With winter on its way, now is an ideal time for landlords to make sure that their rental properties are free from fire hazards.

Landlords are legally required to protect both the property and the people who live in it by keeping all electrical equipment safe and working.

Our checklist of landlords' Health and Safety responsibilities will help you keep on top of fire safety in your property:

• Install a smoke alarm on every storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel-burning appliance. These include open fires, wood burning stoves and so on. At the start of every new tenancy, landlords must check the alarms are working.
• Annual tests of all appliances that have a plug, known as Portable Appliance Tests (PAT). You should also look out for badly worn cables, old three-round plugs and note the condition of leads.
• If you don't have a Residual Current Device (RCD) fitted you should discuss this with your electrician – these are designed to prevent electric shocks should someone touch something live.
• Five-yearly checks, by a registered electrician, of the electrical installations and hard wiring (EICR).
• Chimneys should be swept as often as required but a minimum of once a year.
• Fire extinguishers must be placed in all high risk areas, such as the kitchen.

Landlords would be held liable for any injury or fatality in their rental property so, if any report states that works are needed you must get these done immediately.

Further information

For more advice contact Savills Lettings