Alarms are the cheapest piece of landlord compliance and one of the easiest to overlook, because once they are fitted they mostly sit there doing nothing. The rules are short, so there is no excuse for getting them wrong, and a council can fine you up to £5,000 if you do.
Where alarms have to go
The rules in England, updated in October 2022, set two requirements. A smoke alarm must be fitted on every storey of the property that is used as living accommodation. A storey with a bathroom or a hallway counts if it is part of the living space. A three-storey house needs an alarm on each of the three floors.
A carbon monoxide alarm must be fitted in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance. That covers a gas boiler, a gas fire, an oil boiler, and a wood or coal burner. The 2022 change added fixed combustion appliances other than gas cookers to the requirement, so a room with a log burner now needs a carbon monoxide alarm where previously it might not have. Gas cookers are currently excluded.
The regulations do not specify a type of alarm, so you can use battery or mains-powered models, but a good sealed long-life alarm saves the tenant changing batteries and saves you the argument about who was responsible.
Testing at the start
At the start of each new tenancy, on the day it begins, you must make sure every required alarm is present and working. Press the test button and confirm it sounds. Note the date you did it. This is a specific duty tied to the start of the tenancy, not a vague expectation, and it is easy to evidence with a dated note or a line on the inventory.
During the tenancy
Once the tenancy is running, the day-to-day testing falls to the tenant, and it is sensible to tell them so in writing at the start. If the tenant reports that an alarm is faulty, you have to repair or replace it, and the regulations expect you to act as soon as reasonably practicable. Keep a record of the report and what you did about it.
Why it matters beyond the fine
The £5,000 penalty is the legal stick, but the real reason to take alarms seriously is that they are the last line of defence against a fire or a carbon monoxide leak. Carbon monoxide has no smell and no colour, and a faulty boiler or a blocked flue can produce it without any warning the tenant would notice. The alarm is the only thing that will. Fitting one in the right room is a small cost against a serious risk.
Enforcement
If a council believes you have not complied, it will serve a remedial notice giving you 28 days to act. If you do not, the council can arrange the work itself and can impose the penalty. There is a right to make representations if you think a notice is wrong, but the simpler course is to have the alarms fitted and tested before anyone asks.
If you use a managing agent
If an agent manages the property, agree that they will check the alarms are present and working at the start of each tenancy and respond to any fault the tenant reports. Ask them to record the start-of-tenancy test on the inventory. As with the other safety duties, the legal responsibility stays with you as the landlord, so it is worth confirming the checks are actually being done rather than assuming. Fit the right alarms in the right places, test them the day a tenancy starts, note that you did, and fix any that fail. It is the least demanding duty on the list and the one most likely to save a life.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Alarm rules differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Check the current position for your area before acting.
