The other day when I went to value a property for rental I met the landlord who had being busy doing all the right things to get her flat ready for renting it out first time.
Having lived in the property herself this was her first Buy To Let and she had redecorated the flat throughout with new carpets and it was all looking great. When I walked into the flat I thought this is promising and will rent easily, then I went into the lounge and noticed the ceiling had polystyrene tiles! These weren’t the usual small square ones but larger ones with bevelled edges. They had been newly painted with white emulsion and actually looked quite smart. My face must have told the tale (I’d never make a poker player!). ‘Are these tiles in many rooms I asked?’ Yes, everywhere except the hallway, kitchen and bathroom” was the response!
Having lived in the property herself this was her first Buy To Let and she had redecorated the flat throughout with new carpets and it was all looking great. When I walked into the flat I thought this is promising and will rent easily, then I went into the lounge and noticed the ceiling had polystyrene tiles! These weren’t the usual small square ones but larger ones with bevelled edges. They had been newly painted with white emulsion and actually looked quite smart. My face must have told the tale (I’d never make a poker player!). ‘Are these tiles in many rooms I asked?’ Yes, everywhere except the hallway, kitchen and bathroom” was the response!
| The flat was ready to be let and the new carpets down so if they had to be removed it wasn’t going to be a straightforward task. “Let me go away and find out about the tiles” I told the landlord. I had heard that it was illegal to let a property with such tiles for Health and Safety reasons but thought I would get the official line and then we could look at what needed to be done. |  |
When I returned to the office, I searched online and there did not seem to be a consistent agreement on whether these were permissible. I looked through the forums where the question had been posed and was still none the wiser.
After being told by the Fire service that they would recommend they were taken down but didn’t seem to know whether it was ok to leave them up, I decided to call the local council. I spoke with building control who confirmed that it was ok to leave them up in a rental property and they checked with the private housing section who reiterated the same and they posed no increased health and safety issues. They gave me the names of the officers concerned and told me to include this information in the property file in case of any enquiries. They told me if they were painted in emulsion and the regulation smoke alarms were in place then it was fine.
After being told by the Fire service that they would recommend they were taken down but didn’t seem to know whether it was ok to leave them up, I decided to call the local council. I spoke with building control who confirmed that it was ok to leave them up in a rental property and they checked with the private housing section who reiterated the same and they posed no increased health and safety issues. They gave me the names of the officers concerned and told me to include this information in the property file in case of any enquiries. They told me if they were painted in emulsion and the regulation smoke alarms were in place then it was fine.
The landlord was overjoyed that they were not unsafe and she knew to remove them would have been a major exercise. I thought I would write a short blog about this as I hope this would help anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
The answer to the question is obtain approval from the Building Control Department and Private Housing at the Local Council. Ideally, remove the tiles before the property is renovated but if too late then it is fine to let the property with them in situ.
The answer to the question is obtain approval from the Building Control Department and Private Housing at the Local Council. Ideally, remove the tiles before the property is renovated but if too late then it is fine to let the property with them in situ.
| For further information call Karen Southon on 01304 825153 or email: [email protected] |  |
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