Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Rules for Landlords

You must fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey of the home that has a room used as living accommodation. This includes bathrooms and toilets.

Hallways and landings are usually the best places, since they connect the main rooms.

You must fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance, such as a boiler or a wood burner. Gas cookers are excluded.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions on where to position the alarm.

• Check every alarm works on the first day of each new tenancy.
• Repair or replace an alarm once a tenant reports it is faulty.
• Keep a record of each check, with the date.

Councils can require you to fit or repair alarms, and can fine landlords who do not comply. The rules apply to both private and social landlords.

For the full set of landlord duties, see Landlord Safety Certificates Checklist for England.

Logging each check and replacement on Propvio gives you a dated record if a tenant or council ever questions it. You can set a reminder for the next tenancy changeover.

Alarms with a sealed long-life battery, or mains-powered alarms, avoid the problem of tenants removing batteries. Every alarm has a replacement date printed on it, usually around ten years after manufacture.

A heat alarm is often better than a smoke alarm in a kitchen, since cooking can set off a smoke alarm. Interlinked alarms all sound together, which helps in larger homes. They are required in Scotland and good practice elsewhere.