NAIP Chairman, Patricia Barber comments - ‘the basic regulations concerning fire and furnishings, originally instigated way back in 1988, are still ignored by many landlords. Around 10% of rental properties in the UK still have non-compliant furniture, daily reports from our members lead me to believe that this is a conservative estimate. Such furniture must of course be removed from the property before any tenant moves in.’
The most common problems relating to health and safety are:-
Insufficient smoke alarms or CO Detectors
Non-compliant Soft Furnishings.
Gas and electricity meters that are locked away or hidden.
Locked windows with no keys supplied
Loose switches and sockets
Loose and damaged stair carpet
Curtain and blind fixings screwed straight into the wall without use of rawl plugs
Air vents covered – especially in rooms with gas or solid fuel appliances.
Badly maintained decking
Loose paving stones and steps
The NAIP offer full training and advice to all Inventory Professionals to ensure that they are safe to practice. Having a fully detailed inventory compiled before a tenancy will enable any problems to highlighted, giving a landlord the opportunity to make a property completely safe and to comply with all health and safety regulations.