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CO detector inspection

lyledunn

We can offer a survey of your property for £42.00 (£35.00+VAT). If our engineer finds that any carbon monoxide alarms are required within your property, there is an additional cost of £36.00 (£30+VAT) per alarm. These will be fitted at the time of the service in order to satisfy the requirements of the legislation.

Above was a communication from the estate agent that handles a rented property for me. It is in response to new legislation for tenancies commencing September 2024. No problem with the cost or the service but I wonder what sort of “engineer” will conduct the survey?  Chartered, MIET, fire safety professional, or just a fella in a beat-up white van who fixes door locks, dripping taps and does a bit of garden tidying etc? 

Methinks the title “engineer” has next to no value in some quarters!

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    It does sound like they use the word engineer to help generate more money.  If the rental property has a gas boiler the carbon monoxise alarm also falls under the perview of the Plumber/Heating engineer.

    As a side note testing a Heat/Smoke/CO is not just pressing the button, the person should also check the expiry date of the unit and locations (eg Aico states I think, smoke alarms to be at least 300m from a wall or or any obstructions).  It would be perfectably acceptable for you to ask that engineer to make a note of the expiry date. 

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    Why not, "surveyor"?

    The impression that I get is that the operative will simply look around the building and see whether CO alarms have been fitted in rooms with, e.g. wood-burning stoves. If not, they are screwed to the wall at £36 a pop. Screwfix have them for about half that amount.

    Who said anything about testing existing ones?

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    Lyledunn,

    I would have thought the Estate Agent as they are offerring the service will legally have to "Employ a sutably trained and competent person"?

    They as far as I can read are offerring a "Service" to you and as such are legally involved in that master/servent sale arrangement.

    They cant just say they are not involved and "Contract" sits between landlord and the so called engineer and nothing to do with the estate agent.

    Totally agree the word Engineer again isnt being used as one would expect.

    Cheers GTB

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    Not my intention to be disparaging to men in white vans, they are every bit as essential as engineers. However, the agents clearly use the term “engineer” in their sales pitch. As a customer, might it be a reasonable expectation that I get someone with a level of competency that would at least rest somewhere in the vicinity of the skills and knowledge implicit in that title?

    If my tenant suffered CO poisoning due to faulty or incorrectly installed detectors, might the court justifiably ask about the competency of the “engineer” who inspected the premises?

  • 0

    Well as all he or she will do is push the test button, perhaps change the batteries and report any that fail after that as needing replacement, or maybe velcro in a new one along side the dead one, you'll be lucky if their skilled installer has any technical qualification at all

    And that is more more less correct for the task at hand, anything else is an overspend. What is amusing is the hopeless ebullience  of the marketing bull from the agents, who presumably take a large share of the fee.

    However, it seems anecdotally (I never need one) that chaps with a van with one light not working who can fix  taps, door locks , unblock drains do weeding etc are in short supply, I know of at least one chap who gave up teaching mech eng at his local college of FE to become an odd job man, and has never looked back, in terms of both happiness and income. Though some odd jobs are very trivial, (one I am thinking of was picture hanging - not some old master in a frame, just some snapshots of family and friends.)

    M.

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