Smoke Alarm Battery

kissmequick

Who's supposed to pay for Smoke Alarm Battery - Tenant or Landlord? Think I came across a post about it but can't find it.

zef

The tenant! Are you serious? How much are batteries?
It's too important an issue to faff about for the sake of a couple of quid.

The_Morrigan

I'd put that one with the tenant.

ABajaninCork

zef wrote: »

The tenant! Are you serious? How much are batteries?
It's too important an issue to faff about for the sake of a couple of quid.

Took the words right out of my mouth. Why can't the OP simply go down to Tesco/Dunnes/Supervalu/Corner shop and replace the battery? Tenants here are too spoon-fed. If a tenant asked a LL that kind of question in London, he'd be carted off to the funny farm!

I bet you call the LL when a light bulb blows too :pac:

kissmequick

A Fiver actually not a couple of euro. Yeah shure I'll ask them to replace the loo-rolls too while I'm at it, and now that yez mention it I might ask him back for the euro for the new light-bulb I put in last week.

Somebody definitely has a post somewhere about a Landlord having to replace the Battery themselves at some point of a Tenacy.

Greenmachine

kissmequick wrote: »

A Fiver actually not a couple of euro. Yeah shure I'll ask them to replace the loo-rolls too while I'm at it, and now that yez mention it I might ask him back for the euro for the new light-bulb I put in last week.

Somebody definitely has a post somewhere about a Landlord having to replace the Battery themselves at some point of a Tenacy.

Can't tell if your are being serious or not. Dealz and the euro stores will be able to provide a typical firm alarm battery for a maximum of €2.

paddydriver

Suppose you'll be wanting the landlord to pay for your funeral too cause he did'nt buy a battery for the smoke alarm?

zef

Do you realise the importance of having a working fire alarm?
For the sake of a fiver or whatever, you are taking a preventative measure for the safety of yourself, your family, your neighbours.
I'm guessing you've never experienced a house fire?

hfallada

My parents are landlords and one day we noticed that the batteries from the smoke alarm in the hall were missing. I asked them where they were and they said they needed one for the TV remote. Watching TV with a working remote was more important than their life

Personally I think all rental properties should have mains operated smoke alarms. Also a carbon monoxide alarm if it has a boiler. Sometimes grown adults still need their hand held

ABajaninCork

Our rented property does not have a CO detector. Guess what? We simply went out and got one. £13 isn't a lot to pay for peace of mind. And it's portable, so we can use in the next property if we need to until it expires...

kissmequick

Keep yer trousers on people!! **Battery IS replaced!!** I’m not being irresponsible by just leaving it with old Battery in! So there is no issue of the House going on fire, on a Battery-replacement-basis anyway!

It's €4 in cheap shop. This is obviously closed after 5/6pm, so a few cent is likely going to be lashed-on anywhere else that stocks them.

I know yere replies are just yere views, but, as it happens, Threshold have advised that there is no definite definitive view as to who has responsibility for replacing the Battery in it, so it would appear yere replies are actually in-correct information. To me, this would suggest it's up the Landlord whether they actually want to pay for it or not. Some Landlords might be flexible/accommodating/understanding / not-part-of-the-oh-pay-for-it-yourself-you're-the-Tenant-Lobby-Group and may pay for it, and others, because there is no official line on it, mightn't pay for it.

Threshold have also advised that it is up to the Landlord to maintain standards. As there is no defined responsibility / interpretation on the replacement of Smoke-Alarm-Battery, I could view it as, in order to maintain the Smoke-Alarm, checks carried out and Battery-replacement-implemented where-seen-fit / where-chirping etc., would be the obvious outcome to continue maintenance to a standard level. If the Smoke-Alarm is chirping, Battery is low / on-the-way-out - it's not being maintained, and is risky anyway left like that. The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 requires the landlord to maintain a Property to the standard it was first rented and carry out any necessary repairs or maintenance which may from time to time be necessary.

