Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: Are your properties compliant?

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are a vital part of property safety and an important legal responsibility for landlords. Ensuring that suitable alarms are correctly installed, maintained, and regularly tested helps protect tenants while also reducing potential liability for landlords. But we also need to ensure that these alarms are also still within date.

Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022, landlords must ensure that:

• At least one smoke alarm is installed on every storey of a property where there is a room used as living accommodation.
• A carbon monoxide alarm is installed in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, including gas boilers and gas fires.
• Any alarm found to be faulty is repaired or replaced once the landlord has been informed.

To help demonstrate  compliance audit trail, we have now instructed our panel of Gas Safe Engineers that whilst on site carrying out your annual Gas Safety Inspection they also:

• Check that all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are present and functioning correctly.
• Record the location of both the Smoke & Carbon monoxide alarms within the property.
• Note the expiry dates of any alarms installed.
• Immediately replace any that have expired
• Confirm whether additional alarms may be required to meet current legislation and best practice recommendations.

If you arrange your own contractor to carry our your Gas Safety, we would urge you to ensure that share this information and request with them.

Why it matters

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms provide an early warning of potentially life-threatening hazards. A working smoke alarm can significantly reduce the risk of serious injury or death in the event of a fire, while carbon monoxide alarms help protect occupants from exposure to this odourless and highly dangerous gas.

Regular maintenance and prompt replacement of expired or faulty alarms are simple but essential steps in keeping tenants safe and ensuring compliance with current regulations.

Best practice recommendations

Whilst legislation sets out the minimum requirements, we strongly recommend that all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are securely wall or ceiling mounted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and positioned in the correct locations throughout the property.

Proper installation helps to:

• Ensure alarms operate as intended.
• Maximise the effectiveness of early warning systems.
• Reduce the likelihood of alarms being accidentally moved, removed, or misplaced during the tenancy.
• Provide clear evidence that appropriate safety measures are in place. 

As part of routine property inspections, we will also once again check location and operation of your alarms to ensure they remain fit for purpose and continue to provide effective protection for their tenants.

We are happy to discuss this with you further, please do not hesitate to contact us.