Landlords and Smoke Alarm Compliance

If you are a landlord you must read this!

A smoke alarm may seem like a part of your home that’s just “there” and doesn’t require any further thought. But the little white device on your roof MUST be installed correctly, and checked regularly, as one day it may save your life. There have been numerous reports that show the risk of death in a house fire is reduced by more than half if properly maintained smoke alarms are installed. And if you are a Landlord, there is a real risk you can be fined or face jail time if you are not correctly maintaining the smoke alarms in your property.

Now is the time to ensure your property is compliant before new laws come are enforced from January 1, 2022.

Fire and Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan said from 1 January 2022, residential rental properties would be required to have interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, in hallways and on every level.

“This is about landlords putting the safety of their tenants first while also protecting their property and rental income,” Mr Ryan said.

Mr Ryan said residential rental properties that didn’t comply with the legislation would be unable to be rented out from January next year.

“This legislation isn’t new, it was introduced in 2017. We gave landlords until January 2022 to ensure they had time to make changes to their property,” Mr Ryan said.

“If you haven’t made the necessary changes to your rental property now is the time. Complying with the legislation is not optional, it’s the law.”

QFES Commissioner Greg Leach said interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms were designed to give residents extra time to escape a house fire.

“Research tells us that children are less likely to wake to the sound of a smoke alarm. This makes it important that adults in the home can hear them,” Commissioner Leach said.

“Interconnection means that the smoke alarms communicate with each other so that if one smoke alarm activates in one room all the smoke alarms activate, making it more likely that everyone will have the best chance of getting out before they are overcome by smoke.”

“Don’t wait to protect yourself, your family and your property. Everyone should make the change as soon as possible,” he said.

Details on the requirements:

Smoke alarms in all dwellings must:

• be photoelectric (AS 3786-2014); and
• not also contain an ionisation sensor; and
• be less than 10 years old; and
• operate when tested; and
• be interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling so all activate together; and
• be either hardwired or powered by a non-removable 10-year battery.

Smoke alarms must be installed on each storey:

• in each bedroom; and
• in hallways which connect bedrooms and the rest of the dwelling; or
• if there is no hallway, between the bedrooms and other parts of the storey; and
• if there are no bedrooms on a storey, at least one smoke alarm must be installed in the most likely path of travel to exit the dwelling.

In addition to the above, property managers/owners are currently required to:

• test and clean smoke alarms and replace any flat or nearly flat batteries within 30 days before the start of a tenancy
• not remove a smoke alarm or a battery (other than to replace it), or do anything to reduce the effectiveness of the alarm e.g. paint it.

Tenants must:

• test and clean (by vacuuming or dusting) smoke alarms at least once every 12 months
• replace any flat or nearly flat batteries
• advise the property owner/manager if there is any issue with the alarm (apart from batteries)
• allow the property owner/manager right of entry to install smoke alarms
• not remove a smoke alarm or the battery (other than to replace it), or do anything to reduce the effectiveness of the alarm e.g. paint or cover it

You do not need to be qualified or licensed to clean or test a domestic smoke alarm. Some real estate agents may outsource smoke alarm maintenance to another company as part of their processes. Tenancy rules permit entry for the purposes of complying with smoke alarm legislation.

For more information on installing smoke alarms and what’s required of Queensland landlords, tenants and owner occupiers, visit qld.gov.au/smokealarms.