Guide to Legislation

Guide to Legislation

Guide to Legislation

Holiday Homes are subject to a number of regulations designed to protect you, your guests and employees against injury or harm. If you are letting your holiday home privately or through an agent these rules cannot be ignored but are fairly straightforward to adhere to.

Our guide sets out the main areas of legislation, if you have questions we are happy to give you further advice.

Electricity

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 state that you have a duty of care to ensure all electrical equipment supplied for business use is ‘safe’. This applies to guests, employees and contractors in your holiday home and to both second-hand and new equipment. Any equipment supplied after January 1995 must be marked with the appropriate CE symbol.

Your duty of care applies to both installed and portable electrical appliances. You therefore need to have a full electrical inspection with an Electrical Instillation Condition Report (EICR) carried out every 5 years by a qualified electrician. A copy of the certificate needs to be in your holiday home and a copy given to your letting agent.

You will also need to carry out regular testing and checks on your portable

appliances looking out for damaged cables, loose sockets, frayed wiring, burn marks, hot sockets or plugs, flickering lights or tripping, keeping a written record of each visual inspection. It is best practice to carry out PAT testing every year and no longer than ever two years with the test being carried out by a competent person.

Since July 2008 it became a legal requirement for circuits in new or rewired homes to include a residual current device (RCD). An RCD is a safety device that automatically switches the electricity off if there is a fault. If your holiday home was re-wired or built before this time, there is no legal requirement to add one.

Gas

As from 1 October 1994 it became mandatory that all gas appliances in rented accommodation are subjected to an annual check. These need to be carried out by a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. A copy of the certificate must be in the holiday home and a copy with the letting agent.

Carbon Monoxide

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 states that you are legally required to fit a carbon monoxide detector in rooms containing a solid fuel burning appliance such as a log burner, open fire, gas or oil appliance. It is best practice to test all alarms weekly or on each changeover with a log of the checks.

Fire

Holiday homeowners are obliged under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England and Wales), to undertake a fire risk assessment. You are also required to improve any safety measures that are identified in the assessment and to keep the risks under review.

There are some useful guides including “Do you have Paying Guests?” to help you comply with fire safety law and carry out fire risk assessments. We recommend that you use a qualified fire consultant to carry out the risk assessment for you. We recommend Julian Whiting from Kernow Fire Consultancy with fire equipment supplied by Tony Hicks from Torch Fire.

It is best practice to review your Fire Risk Assessment annually and a legal requirement to install smoke alarms on every floor that is used as a living space.

What must you do?

• Carry out a fire risk assessment.

• If necessary, improve your fire safety measures.

• Keep the risks, and your fire safety measures under review.

• Keep records (alarm testing and servicing, gas, electrical safety, PAT, annual service and periodic inspections).

• Provide clear instructions of what to do in case of a fire

5 steps to a fire risk assessment

• Identify the hazards

• Identify who is at risk

• Evaluate the existing measures, remove, reduce or protect

• Record, plan, inform, instruct & train

• Review regularly

What do Cornwall Fire & rescue look for if they are called to inspect?

• Interlinked automatic fire detection throughout (grade D or FLD2)

• Emergency lighting or torches (if borrowed lighting insufficient)

• Solid fitting internal doors, ideally FD30S for high risk rooms

• Are the means of escape adequate for the property

• External escape door should be keyless and simple to operate

• Fire action notices with postcode and 6 figure grid reference

• Multipurpose fire extinguishers and blankets

• Furniture compliant with the Furniture & Furnishing Regs 1998

• Carbon monoxide detection (if hazards have been identified)

• Chimneys, woodburners well maintained

• BBQ safety advice for visitors

• Servicing records (fire alarm, gas, electric, detectors, lighting)

Furniture

All holiday homeowners are responsible for ensuring that their upholstered furniture meets the requirements set out in The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1992. The regulations state that all upholstered cushions, pillows, furniture, beds, mattresses, headboards and sofa beds meet the set fire resistance standard, ensuring furniture has a fire-resistant filling material, the cover fabric passes a match resistance test and the cover fabric and filling material pass a cigarette resistance test all with the appropriate labels.

It is worth noting that the regulations apply to both new and second-hand furniture but not to antique furniture made before 1950.

Oil

If you have an oil supply, by law you are required to have any oil-fired equipment and appliances serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions annually. It is also a good idea to inspect the storage tanks and supply pipes regularly to check for any leaks.

Insurance

The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998 and the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 & 1984 makes it a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance and Public

Liability Insurance to ensure the physical safety of anybody who enters your holiday home. Cover ranges from 2 million pounds to 10 million pounds and we recommend a minimum of 2 million pounds.

Accessibility

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 requires holiday homeowners to have a written Accessibility Statement for their property. An Accessibility Statement explains who your holiday home is suitable for.

The Equality Act 2010 (for England, Scotland and Wales) and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (for Northern Ireland) makes it illegal to discriminate against guests on the basis of gender, race or disability.

In order to ensure people with disabilities are not treated any less favourably as a result of their disability, the Equality Act 2010 states that ‘reasonable adjustments’ need to be put in place. What might constitute a ‘reasonable adjustment’ for one holiday homeowner might be different for another. However, there are a few ‘reasonable adjustments’ that all holiday homeowners should adhere to. For example, apart from the most exceptional circumstances, it would be against the law to refuse access to a disabled person who needs an assistance dog regardless of whether you usually accept dogs or not in your holiday home.

Age discrimination

Self-Catering Operators are required by law under the Equality Act 2010 to treat all persons aged over 18 in the same way. This does not mean that there can be no selectivity at all when taking bookings, but selection must not take age into account if all the party are aged 18 or over.

It remains lawful to refuse stag parties and hen parties – but of course you must treat these male and female prenuptial celebrations in the same way, to avoid sex discrimination. If you refuse young men on a stag party, you must refuse old men on a stag party too. Self-catering accommodation providers will still be able to refuse young groups provided they can show good reason, the technical term for this is ‘Objective Justification’, past bad experience – of which you have records –would be possible objective grounds.

Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (NRLS)

The NRLS is a scheme for taxing the UK rental of non-resident landlords. This scheme applies to any owner living outside the UK. As a UK letting agent, we are required to deduct basic rate tax from any rent collected for non-resident landlords, unless HMRC advise otherwise.

Legionella

Whilst there is no strict regulation regarding legionella in self-catering holiday accommodation you do have a duty of care

to ensure all guests are safe whilst in your holiday home. Below are some simple actions which can prevent legionella bacteria growth along with information on how legionella bacteria can occur.

Legionella can occur due to the following;

• Water temperature between 20 & 45 degrees

• Any stagnant water? (E.g. Pipes to a washing machine not in use?)

• Any showers/taps/baths not frequently used

• Any debris in the system (e.g., rust/ sludge)

• Thermostatic mixing valves (blends hot water with cold to ensure constant temp)

Actions to be taken

• Ensure water doesn’t sit stagnant in any pipes (if a property is empty for more than 2 weeks all showers/taps/ baths should be run for 5 minutes to flush through any stagnant water

• Ensure water cisterns are covered, insulated and free from debris

• Insulate any pipework

• Ensure hot water cylinder maintains the correct temperature

• Disinfect shower heads monthly – this can be done with bleach or Milton by removing the shower head and leaving to soak in the solution for 5 minutes