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Over 4,000 Edinburgh council houses still waiting on smoke alarms now required by law

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorDonald Turvill
Published date27 June 2022
Publication titleEdinburghLive (Scotland)
Edinburgh City Council has faced problems getting permission to enter some addresses but said staff are doing their 'utmost' to have all properties upgraded 'by the Autumn.'

Any council tenants who have not yet had the new smoke detectors fitted are being urged to book an appointment "as soon as possible."

It was revealed in January that almost half of the capital's 20,131 council-owned properties were not ready for the new legislation, drawn up in response to the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster and designed to improve fire safety for residents, which came into effect in February.

Since then, the devices have been installed in a further 4,162 homes, leaving 4,736 - or 23.53 per cent of the council's housing stock - still waiting to have them installed.

In properties fitted with an interlinked system, if one smoke alarm goes off, they all go off. They must be fitted in every living room and hallway with a heat alarm required in the kitchen under the Scottish Government's new law.

In addition, carbon monoxide detectors are now legally required in every room that has a carbon-fuelled appliance such as a wood stove.

Across Scotland, people have faced difficulties sourcing the alarms due to supply issues and the Government has been criticised for not effectively informing people about the change.

As well as issues gaining permission to access some homes, The City of Edinburgh Council blamed the previously-enforced Covid-19 restrictions and market supply issues for...

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