working smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, except a gas cooker - and must check every alarm is working at the start of each new tenancy. Kept records that check against the tenancy, storey by storey.
How to meet this duty, step by step
Log each alarm by storey/room
Smoke alarms per storey, CO alarms per hazard room - recorded against the property so it's obvious at a glance what's covered and what isn't.
Test date logged at every move-in
The law requires alarms to be tested as working on the day a new tenancy starts - Kept prompts for this alongside the rest of your move-in checklist and dates it.
Mid-tenancy replacements tracked too
Swapped a dead battery unit for a mains-wired alarm two years into a tenancy? Log it - the record doesn't have to wait for the next move-in to be current.
Straight answers.
Do I need a CO alarm for a gas boiler?
Yes. The statutory exception is for gas cookers, not gas boilers. A room containing a fixed combustion appliance generally requires a carbon monoxide alarm unless that appliance is solely a gas cooker.
Who has to test the alarms after move-in day?
Legally, the landlord's specific testing duty is at the start of the tenancy - but a working alarm is also part of keeping the property safe throughout, so most landlords check again at routine visits or hazard checks. Kept lets you log those too.
What if a tenant removes the batteries?
Your dated move-in record shows the alarm was fitted and working when you handed the property over - exactly the evidence you want if it's ever raised later.
More duties in Rugby
Gas Safety Record (CP12)
Renewal tracked from expiry, reminders from 60 days out, proof of service to tenants logged. Knows the 2-month early-renewal rule that keeps your date fixed.
Electrical report (EICR)
Five years goes quicker than you think. Kept remembers so you don't have to - including the 28-day duty to give tenants a copy.
Energy certificate (EPC)
Expiry tracked from the certificate details you confirm - band E is the current minimum for most domestic private lets unless exempt, and proposed changes are flagged only when they become law.
"Fitted" and "checked and dated" are different things.
Kept only counts the second one.
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