Smoke alarms: your landlord's legal duty

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms save lives. In rented properties, landlords have specific legal duties to install and maintain them. You will find out what the law requires, what happens when a landlord fails to comply, and what you should do if your alarms are missing or not working.

The legal requirement for smoke alarms

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (which amended the 2015 regulations) require landlords in England to:

• Install a smoke alarm on every storey of the property that is used as living accommodation
• Install a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance (such as a boiler, log burner, or gas fire), note that gas cookers do not trigger this requirement
• Test all alarms on the first day of each new tenancy to confirm they are working
• Repair or replace alarms as soon as they are notified that one is not working

These requirements apply to all residential tenancies, including assured shorthold tenancies, assured tenancies, and regulated tenancies.

Who is responsible for alarms?

The landlord is responsible for installing and testing alarms at the start of the tenancy. During the tenancy, the responsibility for testing shifts in practice, tenants are expected to test alarms periodically (by pressing the test button) and to report any failures to the landlord promptly.

However, when a tenant reports that an alarm is not working, the landlord is then responsible for repairing or replacing it promptly. A landlord who is notified of a defective alarm and takes no action is in breach of the regulations.

What happens if a landlord fails to comply?

The local council (specifically environmental health) can serve a remedial notice on a landlord who is not complying with the alarm regulations. If the landlord does not take the required action within 28 days, the council can arrange for the work to be done itself and charge the landlord.

Local councils can also impose a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for breach of the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations.

Your rights as a tenant

If your property does not have smoke alarms, or the alarms are not working:

1. Report it to your landlord in writing: keep a copy of your report. If you send a text or email, keep a record.

2. Report it to the council's environmental health department: if your landlord does not act, environmental health can require them to comply.

3. Do not assume someone else has reported it: if you notice an alarm is missing or not working, act.

You cannot be evicted for reporting a missing or defective alarm. Retaliatory eviction following a complaint about safety is unlawful.

Smoke alarms and disrepair

A missing or defective smoke alarm is a safety issue under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which environmental health uses to assess hazards in rented properties. A home that lacks required alarms may be assessed as having a hazard, which can trigger enforcement action against the landlord.

In some circumstances, a landlord's systematic failure to maintain a safe property, including failure to install required safety equipment, can form part of a wider disrepair or fitness for habitation claim.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If your home has serious disrepair beyond alarm compliance, we can advise on your options.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• Carbon monoxide and your landlord's duties
• Fire safety and your landlord's duties
• Gas safety and your landlord's duties
• Electrical safety and your landlord's duties
• How to request an HHSRS inspection