For landlords

What are the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules for landlords in England?

Guide · England · Last checked on 2 October 2026

A landlord in England must make sure there is a smoke alarm on every storey of the home that has a room used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas or oil boiler or a wood burner, other than a gas cooker. The landlord must also make sure each alarm is checked and in proper working order on the day a new tenancy begins. If a tenant, or someone the tenant has nominated, reports that an alarm is not working, the landlord must find out whether it is working and, if it is not, repair or replace it, with both steps taken as soon as reasonably practicable. All three duties come from regulation 4 of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended.

This guide is written by VEYLO X, a software platform for renting and letting in England. The platform is not open yet. It sets out what the regulations say, room by room, which lettings they do not reach, what the council can do, and where the £5,000 figure that is often quoted actually sits. That figure is not an automatic charge for a missing alarm. A council that believes an alarm is missing must serve a remedial notice, and the charge, of up to £5,000, is for not complying with it. This guide covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, and this guide does not cover them.

Where must a landlord put smoke alarms?

On each storey of the home on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation (regulation 4(1)(a)(i)). The rule is about storeys, not rooms, so the minimum is one smoke alarm per storey that people live on. A bathroom or lavatory counts as a room used as living accommodation (regulation 4(2)). A hall or landing counts as a room (regulation 4(4)).

The bathroom rule matters more than it looks. A storey that holds only a bathroom or lavatory is still a storey with a room used as living accommodation. A landing is different. It counts as a room, but whether it is used as living accommodation depends on how it is used. The government's guidance says a room is generally living accommodation if it is used for the primary purposes of living, or if a person spends a significant amount of time in it. The regulations do not define "storey", and the government's guidance says it should be given its ordinary meaning. In the department's view, a mezzanine floor would not be a storey.

The duty applies "during any period" when the home is occupied under the tenancy (regulation 4(1)(a)). It is not limited to tenancies that started after a particular date. A tenancy that began years ago is covered in the same way as one that began last week.

Which rooms need a carbon monoxide alarm?

Any room used wholly or partly as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker (regulation 4(1)(a)(ii)). The regulations do not define "fixed combustion appliance". The government's guidance describes it as a fixed apparatus where fuel of any type is burned to generate heat, and gives gas or oil boilers and log-burning stoves as examples. In the department's view, a purely decorative fireplace that does not work would not count.

The only appliance the regulation itself leaves out is a gas cooker. A kitchen with a gas cooker and nothing else does not need a carbon monoxide alarm under this rule. A kitchen with a gas cooker and a gas boiler does, because of the boiler. A bathroom or lavatory counts as a room used as living accommodation here too (regulation 4(2)), so a boiler in a bathroom is caught. A boiler in a hall or on a landing is in a room (regulation 4(4)), but whether that space is used as living accommodation is, again, a question of how it is used.

Before 1 October 2022, the carbon monoxide rule covered only solid fuel appliances, such as a coal fire or a wood burner. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 widened it to any fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker (SI 2022/707, regulation 5). A home that was set up for the old rule, with an alarm by the wood burner and none by the gas boiler, may not meet the current one.

Do the alarms have to be checked on the first day of a tenancy?

Yes, if it is a new tenancy. The landlord must make sure checks are made, by the landlord or on the landlord's behalf, that each alarm is in proper working order on the day the tenancy begins (regulation 4(1)(b)). A tenancy begins on the day the tenant is entitled to possession under its terms (regulation 4(3)), which may not be the day it was signed.

A new tenancy is one granted on or after 1 October 2022 (regulation 4(4)). For a private assured tenancy, two kinds of tenancy are left out of that definition. One is a tenancy granted under an agreement made before that date. The other is a tenancy that comes into being when an earlier one ends, where the landlord and tenant are the same and the home is the same or substantially the same. Put simply, a tenancy that follows straight on from an earlier one, between the same people for the same home, does not need a fresh first-day check under this rule.

Beyond the first day, the regulations do not set a testing timetable for the landlord. What they add is the duty in the next section, which starts when a tenant reports a problem.

How does a landlord show the check was done?

The regulations do not prescribe a form. The government's guidance says it is the responsibility of landlords to keep a record of when alarms are tested, and that it is for the local housing authority to decide whether the evidence shows the requirements were met. It gives one example: if the landlord goes through the inventory with the tenant on the first day, the tenant can sign it to record that the alarms were tested and working.

A record like that is only as useful as its date. The duty is tied to a single day, the day the tenancy begins, so a note of the date, the alarms checked and who checked them is what answers the question later. Our landlord compliance checklist puts this alongside the other documents a landlord in England is expected to hold.

What must a landlord do when a tenant reports an alarm is not working?

