Private sector landlords are required from 1 October 2015 to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their properties and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a fixed combustion appliance (except gas cookers). After that, the landlord must make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy.
Read further Gov.uk guidance regarding this requirement.
The council can make a penalty charge if the above requirement is not adhered to.
This charge is £1,000 for the first breach (reduced to £500 if paid within 14 days) and £5,000 for any subsequent breach. The maximum charge of £5,000 is set by national regulations and cannot be exceeded unless the regulations are revised.
The penalty charges have been both agreed at and applied across the Liverpool City Region authorities and are reviewed on an annual basis. Charges may be updated during the year and the council reserves the right to amend the charge at any time.