CoCo Inspections of all Rented Properties: S.I. No. 534 - Landlords Obligations?

murphaph said:
Is it? What are the rules?

(I provide smoke alarms (x2), a fire extinguisher and blanket, but not because of any rules, just common sense).
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http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,19142,en.pdf
Section 11/ Page 7

It sounds like you are in compliance.
 
if you rent out a dwelling to a person you must comply totally with fire regulations PERIOD.

there are rules out there and TBH you will find out the hard way if your dwelling has a fire and the FB call out the chief fire officer to inspect.

trust me i have witnessed this over faulty fire alarm and within 1week the dwelling was shut down until brought up to current firesafety specs!!
 
a friend of mine has got a letter from sth dublin co co, re the inspection he is baffled as to how they have his home address as he lives in a different co co area. the new tenant does not have his address and he recieved the co co letter before he contacted the ptrb.he had a tenent before but there was a gap of 4 months possibly the previous tenent has his home address.
 
Does anyone know as a matter of interest whether council tenants must be provided with fire blankets etc. That is, does a council have to adhere to the same standards as a private landlord ?

I also wonder how many people who own their own properties have fire blankets.

Fire blankets are a good idea -it's just annoying to require private landlords to have them rather than make it a legal requirement for every dwelling in the state. Why the diffference in treatment ?
 
Does anyone know if the County Council Inspectors have the right to enter a property without first contacting the owner / landlord? My tenant let them in after they told him they had been in contact with me and I had given my permission, which is not true!

Just received a letter today stating that they have inspected my property and I am in contravention of the Housing Regulations Act 2008 2009 for extremely trivial reasons such as the extractor fan in the kitchen has a filter and is not piped to outside, the extractor fans in the bathrooms must have a 15 minute overrun and need to be piped externally.

What a waste of taxpayers money!
 
delgirl said:
What a waste of taxpayers money!
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Maybe, but its the law.

http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,19142,en.pdf (S.I. No. 534 of 2008 HOUSING (STANDARDS FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS 2008) pdf file.

 
delgirl said:
...r extremely trivial reasons such as the extractor fan in the kitchen has a filter and is not piped to outside, the extractor fans in the bathrooms must have a 15 minute overrun and need to be piped externally...
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Out of curiosity? How do they work at all if they are not piped to if not outside? Where do they pump the air too?
 
AlbacoreA said:
Out of curiosity? How do they work at all if they are not piped to if not outside? Where do they pump the air too?
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The extractor in the kitchen is a ventless extractor with a carbon filter which doesn't need to be piped outside.

The extractors in the bathrooms are vented to the eaves in the attic - looks like they'd prefer a hole in the wall!
 
ajapale said:
Maybe, but its the law.

http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,19142,en.pdf (S.I. No. 534 of 2008 HOUSING (STANDARDS FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS 2008) pdf file.
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I'm well aware of the housing regs ajapale, I'm just incensed that they entered my property without notification or permission.
 
I know nothing of the regulations, but I assume (perhaps incorrectly) the carbon filter removes smells and some grease but not moisture? So where does the moisture go, in both situations? I assume the problem for the regulations is this bit...

Adequate ventilation shall be provided for the removal of water vapour
from kitchens and bathrooms
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That's what I'm trying to find out. I've found [broken link removed] on Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co Co's website that they contact landlords or agents to arrange the inspection. I would have been much happier with this. I have nothing to hide and am totally compliant with PRTB, household charge, etc., but would just like to know if someone wants to inspect my property.

They told my tenant that they had contacted me, gave him my name, and said that I had given permission for the inspection. This is absolutely not true, the first I knew about it was today when the letter arrived.

It would also make more sense if they made an appointment with me, the owner / landlord, to inspect the property so that the landlord could see for themselves what the supposed breaches are and could take the necessary action.

For example, they have asked in their letter for proof of when the chimney was last cleaned. If they had made an arrangement to meet me at the house, I could have brought the receipt to show them it had been cleaned in March this year.

Here's http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,19428,en.pdf (more detailed information) about the housing regs for anyone who's interested.

I have told my tenant not to let anyone into the house unless he is aware in advance of who they are. There are so many thieves claiming to be from the council, water board, etc. trying to get into people's homes.
 
Well you know now.

Its very discourteous not to tell you, or the tenant not to tell you. But I dunno if its illegal. I'd be annoyed myself.

Personally I think you are going to cause yourself more work, in repairs hassle in he long run, if the rooms are not ventilated to the outside.
 
Delgirl -Thanks for useful pointing out of the fuller dteails of this Act. Just read thru it. Talk about the Nanny state !

As regards fire extinguishers. Absolutely useless and potentially very dangerous unless people know how to use them, which type to use, size of fire etc and many factors which ,if ignored, make using a f. extinguisher more dangerous than not using.

My advice to tenants if there's a fire is - forget the extinguishers and get out quickly. If possible close doors -(mine are supposedly "fire-proof").

Sorry for rant folks- but maybe it's worth LLs and tenants reading a bit more about the dangers of -and how to avoid them - of f.extinguishers.
 
delgirl said:
The extractor in the kitchen is a ventless extractor with a carbon filter which doesn't need to be piped outside.
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This type of extractor does not comply with the Regulations.

delgirl said:
The extractors in the bathrooms are vented to the eaves in the attic - looks like they'd prefer a hole in the wall!
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The Regulations state that bathrooms must be vented to external air. Venting to the eaves of the attic meets this requirement.
 
Guns N Roses said:
...The Regulations state that bathrooms must be vented to external air. Venting to the eaves of the attic meets this requirement.
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Would it not cause problems of damp/condensation in the attic. You're venting to the back of the plasterboard of the ceilings, which aren't painted or protected other than the insulation.
 
pixiebean22 said:
I don't have the text on it but a place I lived in two years ago had a section in the lease dedicated to the landlord's legal responsibility to provide fire safety equipment.

Also, when a rep from dcc called to a house I lived in earlier this year to do an inspection, one of the things she commented on was the lack of any fire safety equipment and the landlord's legal responsibility to provide same, she specifically mentioned that smoke alarms and a fire blanket were compulsory.
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I recall inspections where tenants had batteries taken out of smoke alarms provided by the landlord, obviously they were a nuisance to them for their cigarette smoke !!!!
 
murphaph - you ask what if the bathroom has an openable window.
According to the ACT 9(3) Ventilation
"adequate ventilation shall be provided for the removal of water vapour from kitchens and bathrooms"

It would seem obvious that an open window would be suitable. However, the so-called "guidelines" state that there must be mechanical vents etc.

So, which is correct ?

An open window would seem to the reasonable person to be "adequate ventilation". The guidelines are not law, and in some cases appear to complicate matters.

The trouble is - does one wish to argue with some petty offical quoting from the "guidelines" ?

I think in the case of a bathroom window I would argue. It's bonkers to add extra mechanical ventilation when one has fresh air froma natural free source.
 
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