Certificates & safety
What are the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules for landlords?
Landlords must provide smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms in rented properties according to rules set by regulation, and must check they work at the start of each new tenancy.
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<img src="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/smoke-and-co-alarms/diagram.svg" alt="smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements — diagram from PropertyOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/smoke-and-co-alarms">What are the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules for landlords?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk">PropertyOptix</a>
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</figure>The requirements distinguish between smoke alarms, which relate to storeys of the property, and carbon monoxide alarms, which relate to rooms containing certain appliances. The two follow different logics and are commonly conflated.
There is a testing duty at the start of a tenancy and a repair duty during it, triggered by the tenant reporting a fault. The second means a landlord who never hears from a tenant has no ongoing testing obligation, which is not the same as the alarms working.
Requirements have been extended over time and differ between the nations. A portfolio compliant under an older version of the rules may not be compliant now.
What goes wrong in practice
- Alarms fitted but not tested at the start of a new tenancy, or no record that they were.
- Carbon monoxide alarms omitted from rooms with qualifying appliances.
- Reported faults not repaired promptly, which is where the enforcement risk sits.
- Compliance assessed against superseded rules.