Tenant question about mains smoke alarm battery responsibility/help

chickadee13

Hi, hope all are well. I'm a private tenant and I've lived in the same flat for nearly 11 years. I have to interact with a letting agency; I've never spoken to the landlord directly.

I returned from a week's holiday on Saturday to find the smoke alarm in the kitchen beeping intermittently (maybe every 30 seconds or so). My friend was with me and she's a lot taller than me, so she was able to get on a chair and have a look, but (a) she couldn't get the cover off, even with some effort (and she's not weedy!) and (b) we realised that of course it's mains powered so we didn't want to keep forcing it using a screwdriver to get the cover off or something. (I'm in Scotland so all the smoke alarms are mains powered now, but I wasn't present when they were installed so I completely forgot this was the case till my friend was up on the chair!)

My friend has since gone home and I'm not able to reach the alarm myself, and it will not stop beeping. I emailed the letting agent and she send me a PDF of the instructions so I could change the battery, also informing me that it 'didn't matter' that the alarm was connected to the mains – the first step in the PDF was to turn off the mains supply to the alarm... So I told her I think it probably does matter and anyway I have zero electrical experience and don't feel remotely comfortable getting involved with this. I'm worried also about damaging the alarm as the cover seems unwilling to come off anyway – the letting agency has in the past accused me of damaging things I hadn't even touched. I also checked online and the official line seems to be that if tenants are unable to change the battery themselves they should inform the landlord or letting agent, which I've done. 

The person I spoke to has now said there is no one available at the agency to come and take a look (I asked if a suitably tall person could pop round for 10 mins to have a look and see what they thought and perhaps also find out or tell me where to turn the mains off, anyway, since I asked this in my initial email and wasn't told) and then gave me the number of their chosen electrician but 'there would likely be a charge' to me for this. I'm wondering why there would be a charge if I've now done my bit by informing the letting agent, but I could well be wrong. 

I am a very reasonable person and I never contact the letting agent unless I have to – so I'd be keen for some thoughts on this. I don't have a stepladder at the moment or any other way to reach the alarm, but to be honest at this stage I'm considering that a moot point and am more interested in whether the letting agent is able to put a change for this onto me. I'm planning to reply to check if it's correct no one on their end can spend 10 mins to check this and ask if they could do so next week, but the alarm is driving me up the wall at this stage and I work from home so it's really annoying, so if there's a way I could get it sorted sooner I'd love that. 

Apologies for the long post – it's a small issue and I'm happy to be assertive with the letting agent in asking them to follow up on this, but I wanted to check if that sounds OK to do. 

Thanks for all help! I live on my own and appreciate it. 

user1977

chickadee13 said:

I also checked online and the official line seems to be 

Can you point us towards this? Not disputing it but would be useful to share the research you've done already...

anselld

Regardless of the smoke alarm you should find out how to turn off gas and electric in case of an emergency...  the gas at the meter with the big handle, the electric at the "fuse box" with the big red switch.
Smoke alarm batteries are like light bulbs, Landlord makes sure they work at the start but Tenant responsibility thereafter.  

Keep_pedalling

If the alarm is the same one as when you moved in then it is highly likely that it needs changing which is the landlord’s responsibility.  There should be an expiry date on it somewhere. 

chickadee13

user1977 said:

chickadee13 said:

I also checked online and the official line seems to be 

Can you point us towards this? Not disputing it but would be useful to share the research you've done already...

I found it on the UK government website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlords/the-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarm-england-regulations-2015-qa-booklet-for-the-private-rented-sector-landlords-and-tenants) and also elsewhere – can I find that other one now? Apparently not! But I did dig around as much as I could as I wasn't sure if the rules had changed since the requirements had.

chickadee13

anselld said:

Regardless of the smoke alarm you should find out how to turn off gas and electric in case of an emergency...  the gas at the meter with the big handle, the electric at the "fuse box" with the big red switch.
Smoke alarm batteries are like light bulbs, Landlord makes sure they work at the start but Tenant responsibility thereafter.  

I do need to, and it's something I will look into – I'd like someone with the knowledge to show me because I'm really not confident and don't want to do anything wrong (esp as I don't own the home). 

