Rebecca Ellis

This is concern among homeowners and landlords in Scotland because of the possibility that lack of compliance may invalidate home insurance policies. The price of the alarms and current lack of actual availability to consumers is also a big concern. At present this change is only applicable in Scotland, with England yet to announce similar plans.

Although welcomed by campaigners, politicians and the fire service, there are real worries over the communication of the changes and costs surrounding them. Under this new law, it is the responsibility of a property owner, including landlords, to have the new system in place, but the speed at which the law has come into effect has caused controversy.

What does the new law state?

As of 1 February, every home in Scotland must have one smoke alarm in the living room, or most frequented room; one smoke alarm in every hallway or landing; and one heat alarm in every kitchen. Additionally, all these detectors must be interlinked, meaning that when one alarm sounds, they all do.

As an added measure, the new law states that carbon monoxide detectors must also be fitted wherever there is a carbon monoxide appliance or flue, although this does not need to link with fire alarms.

Why this is causing concern

While this is a welcome step in improving fire safety across the country, the SNP has received some backlash, with opposition parties urging for the scheme to be delayed due to concerns around the costs associated - with the average price around £220 per household. There are also worries that the lack of availability of the alarms may prevent many people from hitting this target, even if they can afford to.

Having delayed the scheme due to Covid, a freedom of information request, sought by the Scottish Conservatives last year, found that the government has no current record of how many households still need to install the devices and there has been no supplementary communication around the impending deadline.

This sparked outrage with many as it is unlikely that all households will be able to meet this request. As a result, the SNP has now provided £500,000 of funding through ‘Care and Repair Scotland’ to help elderly and disabled people to meet the associated costs, and there are currently no legal repercussions in place, although these will inevitably follow.

Assessing the potential impact

Given this new law will impact all homeowners, including landlords in Scotland, it is crucial that the consequence of non-compliance with the scheme is assessed.

One insurance company has commented that claims may be invalidated if regulations are not met. However, the SNP has claimed to have assurances from the Association of British Insurers, that while insurers may ask customers questions about whether the property is fitted with working fire alarms, they are not likely to ask questions about specific standards – such as whether they have interlinking alarms.

That said, it is standard for insurers to write into a policy that policyholders must comply with all regulations and statutory conditions. Although some companies might take a more sympathetic approach in the short term, it will be down to the discretion of the individual insurance company to decide how to respond to this new benchmark.

Everyone can agree that these measures are important to avoid another tragedy like the one that happened at Grenfell. However, given there looks to be no extension to the deadline on the horizon, it would be prudent for Scottish homeowners and landlords to seek independent advice from their own home insurance provider to avoid being caught out in the short term.

Rebecca Ellis is a solicitor at Weightmans LLP