The law now requires all residential properties to have interlinked smoke alarms

Whilst the legislation to have interlinked smoke alarms installed in every residential property in Scotland was passed in 2019, its implementation was postponed until now owing to the coronavirus pandemic. From 1 February 2022, it has been a legal requirement that all residential properties in Scotland have such alarms.

The purpose of the legislation is to make sure that everyone who lives in a house in Scotland is protected. That means this legislation covers both homeowners and tenants.

Has the introduction of this legislation come as a surprise?

It was always intended to bring in the requirement for every residential property in Scotland to have interlinked smoke and heat alarms. Indeed, this legislation already applied to new build properties and to private rented housing before 1 February 2022. If you are living in private rented accommodation, it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that the property complies with the legislation. It now applies to all homeowners.

What are interlinked smoke alarms?

Interlinked smoke and heat alarms work together when smoke or excessive heat are detected and when one alarm is triggered, it then triggers all of the others.

The legislation requires a smoke alarm to be fitted to the room in the house used most frequently for daily living. This is likely to be a livingroom or sitting room.

A smoke alarm must also be fitted to every circulation space. This means the hallways and, where the house is more than one storey, each landing or upper hall.

In addition a heat alarm needs to be fitted in every kitchen.

All of these alarms must be interlinked to comply with the legislation.

Additionally, a carbon monoxide detector needs to be fitted in every room where there is a central heating boiler or an open fire or heater. The carbon monoxide detector does not need to be connected to the other alarms.

Are my existing smoke alarms sufficient?

Any stand-alone smoke and heat alarms are not sufficient to comply with the legislation. That means these should be replaced by the new interlinked alarms.

The new alarms also must be sealed battery units or mains fitted. The sealed battery units, as the name suggests, come as a complete unit. That means you cannot change the battery and when the battery expires, you need to dispose of the alarm. The good news is that each sealed battery alarm has a lifespan of around 10 years. You can fit sealed battery alarms yourself but it is recommended that you engage a qualified tradesman to fit mains powered alarms.

The alarms must also meet a certain standard. The required standards are:

·       Smoke alarms – BS EN14604:2005

·       Heat alarms – BS 5446-2:2003

·       Carbon monoxide detector: British Kitemark EN50291-1

What will happen if I do not install these new alarms?

We should point out that it is not a criminal offence if you do not install these new types of alarm. Local authorities have the responsibility for enforcing the legislation. They will not, however, enter people’s homes and they will not be issuing fines. However, they may serve a notice on you requiring you to fit the new types of alarms.

There are two other areas where you may experience issues if you have not installed interlinked smoke alarms.

If you are selling your house, if you do not have interlinked smoke alarms, it is likely this will be commented upon in your Home Report making it a requirement for any purchaser to fit these.

For those who are not currently selling, whilst insurance companies have indicated that the lack of these types of alarms will not cause the policyholder to lose cover for existing policies, all policyholders should check the renewal terms to ensure that the insurer will continue to hold cover even if interlinked alarms have not been installed.

Is there any financial assistance to help with the installation?

There is some limited financial assistance for disabled and older people. They can access this through Care and Repair Scotland which has recently received an additional £500,000 to support vulnerable older and disabled people to install these types of alarms. You can find out more about this by clicking here.

Is there more information available on this?

You can find more information about the new alarm requirements on the Scottish Government’s website. Click here to find out more.