liz Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 As a first time landlord with a first property I've just had an electrician come round to check out the house and he tells me that I've GOT to have two smoke alarms fitted (wired in to the electrics). I can find no mention of this legislation on the web. Have any got any advice please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ295 Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 bit of a grey area, liz. if its being rewired or a new build, yes you should have interlinked mains with battery back up smoke alarms. they arnt expensive, about £15 each but its the interlinking that can be a headache. if not, you could put battery ones in but you then would be responsible for them, ie making sure the batteries are changed every year, if your tenant puts them in they are responsible. ask the spark how much for fitting them and possibly speak to your local building control to see if they state they are necessary. the requirments differ from one council to the next. personally if the cost isnt to expensive (bit different in my case as i am an electrical installer), i would fit them. may stop your flat/house burning down with the tenants asleep in bed one day . russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 2 smoke alarms are required. They do not have to be wired in on Old Build houses. You will find that very few Tenants replace the batteries so you will need to check this out on your inspection tours at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleming Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 This is one instance when I feel that the landlord should not be concerning themselves about what is/isn't compulsory. Remember at the end of the day it is YOUR property and YOUR investment that may go up in a puff of smoke. The batterries in smoke alarms easily last 1yr so is it really worth skimping on this? Of course there is nothing to stop the tenant nicking the battery when their child's toy goes flat, but if that really worries you then go for it being linked electrically. Do you have smoke alarms in your own house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted July 1, 2006 Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 As I understand it it is a legal requirement to have 2 smoke alarms in the property. These can be bought for around £10 a pair which is cheap enough. I have always had smoke alarms in my properties and in my own home for safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firecracker Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 If you contact your local fire station and ask for a "home fire safety visit" they will do a full free no obligation inspection of the said property, and if required install the appropriate smoke alarms for you. These alarms have a 10 year lithium battery installed, therefore negating the problem of tenents or landlords having to replace them on an annual basis. This is now part of the Governments new "community safety" programme, and every brigade in the UK has to comply with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liz Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Many thanks guys for all your help and advice on my smoke alarm query. Sorry for the delay in responding - been away. To answer some of your points - yes, we've got alarms fitted in our own house which is why we fitted (battery) ones in the house being let and this is when the electrician doing the check said it was compulsory to have them wired in - hence my query. The house is over 30 years, hasn't been rewired recently so I guess I'll stick with the two battery alarms we've fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spark Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 As a first time landlord with a first property I've just had an electrician come round to check out the house and he tells me that I've GOT to have two smoke alarms fitted (wired in to the electrics). I can find no mention of this legislation on the web. Have any got any advice please? Ask the local fire brigade to do a home fire safety check. This is Free of charge If smoke detectors are required they will fit them free of charge. They are fitted with a 10 year battery and they record how many are fitted. If it ends up in a court case I'm sure the fire brigades records will be suffice Spark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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