Renting in England

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in a rented home

Your landlord must fit a smoke alarm on every storey you live on, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed boiler, fire or stove, though not for a gas cooker. They must check the alarms work on the day your tenancy starts and fix one when you report it. The council enforces this, with fines of up to £5,000.

England only · Checked against GOV.UK on 25 October 2026 · Independent, not a government service

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What your landlord must do

These duties come from the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 widened them from 1 October 2022: before then, a carbon monoxide alarm was only needed for solid fuel such as coal or wood, and there was no express duty to repair.

A smoke alarm on every storey you live on: At least one on each floor that has a room used, even partly, as living accommodation. A bathroom or toilet counts, so a floor with only a bathroom on it still needs one.
A carbon monoxide alarm by fixed fuel-burning appliances: In any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas or oil boiler, a gas fire or a wood burner. Gas cookers are the one exception. A hall or landing counts as a room, so a boiler in the hallway still needs an alarm.
Every alarm checked on the day your tenancy starts: For a tenancy that started on or after 1 October 2022, the landlord, or someone for them, must check each required alarm works on the day you are entitled to move in.
Repairs once you report a fault: If you tell the landlord an alarm isn’t working and it turns out to be faulty, they must repair or replace it, as soon as reasonably practicable.

“New tenancy” means one granted on or after 1 October 2022. A tenancy that simply continues an earlier one, with the same landlord, tenant and home, doesn’t count as new for the moving-in check. The other duties apply to every tenancy the rules cover.

Where the alarms should go

The regulations say which floors and rooms need an alarm, not exactly where to fix it. The government’s guidance suggests:

Smoke alarms on the ceiling of a hall or landing, where smoke would travel on its way through the home.
Carbon monoxide alarms at head height, on a wall or shelf, about 1 to 3 metres from the appliance.
Alarms that meet the British Standards: BS 5839-6 for smoke and BS EN 50291 for carbon monoxide.
Vibrating or flashing alarms where someone in the home is deaf or hard of hearing.

A decorative fireplace that can’t be used isn’t a combustion appliance, in the guidance’s view, so it doesn’t need a carbon monoxide alarm.

On the day you move in

The landlord or agent must test each alarm on your first day. The guidance suggests they keep a record, for example by asking you to sign the inventory to say the alarms were tested and working. Before you sign it:

Walk every floor, including any floor that only has a bathroom on it, and find the smoke alarm.
Find every boiler, gas fire, oil heater or wood burner, and check the same room has a carbon monoxide alarm.
Press the test button on each alarm yourself, or watch it being done.
Note anything missing on the inventory: the inventory checklist.

While you’re there, collect the gas safety record if there is gas, and the electrical safety report. The rest is in the new tenancy checklist.

During the tenancy

What the landlord does

Repairs or replaces any alarm you report as faulty, as soon as reasonably practicable. If you won’t let them in, the landlord must take reasonable steps, such as writing to you and offering a convenient time, but isn’t expected to go to court for access.

What you do

Test the alarms once a month by pressing the button, as fire services advise.
If an alarm stops working and has a replaceable battery, try a new battery first.
If it still doesn’t work, or the battery is sealed or it is mains-wired, tell the landlord in writing.

How the council enforces it

Your council, not the fire service, enforces these rules. The steps are set out in the regulations:

If the council has reasonable grounds to think the landlord is in breach, it must serve a remedial notice within 21 days.
The landlord has 28 days from the notice to fit, repair or check the alarms, and can make written representations in that time.
If the landlord doesn’t comply, the council must arrange for the work to be done within 28 days, with your consent and at least 48 hours’ notice to you.
The council can also charge the landlord a penalty of up to £5,000. The landlord can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

A landlord who shows they took all reasonable steps to comply is not in breach. Each council publishes a statement of principles saying how it sets the penalty, and some offer a discount for quick payment.

What are the smoke alarm regulations for a rented home in England?

Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended from 1 October 2022, a landlord must fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey with living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. They must check the alarms work on the first day of a new tenancy and repair or replace one when told it is faulty. Councils enforce the rules and can fine a landlord up to £5,000.

Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm if I only have a gas cooker?

Not under these rules. Gas cookers are excluded, so a kitchen whose only appliance is a gas hob or oven doesn’t legally need a carbon monoxide alarm. A gas boiler in the same kitchen does trigger the duty. The landlord must still have every gas appliance they provide, cooker included, safety checked each year.

How to check the gas safety record.

Who tests the alarms during the tenancy?

The law makes the landlord check them on the day a new tenancy starts, then repair them when told of a fault. Day to day, testing falls to you in practice: the government’s guidance says tenants should report a faulty alarm and change the battery first if it has a replaceable one. Fire services advise pressing the test button once a month.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service advises testing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly. If yours has a sealed battery or is wired to the mains, there is nothing for you to replace: report it.

Do the alarms have to be mains-wired?

No. The regulations don’t say what type of alarm to use, so battery alarms are allowed. The government’s guidance prefers alarms with sealed-for-life batteries over ones with replaceable batteries. A heat detector is not a substitute for a smoke alarm.

My landlord won’t fix a broken alarm. What can I do?

Report it in writing and keep a copy. If nothing happens, contact your council’s private housing or environmental health team. If the council thinks the landlord is in breach, it must serve a remedial notice, giving the landlord 28 days to act. If the landlord still doesn’t, the council must fit or fix the alarms itself, with your consent, and can fine the landlord up to £5,000.

Find your council. Keep a record of when you reported the fault and what the landlord said: it helps the council act.

Are the rules different in a shared house (HMO)?

For a licensed HMO, the alarms are covered by the licence conditions rather than these regulations, but the requirements are similar: a smoke alarm on each storey, a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, all kept in working order, and a declaration about them given to the council when asked. An HMO that doesn’t need a licence is covered by the regulations in the normal way.

The gas cooker wording applies to licences granted on or after 1 October 2022. An older licence may still use the earlier “solid fuel” wording until it is renewed. How HMO licensing works, and check whether a home needs a licence.

Do the rules apply if I live with my landlord?

Usually not. The regulations exclude tenancies where you share accommodation, such as a kitchen or living room, with the landlord or the landlord’s family. Long leases, student halls of residence, hotels and refuges, care homes and hospitals are excluded too. Since October 2022 they do cover housing association and council homes.

Lodger or tenant: how to tell.

Does this apply in Wales or Scotland?

No. This page covers England. Wales and Scotland have their own rules on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in rented homes.

Where this comes from

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 on legislation.gov.uk, as amended: regulation 2 (what the rules cover, and the licensed HMO exclusion), regulation 4 (the landlord’s duties), regulation 5 (remedial notices), regulation 6 (reasonable steps) and regulation 7 (work by the council). For licensed HMOs, regulation 13 of the 2022 amendment and Schedule 4 to the Housing Act 2004. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Q&A booklet for landlords and tenants on GOV.UK, Leeds City Council’s statement of principles on the penalty, and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service on testing.

This guide covers common private tenancies in England and is general information, not legal advice. Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to lodgers, social housing and some specialist accommodation. RenterCheck is independent and not connected with the government or your council.

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