Smoke Alarms 

A recent survey carried out by Landlord Today revealed that 94% of people (tenants and homeowners) aren’t testing their smoke alarms.

This is a worrying statistic when some guidelines state that you should be testing smoke detectors once a week! The main reason people gave for not testing was due to forgetfulness and the second was not knowing how to.

It can also impact your insurance claim if the alarms aren't working when the fire happened. Your claim could be rejected, resulting in you having to fork out for the repairs. 

Landlords are required to install at least one smoke alarm on every storey of the rental property and to check all alarms are working on the first day of the tenancy. 

As a worrying number of people aren't checking their alarms regularly enough, we decided to share some information which you can pass on to your tenants to keep them, and property, safe.

How do you check a smoke alarm? 

Testing of smoke alarms doesn’t require specialist skills or knowledge and should be straightforward for tenants to do themselves. 

It’s advised that landlords should provide their tenants with a demonstration and/or instructions to help them understand how, and how often, to test their smoke detector. 

Landlords should follow the individual manufacturer’s instructions for testing alarms and consider sharing these instructions with tenants to encourage regular testing. 

Whose responsibility is it to check a smoke alarm?

Regulations require landlords to ensure alarms are checked and in proper working order on the first day of a new tenancy. However, it’s the tenants responsibility to ensure that smoke detectors continue to work for the duration of their tenancy.

To comply with local authority requirements, landlords should keep a record of when they tested alarms at the beginning of a new tenancy. Failure to do so could lead to a fine of up to £5,000.

An easy way to do this is on the first day of a new tenancy. Make it a provision for your tenant to sign the inventory to confirm that the required alarms have been tested and that the tenant is satisfied they are in working order.

Which landlords are exempt from the requirement to install alarms?

The requirements under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations do not apply to resident landlords, HMO landlords (as the HMO licence imposes an obligation to install safety equipment), or tenancies granted for a fixed term of seven years or more (long leases)

How often should I check my smoke alarm? 

Smoke alarms should be tested at least once a month by tenants.

What happens if a smoke or CO alarm is faulty? Who is responsible for changing the batteries?

Tenants are responsible for arranging the replacement of batteries if their alarm isn’t working. If it still doesn’t work after replacing the batteries, it should be reported to their landlord as they are liable for repairing/replacing faulty alarms.

Read our guide for more information on HMO fire regulations.