Government grants final campaign demand

The news marks a victory for Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign, which pushed for the alteration. It means that all three of the campaign’s demands have now met with success.

In November the Tenant Services Authority pledged to start a national database of all UK tower blocks, listing their most recent fire risk assessments and 100 social landlords have signed up to the campaign’s call for fire safety notices to be installed on every landing of tower blocks.

The Communities and Local Government department announced this week that it would make changes to part J of the building regulations.

It said that it had revised guidance on part J to ‘ensure that combustion appliances [like stoves and fires] can continue to function safely in more airtight homes’. The changes take effect from 1 October.

Inside Housing campaigned on the issue following the death of 26-year-old shared owner Elouise Littlewood in the Bedfont Lakes development in Hounslow. Her new build flat had a full set of gas safety certificates.

Ms Littlewood’s father Alan said the change marked a ‘giant step forward’ and was long overdue. He said older properties should be updated too.

Steve Coffey, chief executive of Liverpool Mutual Homes, has been a vocal backer of the campaign. He said the regulation changes were a ‘positive step’ but did not go far enough. He added alarms should be required in homes with other gas systems as well - a move Inside Housing will continue to push for.

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