Find out whether it is working and, if it is not, have it repaired or replaced (regulation 4(1)(c)). This applies where the report was made on or after 1 October 2022, by the tenant or by someone the tenant has nominated to act for them. Both steps, finding out and fixing, must be carried out by or on behalf of the landlord as soon as reasonably practicable (regulation 4(3A)).

The regulations do not put a number of days on "as soon as reasonably practicable".

On batteries, the government's guidance draws a line. It says tenants who find an alarm is not working are advised to replace the batteries first, and to report it to the landlord if it still does not work or if they cannot replace the batteries themselves. It also says landlords are responsible for repairing or replacing faulty alarms.

Do the regulations say mains-wired or battery alarms?

No. The regulations do not say what type of alarm must be fitted, and they do not say exactly where on a storey or in a room it must go. The government's guidance for landlords and tenants, published in 2022, fills some of that gap without making it law.

Topic	What the guidance says
Standard for smoke alarms	Compliant with British Standard BS 5839-6
Standard for carbon monoxide alarms	Compliant with British Standard BS 50291, in the guidance's wording (the standard is published as BS EN 50291)
Batteries	Where battery alarms are chosen, sealed-for-life batteries are the better option than replaceable ones
Where a smoke alarm usually goes	On the ceiling in a circulation space, such as a hall or landing, following the manufacturer's instructions
Where a carbon monoxide alarm usually goes	At head height, on a wall or shelf, about 1 to 3 metres from the appliance, following the manufacturer's instructions
Heat detectors	Not a replacement for smoke alarms
Tenants who are deaf or hard of hearing	Alarms that alert by vibration or flashing light may be needed, and duties under the Equality Act 2010 should be considered

Other law can reach further than these regulations. The guidance says these regulations should be considered alongside other law on fire and carbon monoxide safety in rented homes, and names the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022.

Which lettings do the rules not apply to?

The regulations apply to the immediate landlord of a "specified tenancy" (regulation 3). That is a tenancy of a home in England which gives someone the right to live there as their only or main residence, provides for rent, whether or not a market rent, and is not in the list of exclusions (regulation 2). A licence to occupy can be a specified tenancy too. Where it is, regulation 3(2) says who counts as the landlord, and the answer is not always the licensor.

The Schedule to the regulations lists the lettings that are left out:

a letting under which the occupier shares an amenity with the landlord or a member of the landlord's family, as the Schedule defines family. An amenity includes a toilet, washing facilities, a kitchen or a living room, but not a storage area, a staircase, a corridor or another means of access (paragraph 1)
a long lease, as defined by reference to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, including a shared ownership lease that would be one if the tenant's share were 100 per cent (paragraph 2(1)(a) and (2))
a letting that grants a right to occupy for 7 years or more, unless it can be ended at the option of either side before 7 years are up (paragraph 2(1)(b) and (3))
student halls of residence (paragraph 3)
hostels and refuges of the kinds the Schedule describes (paragraph 4)
care homes (paragraph 5), and hospitals and hospices (paragraph 6)
low cost home ownership accommodation (paragraph 6A)
accommodation provided because of a duty that legislation places on an integrated care board or NHS England (paragraph 7)

There is one more group, and it is easy to misread. A house in multiple occupation that needs a licence under Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004, and a house that needs a licence under Part 3 of that Act, are not "premises" for these regulations (regulation 2). That is not because the alarms do not matter there. It is because the regulations added alarm requirements to the mandatory licence conditions in Schedule 4 to the Housing Act 2004 (regulation 15). For a licensed property, the licence is the document to read. The regulations also do not apply to vehicles or vessels (regulation 2). An HMO that does not need a licence falls under these regulations in the ordinary way.

What happens if a council thinks the rules have been broken?

The council must serve a remedial notice. Where a local housing authority has reasonable grounds to believe a landlord is in breach of a duty under regulation 4(1), it must serve one, within 21 days of deciding it has those grounds (regulation 5(1) and (3)). The notice has to say which duty the council thinks is being broken and what the landlord should do about it (regulation 5(2)).

The landlord then has 28 days, beginning with the day the notice is served, to take the action it specifies (regulation 5(2)(d) and regulation 6(1)). Within the same 28 days the landlord may send the council written representations against the notice (regulation 5(2)(e)). Representations suspend the notice from the beginning of the day after the council receives them, until the council has considered them and told the landlord its decision (regulation 5(5)). The council must then tell the landlord in writing whether the notice is confirmed or withdrawn, within 7 days beginning with the day the 28 day period for representations expires (regulation 5(6)). If it does not, the notice is treated as withdrawn (regulation 5(7)). If it is confirmed, the landlord has 21 days, beginning with the day the landlord is told, to take the action (regulation 6(1A)).

