What you can do

If you are a property manager or landlord, you must ensure smoke alarms are correctly installed and meet the technical requirements. Smoke alarms must be working at the start of each new tenancy and remain in working order during the tenancy. Smoke alarms must be replaced at the manufacturers recommended replacement date or expiry date. We recommend regularly checking that smoke alarms are working properly, and landlords should encourage tenants to do that same.

All rental homes and boarding houses (including any detached sleepouts or caravans) must have working smoke alarms, which must be installed within 3 meters of each bedroom door or in every room where a person sleeps, and on each level or storey of a multi-level or multi-storey home.

In addition, smoke alarms must be photoelectric, have a battery life of at least 8 years (or be a hard-wired system), be installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and meet relevant international standards.

Fire and Emergency are encouraging landlords to go above these minimum requirements and install smoke alarms in every bedroom, hallway and living area and test them at least every 6 months.

Sort your smoke alarms(external link) — Fire and Emergency New Zealand

If you are a tenant, you must not damage, remove, or disconnect a smoke alarm, and should replace worn out batteries during the tenancy if this is possible, such as when the qualifying smoke alarm is not a sealed unit, and let the landlord know if there are any problems with the smoke alarms as soon as possible.

More information on Smoke alarms in rental properties 

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