Do blind cord safety devices have to be fitted by a professional?
Short answer: the professional-fitting rule binds the people who sell and install blinds for a living, not you. If you are a homeowner or tenant making an existing blind safer, you can fit a safety device yourself — the official advice is to follow the supplier's instructions and fix it securely. Here is where that line sits, and what it means in practice.
What the rule actually says
Since 2014, blinds in the UK have to meet the child safety requirements of BS EN 13120. The British Blind and Shutter Association's Make it Safe leaflet puts it plainly: “It is now illegal to supply or professionally install an internal window blind which does not comply” with those requirements, and “any professional installer of internal blinds must fit safety devices – by law.”
The joint guidance trading standards officers use, written with the BBSA and endorsed by the Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers, goes further for fitters: “a consumer cannot remove the trader's responsibility to install a safe product by signing a disclaimer. So if a non-integral device is required it must be installed by the professional installer.”
So if you pay someone to supply and fit a new corded blind, the cleat or tensioner should go up as part of that job. You should not be handed it in a bag, and you cannot sign that duty away.
What it means if you fit your own
None of this stops you fitting a device yourself. The same BBSA leaflet says: “If you are installing your own blinds or fitting your own safety devices make sure you follow all instructions provided by the supplier.” The trading standards guidance is more direct still about existing blinds: safety devices “are low-cost and easy to retrofit, so you do not have to wait until you replace a blind to improve its safety.”
Two points from that guidance are worth taking seriously when you do it yourself:
- Fix it properly. Tidies and tensioners “should be securely fixed to an adjacent surface”, and cleats need to be out of reach, at least 1.5 metres from the floor. A device that comes away from the wall is no device at all.
- Use it every time. A cleat only works if the cord is wound on after every use. See why cleats and tensioners are not foolproof.
Trading Standards also points to the BBSA's Make it Safe site, which lists local members who can supply or fit devices if you would rather not do it yourself.
Where a stick-on chain winder fits in
A no-drill winder like ours is a retrofit for a chain you already have. It sticks beside the window and you wind the loose loop up onto it, out of reach. It is the kind of thing the “fit your own” advice covers, and the same conditions apply: fit it on a sound, smooth surface, high enough, and follow the instructions. Where to fit a blind chain winder covers height and which walls work.
What it is not:
- Not a substitute for the device a fitter must supply with a new blind. If you are buying new, that device should come with it, and better still a blind with no loop at all. See what to ask the shop.
- Not a fix for inner cords. Roman and pleated blinds have cords on the back that a chain winder does nothing about. See Roman blinds and inner cords.
For the wider picture on what the law covers and what it leaves to you, see are corded blinds illegal in the UK?, and for other options, winder vs cutting vs a breakaway connector.