How many alarms does my property need ?

Every home must have one smoke alarm in the living room or the room

you use mostone smoke alarm in every hallway and landingone heat

alarm in the kitchen

 

All smoke and heat alarms should be mounted on the ceiling and be

interlinked.If you have a carbon-fuelled appliance – like a boiler, fire,

heater or flue – in any room, you must also have a carbon monoxide

detector in that room, but this does not need to be linked to the fire

alarms.

 

If an area is open plan, one alarm can cover the whole room provided it

can be located where it is no more than 7.5 metres from any point in the

room. If your space includes a kitchen area it should be a heat alarm rather

than a smoke alarm.

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What the alarms must have

If you use battery alarms, they must be sealed tamper-proof units and have long-life lithium batteries, which can be up to 10 years.

 

You may be able to fit these types of alarms yourself and they do not need an electrician. Batteries last for the duration of its operational lifespan, which may be up to 10 years - although sensors degrade over time.

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Mains-wired alarms are usually cheaper but if you use them, they must be fitted by a qualified electrician and must be replaced every 10 years. 

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If you also need a carbon monoxide alarm and it is battery-operated, it must have a sealed battery for the duration of its lifespan.

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Specialist alarms

If specialist alarms are needed – such as for deaf people or Telecare systems – these must be fitted in addition to any smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms.

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Interlinked smoke and heat alarms are required to be installed in addition to any Telecare smoke/heat alarms to help keep you safe. If you have fitted or are planning to fit interlinked smoke and heat alarms, please do not remove your telecare smoke, heat or carbon monoxide alarms.

 

How long you have to install the alarms

 

The new law came into force on 1 February 2022, but it provides flexibility for people to fit the necessary alarms within a ‘reasonable period’ after this deadline.

 

No one will be criminalised if they need more time, and there are no penalties for non-compliance. However, we would encourage everyone to install these alarms, which can help save lives.