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Safety and Compliance

As a responsible landlord, we w ant to ensure your home is safe, maintained to a high standard and complies with all relevant legislation including the Repairing Standard .  

We have several responsibilities to make sure this happens, but you also play an important role in this as a tenant.  

Landlords and tenants both have responsibilities regarding fire safety in homes and common areas . Information on fire safety is included at the bottom of this page and we advis e tenants to re view this .  

Tenant responsibilities 

As the tenant, you also play a role in ensuring your home is safe, well-maintained and compliant with legislation by:  

  • Provid ing timely access to your home for safety checks an d repairs .  

  • N ot overload ing electrical sockets .  

  • Report ing suspected gas leaks to SGN on 0800 111 999 and C~urb Proper ty Ma intenance on 03451 400 100 immediately .  

  • Regularly test ing smoke , heat and carbon monoxide detectors (weekly for smoke and heat detectors, monthly for carbon monoxide detectors) .  

  • R egularly running all taps (including any external taps) to mitigate against the risk of legionella .  

  • Not changing your boiler temperature to mitigate against the risk of legionella  

  • Testing your Residual Current Device (RCD) regularly (every 6 months is recommended) - click here to view a video guide . A residual current device (RCD) is a safety device located on your consumer unit (fuse board) that is designed to pr o tect against electric shock and fire by turn ing off electricity automatically if there's an electrical fault.  

  • Check ing white goods aren’t subject to product recalls – this includes appliances provided by C~urb as well as any of your own. Product recalls and safety notices can be viewed by clicking here .   

  • Keep communal areas including landings and stairwells clear from obstructions .  

  • Ventilate your home by opening your windows and utilising window trickle vents and extractor fans. This is important to prevent damp, mould and condensation. If you have a carbon  dioxide detector in your home, monitor the reading regularly and if it displays an amber or red reading, open your windows and operate your extractor fans to ventilate the property. If   the reading doesn’t come down, call our repairs team on 03451 400 100. 

 

Landlord responsibilities 

Annual Gas Safety Inspection

Landlords are legally required to complete an annual gas safety check. This involves checking all gas appliances and fittings, including gas boilers, and should take around 30 minutes-1 hour to complete. 

Our compliance department will write to you to allocate an appointment several weeks before your existing gas safety certificate (CP12) expires. The letter will provide contact details in case the allocated appointment is unsuitable and you would like to rearrange.  

It is vital that you either provide access on the day of your allocated appointment or rearrange your appointment to a suitable day on which you will be able to provide access. 

If you do not provide access to your home before the expiry of your CP12, we will either force access to the property to complete the gas safety check or cap your gas meter until we are given access to complete the check. A charge of £150 will apply in these circumstances. 

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)

We will test the appliances we provide to you as part of your tenancy, including washing machines/washer-dryers, cookers/ovens and fridge-freezers. PAT testing will be completed during your gas safety inspection. 

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

It is a legal requirement for landlords in Scotland to complete electrical safety checks every 5 years. This is to ensure the installations for the supply of electricity and any fixtures, fittings and appliances are in a reasonable state of repair and proper working order. An EICR takes around 4 hours to complete. Access to all rooms and electrical sockets will be required and you must have credit on your electric meter.  

Our compliance department will write to you to allocate you an appointment several weeks before your existing Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) expires. The letter will provide contact details in case the allocated appointment is unsuitable and you would like to rearrange. 

Fire, Heat and Carbon Monoxide Detection

Your home complies with Scottish Fire Safety legislation and has interlinked heat and smoke alarms fitted throughout your property.  This means that if there is a fire in one room it will set off alarms throughout your home, giving you more time to escape. 

We will provide a smoke alarm in your living room, hallway and landing (if applicable). 

We will also ensure a carbon monoxide detector is fitted in any room where there is a fixed combustion appliance such as a boiler, and a heat alarm is installed in the kitchen. 

Our alarm systems are all interlinked and compliant with the latest fire safety legislation and Repairing Standard. 

Legionella Risk Assessment and Control Measures

Legionella is a type of bacteria found in stagnant water which can cause Legionnaires’ Disease. In order to control the risk of exposure to legionella, we will: 

  • Carry out a legionella risk assessment and review it at intervals of under 2 years 

  • Flush out the water system prior to the start of a new tenancy 

  • Identify and remove any redundant pipework and dead ends 

  • Ensure cold water tanks, where fitted, have a tight-fitting lid to avoid debris getting into the system; and 

  • Set control parameters where water is stored in the hot water tank at least 60°C. 

We will provide all new tenants with information on water management and Legionnaires’ disease at the start of tenancy, including who is most at risk, symptoms and prevention. 

Lift Maintenance

Our lift maintenance programme involves servicing of all lifts every 2 months, biannual LOLER inspections and the completion of any remedial works identified during these services and inspections. 

Fire Safety

Landlords and tenants  both have important roles to play in ensuring fire safety within individual properties and common areas.   

 

Tenant responsibilities include:  

  • Reporting any health and safety-related maintenance issues  (for example, loose or missing stair treads, or damaged fire doors) to our repairs team in a timely fashion.  

  • Regularly testing smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors (weekly for smoke and heat detectors, monthly for carbon monoxide detectors) . If they don’t sound when attempting to test, contact our repairs team, open windows ventilation, and vacate the property.  

  • Contacting our repairs team immediately on 03451 400 100 if your carbon monoxide detector goes off.  

  • Not keeping/charging e-bikes or e-scooters within your home or communal areas.  

  • Keeping common areas such as hallways and stairwells clear of obstructions such as bikes. Obstructions can block exit routes in emergencies and prevent the Fire Service from accessing dry riser outlets.  

  • Not overloading electrical sockets .  

  • Testing your Residual Current Device (RCD) regularly (every 6 months is recommended) - click here to view a video guide. A residual current device (RCD) is a safety device located on your consumer unit (fuse board) that is designed to protect against electric shock and fire by turning off electricity automatically if there's an electrical fault.  

 

Fire Scotland  

We recommend tenants contact Fire Scotland to arrange a free home fire safety visit. Fire Scotland will take you through a questionnaire and help you create a fire escape plan. This is particularly important if you have a disability or mobility issues .   

 

Phone Fire Scotland – 0800 0731 999  

Text – FIRE to 80800  

 

Landlord responsibilities include:  

  • Providing and maintaining interlinked smoke and fire detection systems.  

  • Maintaining and periodic testing of smoke vents (AOVs) , emergency lighting, dry risers, and sprinkler systems (where applicable).  

  • Providing fire doors within buildings of 3 storeys or higher.