Free · Validity guide · England (rented homes)
How often do landlords need to check smoke and CO alarms?
On day one of each tenancy
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms have no legal expiry date. In England, landlords must check they work on the day each new tenancy begins, and repair or replace any alarm reported faulty. Fire services advise testing smoke alarms monthly and replacing them every 10 years.
Work out your next smoke & CO alarms re-check
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Or the date printed on the alarm. For a monthly test reminder, enter your last test date and choose 1 month.
The law sets no replacement date. Ten years is the whole-alarm replacement advice from fire and rescue services; for carbon monoxide alarms use the manufacturer’s replace-by date. Choose 1 month for a monthly test reminder.
Enter a date to see when the next re-check is due, how many days are left, and to add reminders to your calendar.
Who needs a smoke & CO alarms
Private landlords and registered providers of social housing in England, for tenancies not excluded by the regulations. The rules count a bathroom or lavatory as a room used as living accommodation, and a hall or landing as a room. Since 1 October 2022 landlords must also repair or replace any alarm found faulty after a tenant reports it.
What happens if you miss a re-check
- If the council believes the alarms are missing or not working, it can serve a remedial notice.
- If the landlord does not comply, the council can impose a penalty charge of up to £5,000. Government guidance says this applies per breach, not per landlord or property.
- A faulty alarm that a tenant reports must be checked, and repaired or replaced, as soon as reasonably practicable.
- If a tenant will not give access, arrange a convenient time and keep a written record of your attempts for the council.
How to renew
Test every alarm at check-in
Do it on the day the tenancy starts. Government guidance suggests having the tenant sign the inventory to confirm the alarms were tested and working.
Give tenants the testing instructions
Share the manufacturer’s instructions so tenants can test monthly. Fire Kills advises testing smoke alarms at least once a month.
Fix reported faults quickly
When a tenant reports a fault, check the alarm and repair or replace it as soon as reasonably practicable.
Replace alarms at end of life
Fire services advise replacing a smoke alarm every 10 years. Replace carbon monoxide alarms by the date the manufacturer gives.
Check new appliances
Fitting a new wood burner, boiler or other fixed combustion appliance means that room now needs a carbon monoxide alarm.
When to book
2
weeks
Plan alarm replacements about 2 weeks before the 10-year mark, and before any new tenancy starts. This is our suggestion, not a legal rule.
A simple reminder plan: 30 days, 7 days before the re-check date. The calculator above puts these in your calendar.
Evidence to keep
- The check-in inventory signed by the tenant, showing each alarm was tested on day one.
- A list of alarms by location, type and fitted date.
- Records of fault reports and the date each was fixed.
- Your written attempts to arrange access, if a tenant delayed or refused it.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting a room with a new fixed appliance, such as a wood burner or boiler, needs a CO alarm.
- Missing a storey, including a loft room or basement used as living space.
- Not recording the day-one test. Without a record it is hard to show it was done.
- Leaving a reported fault until the next inspection. It must be dealt with as soon as reasonably practicable.
Elsewhere in the UK
Wales
Landlords must have a working smoke alarm on every storey, connected to the mains and interlinked, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a gas, oil or solid fuel burning appliance.[6]
Scotland
Every home must have interlinked smoke alarms in the living room and every hallway and landing, a heat alarm in the kitchen, and a carbon monoxide detector where there is a fuel-burning appliance.[7]
When you would rather not remember
What this looks like when it runs itself
Add the date once and give it an owner. ExpiryEdge reminds them before it lapses, on the channel they actually read, and keeps the certificate and a record of who did what.
Try it with your own dates, free for 14 days, no cardExpiryEdge · Tracked item
Smoke & CO alarms · 3 Station Road (check-in test)
ValidOwner
Lettings manager
Next re-check due
10 years after issue
Reminders before the re-check
30d
7d
Due
Smoke & CO alarms questions, answered
The law requires a check on the day each new tenancy begins. During the tenancy, government guidance encourages landlords to give tenants the manufacturer’s instructions so they can test regularly. Fire Kills advises testing smoke alarms at least once a month.
Not always. The day-one check applies to a new tenancy. A tenancy that comes into being when an earlier one ends, between the same landlord and tenant for the same or substantially the same property, is not a new tenancy for this rule.
In any room used wholly or partly as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, such as a boiler, gas fire or wood burner.
No. The regulations do not specify the type. Government guidance says that if you choose battery alarms, sealed-for-life batteries are the better option.
If a landlord does not comply with a remedial notice, the council can charge a penalty of up to £5,000. Guidance says fines apply per breach, not per landlord or property.
The law does not say. Fire and rescue services advise replacing the whole smoke alarm every 10 years. For CO alarms, follow the manufacturer’s replace-by date.
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from these official sources.
1.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 4 (as amended 2022)legislation.gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
2.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 8 (penalty charge)legislation.gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
3.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022: guidance for landlords and tenantsGOV.UK (MHCLG) · gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
4.
Fire Kills: preventionFire Kills (UK Government) · firekills.campaign.gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
5.
Smoke alarmsEssex County Fire and Rescue Service · essex-fire.gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
6.
Fitness of homes for human habitation: guidance for landlords (Wales)GOV.WALES · gov.wales · checked 28 Sep 2026
7.
Fire and smoke alarms in Scottish homesgov.scot · checked 28 Sep 2026
Guidance, not legal advice. This covers England (rented homes) and reflects the sources as checked on 28 Sep 2026. Check the official source or take professional advice for your situation.