Whether you have owned your investment for many years, or it is a new purchase, it’s crucial to know what you need to do before you place new tenants in the property. Legislation has changed over the past few years, and it is your responsibility to know what to do to protect your tenants, your investment property, and your finances.  

Working/compliant smoke alarms are compulsory in all rental properties, and there are penalties of up to $7200 for landlords who don’t meet all regulatory requirements, or up to $4000 for tenants who interfere with smoke alarms, or otherwise take actions that may prevent egress in case of fire. 

The easiest process to ensure your investment property complies with regulations is to follow the steps below: 

1. Do all bedrooms, and all rooms where a person sleeps, have a smoke alarm within 3 metres?
2. Is there at least one smoke alarm per level/storey of the building?
3. If you are fitting a new alarm, it must be the long-life photo-electric type. 
4. Has the type and make of alarm, location, install date, and expiry date of the alarm been recorded, ready to note accurately on the tenancy agreement? 
5. Are all smoke alarms working at the start of the tenancy?
6. Are smoke alarms fitted or hard-wired in all rental homes, boarding houses, rental caravans and sleep-outs?
7. Are the smoke alarms tested regularly, preferably every 3 months. Check at each inspection if the alarm has been tampered with, battery removed, or switched off. 
8. Do you know the difference between ionisation and photoelectric smoke alarms, and do you need to upgrade what is in the property? The safest alarm in the event of smouldering smoke is the long-life photoelectric type, although you can use both types in the same area.

There are specific requirements for newly fitted smoke alarms to be compliant. They must:

1. Be photoelectric 
2. Have a battery life of at least 8 years or be hard-wired
3. Installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions
4. And meet international standards

Check out the videos and link below for some helpful tips, and if you're not sure that you have the correct smoke alarm protocols in place, give Ruby Housing a call today.

1. Smoke alarms requirements
2. What is the difference between ionisation and photoelectric smoke alarms?
3. Fire and Emergency: smoke alarms
4. Fire and Emergency: landlords fire safety checklist
5. Tenancy Services: test smoke alarm