Carbon monoxide alarms and CO checks in north and east London

Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022, from 1 October 2022, landlords in England must fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers. That covers boilers, gas fires and wood burners. Landlords must also check alarms work on the day a new tenancy starts, and repair or replace them when told they are faulty.

With so much private renting in north and east London, from 27.8% of households in Waltham Forest to 38.5% in Newham at the 2021 Census, this affects a lot of homes.

Building Regulations go further for new work. Approved Document J requires a carbon monoxide alarm where a new or replacement fixed combustion appliance is installed in a dwelling, whoever owns it. So when a new boiler or gas fire goes in, an alarm should go in too.

A CO alarm detects carbon monoxide, which comes from appliances that are burning badly or flues that are blocked. It is not the same as a gas leak. Natural gas has a smell added so you can smell a leak, and a standard CO alarm may not react to it. Treat them as two different warnings.

The NHS lists headache, dizziness, feeling or being sick and feeling weak among the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. If your alarm sounds, open windows, turn off appliances if you can, get out into fresh air, and call 0800 111 999. If anyone feels very unwell, call 999.

In a Warner half house in Walthamstow, two flats sit inside one terraced house, each with its own boiler. In a converted terrace in Islington the boiler may be in a kitchen cupboard right next to a bedroom. In an HMO there may be a communal boiler in a basement. Each needs thinking about room by room. A flue running through a ceiling void into another room is another reason to fit an alarm in the room the flue passes through, and to make sure inspection hatches exist so the flue can be checked.

Gas Safe Register recommends an audible carbon monoxide alarm marked to BS EN 50291, and says black spot cards that only change colour are not a substitute. Test your alarm regularly using its test button and replace it by the end of life date printed on it, which depends on the model. GOV.UK guidance for landlords says alarms with sealed batteries are a good option because the battery cannot be taken out. An alarm is a back up. It does not replace keeping appliances serviced and checked.

Take a loud continuous alarm seriously, even if nobody feels ill. Open doors and windows, turn off fuel burning appliances if you can, and leave the property. Call 0800 111 999 for advice and an emergency visit. Do not go back in until it has been checked. Before using the appliance again, have a Gas Safe registered engineer find out why it produced carbon monoxide and put it right.