Smoke alarm batteries in AST rental - who buys new ones?

need_an_answer

It is the LL responsibility to provide you with a functioning alarm at the start of the tenancy and it is your responsibility to keep it functioning with replacement batteries during your tenancy.
As there is some amiguity over what the battery is are you able to post a photo so that clear advice could be given?

AdrianC

As a landlord, I provide rechargable PP3s and a charger. It's a tiny cost, and a sensible precaution.

As an occupier, I check the operation of smoke alarms regularly...
<looks at sig> In a flat with questionable EWS status? No-brainer to check!

moneysavinghero

greatcrested said:

Are they not these? Two for £2.77 is not going to break the bank surely?

I'd not normally recommnd phillips but if you are leaving....

Frankly, not only is it clearly your responsibility to replace the batteries, but for your own protection you should be testing the alarm at least once a month!

But in reality does anyone (ok there will be a few) check their smoke alarm once a month. How many even bother to check it annually? From my experience (amazing what you discover on zoom calls) even when the smoke alarm starts beeping every couple of minutes to alert to a dying battery most people just get used to the beeping rather than bother replacing the battery. 

Marvel1

I take you didn't test the smoke alarm.

pumas

moneysavinghero said:

From my experience (amazing what you discover on zoom calls) even when the smoke alarm starts beeping every couple of minutes to alert to a dying battery most people just get used to the beeping rather than bother replacing the battery. 

Neighbours left theirs beeping every 38secs for 18 months, joined by a second one 12 months later. It only stopped when they moved.
Removing the batteries from my mains alarms didn't stop the beeping. After 10 years the alarm itself needs replacing.

couriervanman

annetheman said:

Hi there,

A gas safety visit was conducted by an engineer from the lettings agent for my assured shorthold tenancy flat. 

The agent has just asked me to buy and replace batteries for the alarms. There are none in there, no idea where they went or if they were ever there.

What is strange is that I have lived here for 3.5 years and had 2 previous gas safety checks and both times the alarms were "fine" i.e. must have had batteries in them.

That aside, who should pay for these batteries, the Landlord or me? This link didn't help!

I'm penny pinching because about to deplete all my savings on moving. Thanks for any advice!

Well lets hope you don't have a fire 

annetheman

dimbo61 said:

Is this a mains wired smoke alarm with battery back up ?
Get back to your lettings agents and ask then how the property has passed a Gas Safe Certificate ?
Has the property got a CO alarm close to the boiler ? Gas hob ? Gas fire ?
Has the property got a current EICR ( Electric Inspection and Condition Report as this should mean the flat has mains wired interlinked smoke alarms.
So one in the main living area and one in the hallway and bedroom !
This depends on the size of the property.
Houses would have one on each floor.

Yes, this is what is my main point of confusion now. How it passed 2 years in a row when I have not taken the batteries out... Any ideas how this could be?
It has a CO alarm; no gas hob or fire.
I do not have an EICR, but I do have one smoke alarm in the living room and one in the hallway. It's a one bedroom flat so that should suffice.

Thanks for the info!

greatcrested said:

Are they not these? Two for £2.77 is not going to break the bank surely?

I'd not normally recommnd phillips but if you are leaving....

Frankly, not only is it clearly your responsibility to replace the batteries, but for your own protection you should be testing the alarm at least once a month!

Why not Phillips? 
Thank you for confirming it is 'clearly' my responsibility, hopefully it is also very obvious to you that I wouldn't have asked the members of this board for their advice if it was very 'clear' to me

AlexMac

You can't really trust tenants to safeguard their own lives, as some are obviously contenders for the "Darwin Awards" (google it!)

I fitted mains wired detectors in a  flat when rewiring; smoke alarm in the hall, heat detector in the kitchen (as the electrician recommended - in line with the Regs, he said) as this meant not having to worry about  replacing batteries.

When my otherwise charming and considerate Bulgarian tenant quit, I discovered that the two alarms' positions had been switched; smoke detector (or as I call it at home, the toast detector) in the kitchen; heat alarm in the hall? 

I worked out that they'd simply removed the detectors from their hard-wired cieling mounts; but then, as they looked similar, replaced 'em in the wrong position on giving notice.  And remembered they'd joke that whenever her mum visited from the homeland, she'd cook pancakes at warp factor 10 on the stove- setting off every alarm in the place!  So they'd disabled 'em.

I forgave them; especially as they left the place immaculate; with several rather nice bottles of Bulgarian wine as a present!

annetheman

AdrianC said:

As a landlord, I provide rechargable PP3s and a charger. It's a tiny cost, and a sensible precaution.

As an occupier, I check the operation of smoke alarms regularly...
<looks at sig> In a flat with questionable EWS status? No-brainer to check!

EWS1 pertains to the flat I am buying, rather than the one I'm renting (3 storey, 1950s built ex-LA brick clad).

That is indeed a sensible precaution; since my landlady hasn't taken this approach, I've bought a pack which the new tenant can have, since I am unlikely to need them in the near future.

annetheman

moneysavinghero said:

greatcrested said:

Are they not these? Two for £2.77 is not going to break the bank surely?

I'd not normally recommnd phillips but if you are leaving....

Frankly, not only is it clearly your responsibility to replace the batteries, but for your own protection you should be testing the alarm at least once a month!

But in reality does anyone (ok there will be a few) check their smoke alarm once a month. How many even bother to check it annually? From my experience (amazing what you discover on zoom calls) even when the smoke alarm starts beeping every couple of minutes to alert to a dying battery most people just get used to the beeping rather than bother replacing the battery. 

I'd like to see some data on this! My vote would be for the majority of occupants, homeowners or renters, are NOT checking their fire alarms every month. 

The flat I am mid-purchase in has alarms centralised to mains but in the AST flat I am in, even if it had been mandated in my agreement (it is not) that I should check them every month, it is highlight unlikely I would've remembered to. So I therefore have no idea how many (years?!) they haven't had batteries, nor how they passed the previous checks.

I will be here for approx 6 more weeks and I am 99% sure that I will forget to check them 4 weeks from now so couriervanman said:

annetheman said:

Hi there,

A gas safety visit was conducted by an engineer from the lettings agent for my assured shorthold tenancy flat. 

The agent has just asked me to buy and replace batteries for the alarms. There are none in there, no idea where they went or if they were ever there.

What is strange is that I have lived here for 3.5 years and had 2 previous gas safety checks and both times the alarms were "fine" i.e. must have had batteries in them.

That aside, who should pay for these batteries, the Landlord or me? This link didn't help!

I'm penny pinching because about to deplete all my savings on moving. Thanks for any advice!

Well lets hope you don't have a fire 

Indeed, let's hope so!