Aberdeen City Council is forcing entry to multi-storey flats where it has been unable to get in to install new smoke alarms.
The local authority warned in summer it was preparing to bring in a “new procedure” to help upgrade council properties which do not comply with the new laws.
Now, the council has confirmed it has started to force access to homes to get the new interlinked appliances installed.
The legislation, which came into force on February 1, 2022, requires all households in Scotland to have the appliances installed in their homes.
The Scottish Government rejected calls to extend the deadline despite concerns raised over a lack of awareness about the changes, shortages of alarms and costs on homeowners.
North-east Tory MSP Liam Kerr said it was “extremely worrying” a proportion of council properties still do not comply with the legislation, which he claims was “rushed through” more than a year ago.
‘Challenges’
A letter by Andy MacDonald, director of customer services at the city council, seen by the Press and Journal, said there have been “some challenges” installing the alarms.
These include tenants failing to stay in for pre-arranged appointments, failing to contact the contractor to re-arrange appointments or in a “small number” of cases refusing entry.
Extra appointment times have been offered by the council’s contractor, including weekday evenings and Saturday mornings.
Mr MacDonald added: “Our officers are also prioritising an approach of using the right to force entry on multi-storey properties where the installation has not been completed.
“This will be a joint approach with the housing and support officer for the tenancy and began in March 2023.
“This approach will only be applied in cases where all other contact methods have been exhausted and where the installation remains outstanding.”
He added: “Officers are also mindful of a tenant’s potential vulnerabilities and will continue to engage with other services where necessary to agree an approach.”
In January, it was revealed more than 1,000 council homes across Aberdeen are still to be fitted with the appliance out of a total of 22,500 rented properties.
Aberdeen City Council were asked how many properties still require alarms to be fitted but this was not provided.
A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “Numbers relating to fitting interlinked smoke alarms are continuing to drop and our officers are continuing to work with the remaining tenants to gain access.”
What are the new rules?
The new appliances must be installed in the room where individuals spend most of their time, as well as in kitchens and in hallways.
It is the responsibility of councils to ensure the alarms are installed for tenants.
Mr Kerr said: “There is no doubt these new alarms are needed to increase safety but legislating for this by SNP ministers has been shambolic from day one.
“Financially-crippled councils such as Aberdeen have been left to pick up the pieces for the Scottish Government’s dismal planning and non-existent awareness campaign which has resulted in the local authority having to force entry.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Interlinked fire alarms play a key part in improving fire safety within the home.
“The rules place a legal duty on local authorities to ensure homes are fitted with the correct alarms, and provide flexibility to recognise individual circumstances.
“Since 2015, social housing has been required to have fire alarms in place under the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, so there should be no homes that are without alarms, although these may have needed to be upgraded to meet the new standard.”
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