I did think that was the case re battery replacement but the suggestion appears to be to report it if you're not able to do so. I know letting agents don't work for me (or in the case of mine, do anything for me!), but I thought if they could check and assure me it was OK I'd feel better.

user1977

chickadee13 said:

user1977 said:

chickadee13 said:

I also checked online and the official line seems to be 

Can you point us towards this? Not disputing it but would be useful to share the research you've done already...

I found it on the UK government website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlords/the-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarm-england-regulations-2015-qa-booklet-for-the-private-rented-sector-landlords-and-tenants) and also elsewhere – can I find that other one now? Apparently not! But I did dig around as much as I could as I wasn't sure if the rules had changed since the requirements had.

Ok - that's advice for England though.

Bookworm105

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations as amended from 1 October 2022

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: what are landlords responsible for?

Landlords are responsible for ensuring the correct alarms are installed and in working order. Landlords must test the alarm on the day the tenancy begins and repair or replace any faulty alarms reported by the tenant during the tenancy.

Tenants are responsible for reporting issues with smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, but it is wise for landlords to check them during mid-term inspections or other routine visits. For battery-powered alarms, tenants should replace the batteries themselves. If the alarm still doesn’t work, or the tenant is unable to replace the batteries, they should report this to the landlord.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm for Rentals - A Landlord Guide (lettingaproperty.com)

that said, there comes a point in life where " but the alarm is driving me up the wall at this stage and I work from home so it's really annoying, so if there's a way I could get it sorted sooner I'd love that" one has to take responsibility for one's own well being and not just hope to blame shift on to ANO.

Stand on a chair (I'll bet you have one of those) and fix it yourself as it is "driving you up the wall." (but apparently not high enough)

BobT36

My mains alarm does indeed have a backup battery. 
You shouldn't need to turn the mains off to change that. 

Buy a stepladder.

Alderbank

Our smoke alarms here in Scotland don't have to be mains powered. Battery powered are often the best option. Replaceable batteries are no longer permitted, battery powered units which are legal in Scotland all have long life batteries permanently built in. However whatever the power source they must all be interlinked, that is if one goes off all the others in your property must all go off together, to make sure the alarm is heard everywhere.

Also, the detectors inside the smoke alarms do not last for ever. They become more sensitive with age so sooner or later they will go off with no cause, as has happened to yours. All units have an expiry date and must be replaced at least every ten years. Yours sound very much overdue for replacement.

The alarm in your kitchen must not be a smoke alarm because smoke alarms give false alarms when you are toasting or grilling. The alarm in the kitchen must be a heat alarm.

The property owner has the legal duty to ensure alarms are compliant and working so that's the landlord in your case. All you are expected to do in order to behave in a tenant-like manner is to test them now and again (push the test button with something like a broomstick) - and to inform the landlord or their agent if there is a fault, as you have done.

If you don't trust the agent to bother telling the landlord you could tell him yourself. After all it's your landlord who is responsible and could face a fine, not the agent.

chickadee13

Bookworm105 said:

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations as amended from 1 October 2022

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: what are landlords responsible for?

Landlords are responsible for ensuring the correct alarms are installed and in working order. Landlords must test the alarm on the day the tenancy begins and repair or replace any faulty alarms reported by the tenant during the tenancy.

Tenants are responsible for reporting issues with smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, but it is wise for landlords to check them during mid-term inspections or other routine visits. For battery-powered alarms, tenants should replace the batteries themselves. If the alarm still doesn’t work, or the tenant is unable to replace the batteries, they should report this to the landlord.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm for Rentals - A Landlord Guide (lettingaproperty.com)

that said, there comes a point in life where " but the alarm is driving me up the wall at this stage and I work from home so it's really annoying, so if there's a way I could get it sorted sooner I'd love that" one has to take responsibility for one's own well being and not just hope to blame !!!!!! on to ANO.

Stand on a chair (I'll bet you have one of those) and fix it yourself as it is "driving you up the wall." (but apparently not high enough)

Certainly not blaming anything on anyone – I'm trying to find out where the responsibility lies. And I already said it's been attempted without success to remove the cover. And I may indeed have a chair but I still can't reach when standing on it. 

It's OK to ask for thoughts/advice when you're not sure. 

Also that's the advice I already linked to.