Ya could say, for a Smoke Alarm to be operable / non-risky / non-dangerous / safe; it would need to be classed as a working-Smoke-Alarm. If it's chirping, this is risky and possibly dangerous etc. and wouldn't necessarily equate to a working-Smoke-Alarm!

Oh and actually, if yez can drag yereselves away for a minute from protesting about Tenants, the Standard Regulations 2008; HOUSING (STANDARD FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS 2008, states that; - the house shall contain a fire blanket and either a mains-wired smoke alarm or at least two 10-year self-contained battery-operated smoke alarms.

Going back to yere remarking on Light-bulbs etc. – yes of course I would pay for Light-Bulbs and Toilet-Rolls myself, genuinely the thought on this would be that those items would be for personal consumption consumed by me. Other than a Mains-Wired Smoke-Alarm, a Battery-operated Smoke-Alarm operates by battery. A low / running-out Battery can be viewed as in-efficient / not up to standard and certainly hazardous. In my case, I’ve a Mains-operated-Smoke-Alarm with Back-Up Battery. This is what’s installed and not what I received. Again, maintenance, in-efficiency, and certainly hazardous. A Mains-operated-Smoke-Alarm with Back-up Battery-not-working is, well, not working as it was installed. An installed Mains-operated-Smoke-Alarm would work, an installed Mains-operated-Smoke-Alarm with Back-up Battery-not-working low / running out is not working.

Just one quick final word on the Light-bulbs again, on a self-thought logical reasonable aspect I would replace the Light-bulb myself based on it being personally consumed by myself. BUT, - the Standard Regulations 2008; HOUSING (STANDARD FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS 2008, states that; - every hall, stairs, and landing within the house and every room used, or intended for use, by the Tenant of the house, shall have a suitable and adequate means of artificial lighting. So, looks like I’ll be asking them for a euro for that Light-bulb too!


**Mod you can close this Thread now please.

The_Morrigan

The lack of defined law does not mean that the advice you have been given is incorrect. The majority of law is vague to avoid rules lawyering like you have just demonstrated.

What does your insurance say about a working alarm? I'm sure your contents insurance has a clause about a working smoke/fire alarm, which you as the insured party is responsible for. The landlord cannot insure your items which would therefore logically dictate that the alarms should also be maintained by you, should they not?


Mod Now two things; firstly watch your tone you're verging on the uncivil side of things with how you interact with other posters and secondly, text speak is not permitted here, please desist from using it in this forum.

SMJSF

My landlord put a battery in for me - and replaced the alarm since it turn out it was faulty!!!!
but I bought a 2 pack of alarms (€12 in argos) for back up - for double "piece of mind"!
The house has multiple flats - but its not hooked up to any main fire alarm system (which I would be happier with!)

Mrs OBumble

OP, I seriously hope that you don't live anywhere that rental properties are in short supply. 'Cos with that atitude, I cannot see you lasting long in your current one.

mountsky

zef wrote: »

The tenant! Are you serious? How much are batteries?
It's too important an issue to faff about for the sake of a couple of quid.

The tenant of course, its their lives at the end of the day,batteries don't cost the earth,well depending of course on the alarm you are using

Greenmachine

The_Morrigan wrote: »

The lack of defined law does not mean that the advice you have been given is incorrect. The majority of law is vague to avoid rules lawyering like you have just demonstrated.

What does your insurance say about a working alarm? I'm sure your contents insurance has a clause about a working smoke/fire alarm, which you as the insured party is responsible for. The landlord cannot insure your items which would therefore logically dictate that the alarms should also be maintained by you, should they not?


Mod Now two things; firstly watch your tone you're verging on the uncivil side of things with how you interact with other posters and secondly, text speak is not permitted here, please desist from using it in this forum.

Glad I am not the only one who found the OP'S tone ridiculous.

Dr Turk Turkelton

There is a thread in AH called "stingy things that stingy people do".
I think this thread should be incorporated into it.