Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: what a rented home needs, and when it's checked

The rule

While the home is occupied under a tenancy, there must be a smoke alarm on each storey with a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. A bathroom or toilet counts as living accommodation, and a hall or landing counts as a room. There must also be a carbon monoxide alarm in any such room that contains a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, a rule that has applied since 1 October 2022.

What the words mean

A fixed combustion appliance is any fixed apparatus that burns fuel to make heat, such as a gas or oil boiler or a log-burning stove. In the government's view, a purely decorative fireplace that doesn't work isn't one. Living accommodation isn't a fixed list: in general, it's a room used for the main purposes of living, or one where someone spends a lot of time. Storey isn't defined either; in the government's view a mezzanine floor isn't one.

Which alarms, and where

The rules don't say whether alarms must be mains-powered or battery, or where exactly they go. The guidance recommends smoke alarms that meet BS 5839-6, CO alarms that meet BS 50291, and sealed-for-life batteries over replaceable ones. In general, a smoke alarm goes on the ceiling of a hall or landing, and a CO alarm at head height on a wall or shelf, about 1 to 3 metres from the appliance, following the maker's instructions. Heat detectors don't replace smoke alarms, and a tenant who is deaf or hard of hearing may need alarms that flash or vibrate. Supplying an alarm isn't the end of it: the guidance says to make sure each one is installed in a way that protects the tenants, and your local fire and rescue service may be able to advise.

The day-one check, and faults

On the day a new tenancy begins, you, or someone on your behalf, must check that each alarm is in proper working order. That day is the day the tenant is entitled to move in under the tenancy. A new tenancy here means one granted on or after 1 October 2022, other than one granted under an agreement made before that date, or one that follows on from an earlier tenancy with the same landlord, the same tenant and the same or substantially the same home.

If a tenant, or someone acting for them, reports a fault and the alarm is found not to be working, you must repair or replace it as soon as reasonably practicable.

Records, testing and batteries

GOV.UK says it's the landlord's responsibility to keep a record of when alarms are tested; one way is for the tenant to sign the check-in inventory to say the alarms were tested and work. During the tenancy, the guidance suggests showing tenants how, and how often, to test them.

Tenants are advised to try new batteries first, and to report it to you if that doesn't work or they can't change them; your duty to repair starts with their report.

Which homes the rules cover

The rules cover a tenancy of a home in England that gives the tenant the right to live there as their only or main residence and provides for rent, whether or not it is a market rent, unless it is excluded. A home that needs an HMO licence or a selective licence is outside these rules.

The tenancies left out

Excluded tenancies include lodgers who share a toilet, washing facilities, kitchen or living room with you or your family; long leases and tenancies of 7 years or more (not if either side can end it within the 7 years); student halls; hostels and refuges; care homes; hospitals and hospices; low cost home ownership; and accommodation an NHS body must provide.

Licensed homes

In a licensed HMO or a home with a selective licence, the licence itself must require the same smoke and CO alarms, kept in proper working order, and a declaration of their condition and position whenever the council asks. The council can add conditions of its own.

Breaking a licence condition is an offence of its own, with a civil penalty of up to £40,000 for conduct from 1 May 2026; the HMO licensing guide has the detail.

What it costs to miss

If the council has reasonable grounds to believe you've broken one of these duties, it must serve a remedial notice. You then have 28 days to take the action it sets out, and 28 days to make written representations. If you do make representations, the notice is suspended while the council considers them; if it then confirms the notice, you have 21 days from being told.

If you don't comply, the council can charge a penalty of up to £5,000, applied per breach rather than per landlord or property. It must serve any penalty charge notice within six weeks of being satisfied that you haven't done what the remedial notice required. If the council is satisfied you haven't complied, it must also, if the occupier agrees, arrange for someone to do the work within 28 days of reaching that view, giving the occupier at least 48 hours' notice.

You can ask the council to review a penalty charge notice, within the period the notice gives (at least 28 days). If it confirms or varies the notice, you can appeal that decision to the First-tier Tribunal.

If a tenant won't let you in, you must take all reasonable steps but aren't expected to go to court. The guidance suggests writing to the tenant to explain, trying to arrange a convenient time, and keeping a written record of each attempt.

What Datestone does for you

Each home's checklist carries the alarm rule (not for lodgers who share your home, whom the rules leave out), and each new tenancy you add brings the day-one check, both linked to their official sources. Where the home needs a mandatory HMO licence, the checklist shows the licence's alarm condition in their place. For a council's additional or selective licence, check your licence: its conditions apply, and the checklist may still show the standard alarm rule.