If the council is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the landlord is in breach of the duty to comply, it must arrange for an authorised person to do the work, provided the occupier consents (regulation 7(1) and (4)). It must make sure the work is done within 28 days, beginning with the day it is first satisfied (regulation 7(2)), although it is not in breach of that duty if it can show it took all reasonable steps to comply with that duty (regulation 7(5)). The authorised person must give the occupier at least 48 hours' notice (regulation 7(3)).

Is there a fine, and how much is it?

Up to £5,000, and only after a remedial notice has been served and not complied with (regulation 8). Even then, the regulation says the council may impose one, not that it must (regulation 8(1)). The regulations do not create a penalty for the missing alarm itself. The penalty is for breaching the duty to comply with the remedial notice, under regulation 6(1) or (1A). The amount is for the council to decide, up to that ceiling (regulation 8(2)), and each council must publish a statement of the principles it follows in setting the amount (regulation 13).

A penalty charge notice must be served within six weeks, beginning with the day the council is first satisfied of the breach (regulation 8(3)). The landlord can ask the council, in writing, to review it. That request has to be made within the period the notice specifies, which must be at least 28 days beginning with the day the notice is served (regulations 9(1)(e), 9(3) and 10(1)). If the council confirms or varies the notice on review, the landlord can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (regulation 11(1)). An appeal suspends the penalty charge notice until the appeal is decided or withdrawn (regulation 11(3)). The tribunal may quash, confirm or vary the penalty charge notice, but may not increase the amount (regulation 11(4)). The government's guidance says penalties apply per breach, rather than per landlord or per property.

What if a tenant will not let the landlord in?

A landlord is not in breach of the duty to comply with a remedial notice if the landlord can show that all reasonable steps were taken to comply (regulation 6(2)). Where a tenant or occupier prevents the landlord from getting in, the landlord is not treated as having failed to take all reasonable steps just because the landlord did not go to court to get access (regulation 6(3)).

The regulations do not list what counts as reasonable steps. The government's guidance suggests writing to the tenant to explain that the alarms are a legal requirement and are for the tenant's own safety, trying to arrange a convenient time, and keeping a written record of each attempt so it can be shown to the council. Whether the steps taken in a particular case were enough is a question for the council, and for the tribunal on appeal.

How do these alarms fit with the other safety checks?

They are separate duties with separate timing. The annual gas safety check comes from the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and our guide to the gas safety certificate and its renewal dates covers it. The electrical inspection comes from the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, covered in our EICR guide. The first-day check is tied to the day the tenancy begins (regulation 4(1)(b) and (3)), not to the date of the next gas safety visit.

On 1 May 2026, regulations made under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 amended the definition of a new tenancy in regulation 4(4) for private assured tenancies, removing the part that referred to shorthold tenancies (SI 2026/325, regulation 11). Our guide to landlord duties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 covers what did change for landlords that day.

Common questions

Is a landlord fined £5,000 for not having a smoke alarm?

Not directly. Where a council has reasonable grounds to believe a landlord in England is in breach of the smoke or carbon monoxide alarm duties, it must serve a remedial notice. The landlord then has 28 days to take the action it sets out, or 21 days from being told the notice is confirmed if the landlord objected in writing. Only if the landlord does not comply may the council impose a penalty charge of up to £5,000 (Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 8). The landlord can ask the council to review it and then appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

Does a room with a gas cooker need a carbon monoxide alarm?

Not because of the gas cooker. Regulation 4(1)(a)(ii) requires a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. If the same room also has a gas boiler, a wood burner or another fixed appliance that burns fuel, it needs one because of that appliance.

Do the alarms have to be checked again when a tenancy is renewed with the same tenant?

Not under the first-day rule, for a private assured tenancy. The check on the day a tenancy begins applies to a new tenancy, which regulation 4(4) defines as one granted on or after 1 October 2022. That does not include a tenancy that comes into being when an earlier one ends, where the landlord and tenant are the same and the home is the same or substantially the same. The duty to keep the alarms in place, and to repair or replace one after a tenant reports it is not working, continues throughout.

Who wrote this

VEYLO X is a software platform for renting and letting in England. The platform is not open yet. It is built for record keeping, and we have built a place in a landlord's records for the landlord's own answers about these alarms. VEYLO X does not inspect, test or check any alarm, does not judge whether a landlord has met a legal duty, and takes no view on any individual case. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and the judgement stays with you and with whoever advises you.

Sources

The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It states the position in England as at 28 September 2026, when the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 were read on legislation.gov.uk as amended by SI 2022/707 and SI 2026/325. The government guidance quoted is the question and answer booklet for landlords and tenants published on GOV.UK in 2022, which says it is not an authoritative interpretation of the law. For your own properties, check with your local council or take professional advice.