Smoke Detector Testing
It’s an inescapable fact that smoke detectors save lives.
As a homeowner, having a smoke detector in your home isn’t a legal requirement, but it’s highly recommended as a prudent investment that will keep you and your family safe.
As a landlord however, you’re legally obliged to install smoke detectors in your rental property, and to also ensure that they stay in good working order.
What is a smoke detector?
A smoke detector is a device that detects the presence of smoke, sounding an alarm to ensure that you take action in order to stay safe from harm – whether that’s in the event of a fire or smoke inhalation.
What type of smoke detector do I need?
Smoke detectors can be powered from the mains or be battery operated, and there are a wide variety of smoke detectors available on the market. Whilst there’s no law regulating which particular one you should choose, it will need to comply with British Standards.
Where should your smoke detector be placed?
Regulations state that if you’re letting a property, you’ll need at least one smoke detector on every floor that’s used by your tenants as living accommodation.
Beyond this, there’s no set rule about exactly where a smoke detector should be placed, but a hallway or landing is probably a good bet, as this is where any smoke may circulate in the event of a fire.
Smoke detectors – your duty as a landlord
As of October 2022, every private (and social) rental property is legally required to have at least one smoke detector on each floor that has a room that’s used for living accommodation. As a landlord, you’re required to make sure that the smoke detectors are in good working order, and that they’re properly fitted and installed.
You’ll need to test the smoke detector on the first day of any tenancy. From there, your tenants will be responsible for testing the smoke detectors in the property, and if they’re battery powered, they should replace the batteries as and when this is required.
However, if you’re informed by your tenants that there’s a fault with a smoke detector, the responsibility lies with you to repair or replace.
Unquestionable compliance with Safe2
It’s best practice as a landlord to record the details of:
✔️ When smoke detectors were fitted.
✔️ The dates on which any devices were tested.
✔️ Any faults that were reported by the tenants and any repairs that were carried out.
When you work with Safe2, your smoke detector test will be carried out by a Safe2 approved engineer who’ll document your compliance at every step.
To ensure that you’ve got everything covered, why not speak to a member of the Safe2 team about our subscription service?
Seamless, convenient, compliant.
Minimum grade and category of fire detection and fire alarm system for protection of life in typical premises
