Smoke Alarms & Your Home

Fire. It’s quick, it’s ferocious and it can be incredibly costly if one breaks out in your home.

While sometimes fire is an act of mother nature, house fires can break out for unforeseen reasons too. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to protect yourself against them.

Properly maintained smoke alarms are a fail safe protection for your tenant, yourself and your family, and your home. That’s why we recommend giving them a health check every year.

Are Smoke Alarms required in my home?

Yes, smoke alarms must be installed in all homes (source – DFES):

• Built since 1997;
• Substantially renovated since 1997;
• Sold since October 2009;
• Available for rent or hire.

Do Smoke Alarms have to be replaced even though they’re hard wired?

Yes, all smoke alarms have to be replaced after 10 years. They’re guaranteed to perform for up to 10 years, but after that time they may be compromised.

How do I know when my smoke alarms need replacing?

The date replacement is required is usually noted inside the cover of the unit.

Do smoke alarms have to be interconnected?

Yes, smoke alarms installed in any home built after 2015 must have interconnected smoke alarms. That way, if a fire breaks out in one area of the house, the other will alarm at the same time.

Maintaining Rental Property Smoke Alarms

As part of our annual maintenance program, we encourage our land lords to get a licensed electrician to check your smoke alarms each year to ensure they are working and don’t need replacing. This quick and low cost inspection has the potential to save lives and many thousands of dollars damage in case of fire.

As a general rule, it is the Landlord’s responsibility to make sure that smoke alarms are:

• Less than 10 years old;
• In good working condition;
• Connected to the mains power on a permanent basis.

Some exemptions can be sought where there isn’t enough space in the ceiling etc.

Do tenant’s have to maintain smoke alarms?

Where smoke alarms are easily accessible in a rental , tenants are required to make sure they’re in working order to a practical extent. This involves changing the battery each year. Even though they’re hard wired, these smoke alarms still need a battery backup in case of a blackout.

Tenants are also required to test the alarm is working and familiarise themselves with the alert. All smoke alarm units have a test button for that very reason.

Smoke Alarms and Selling Your Home

Smoke alarms must be compliant before you sell your home. It can cause delays at settlement if they’re not. We always recommend getting an electrician to check smoke alarms are compliant before listing your home as best practice.

Are the penalties if my home doesn’t comply?

Aside from the risk to lives and your property, your local government authority can issue an infringement of up to $750.

Fines of up to $5,000 can be charged to a landlord or seller who is prosecuted for non-compliant smoke alarms found in their home.

Your insurance coverage may also be impacted if compliant smoke alarms aren’t installed.

Want some more info?

The Department of Fire & Emergency Services have a handy fact sheet with loads of detail. You can download a copy here.