Home safety for leaseholders

Prevent accidents in your home.

Help prevent accidents in the home by using the following checklist for each area of the house:

Living room

  • Always keep open fires, electric and gas fires and portable heaters guarded
  • Always keep windows locked or guarded
  • Do not remove window restrictors unless the window is being cleaned. Once cleaning has been carried out re-engaged it immediately.
  • While a window restrictor is removed, the window must not be left unattended
  • Protect electrical sockets by fitting child proof covers

Garden and pathways

  • Do not leave sharp tools lying around. Keep them safely locked away and out of reach
  • Make sure your garden is secure by keeping fences, walls and gates in good repair to ensure children don't get out onto busy roads
  • Swings and climbing frames should be securely fixed and well maintained.
  • BBQs can be a major fire hazard. Never leave them unattended when children are around. Lit BBQs give off carbon monoxide (CO) so BBQs should never be used indoors
  • Keep paths and steps clean and well maintained
  • Use a shed to lock away dangerous chemicals like weed killers, sharp tools and electrical equipment when not in use. Store all chemicals in the original containers and never in cups or soft drinks bottles
  • Cover ponds and empty paddling pools immediately after use
  • Unplug electrical equipment when not in use. Never use in the wet and keep in good repair. Fitting an RCD (residual current device) could save a life
  • Always keep an eye on children when playing with animals. Make sure animals are kept under control
  • Make sure you know if any of the plants in your garden are poisonous and keep them out of reach of young children

Kitchen

  • Ensure all sharp kitchen implements are kept out of reach and sight at all times
  • Ensure all potentially dangerous liquids, such as bleach and detergents are kept out of reach – preferably in a locked container/cupboard
  • When cooking keep pans out of reach of young children
  • Fit short or curly leads to kettles, coffee makers, deep fat fryers and similar items
  • Keep hot drinks out of reach at all times
  • Use place mats rather than table cloths to help prevent hot drinks and food being pulled onto young children and toddlers
  • Look at having a fire blanket available and know what to do in the event of a chip pan fire

Hallway and staircases

  • If toddlers are in the house you should have stair gates fitted in the right place and of the correct type
  • Keep hallways and staircases free from clutter such as toys and clothes

Bedrooms

  • Ensure your child's night wear is fully flame retardant
  • Ensure accessible windows are fitted with safety locks. Safety restrictors should not be removed unless for cleaning
  • Bunk beds should only be used by children over 6

Bathrooms

  • Ensure medicines are kept out of reach of children preferably in a locked bathroom cabinet
  • Keep pills in containers with child resistant tops. Do not transfer pills into unmarked bottles
  • Cosmetics should not be accessible
  • The thermostat on your hot water system or immersion heater should not bet set higher than 54 degrees Celsius
  • Young children should not be left alone in the bathroom
  • Use a bath mat if the bath is not slip resistant

Gas safety 

You are responsible for ensuring that your gas appliances are safe.

Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause:

  • gas leaks
  • fires
  • explosions
  • CO poisoning

It is really important for everyone's safety that the council’s qualified engineers have access to carry out annual checks of your gas supply and appliances when they request it.

Visit the Gas Safe Register website for advice on what you should do to stay gas safe.

Your responsibilities if you are sub-letting your flat 

As a landlord you are responsible for your tenants’ safety and must ensure:

  • gas pipework, flues and appliances provided for tenants’ use are maintained in a safe condition
  • all gas appliances and flues provided for tenants’ use have an annual safety check – your tenants can report you to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) if you don’t provide one, so it’s important to remember
  • a Gas Safety Record is provided to the tenant within 28 days of completing the check or to any new tenant before they move in
  • you keep a copy of the Gas Safety Record until 2 further checks have taken place
  • maintenance and annual safety checks must be carried out by a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer – you can also find this information by checking the back of the engineer’s Gas Safe ID card
  • all gas equipment (including any appliance left by a previous tenant) is safe or otherwise removed before re-letting
  • a CO alarm is required to be fitted in every habitable room of a rental property containing gas appliances (excluding appliances used for cooking purposes)  – as a landlord, you are required to carry out checks and tests to ensure that CO alarms are working the day any new tenancy begins 
  • before purchasing a CO alarm, always ensure it complies with British Standard EN 50291 and carries a British or European approval mark, such as a Kitemark

The HSE has useful information on the following: