New Scottish Laws On Interlinked Smoke & Fire Alarms

Yes – all fire & smoke alarms need to be interlinked. An interlinked system allows you to hear an alarm, regardless of where the fire breaks out.

All homes must meet the minimum standard. If people need specialist equipment (e.g for alarms deaf people or community alarms), this should be fitted in addition to the equipment that should be installed to meet the standard.

You can choose from two types of alarms that comply with the new standard:

• Tamper-proof long-life lithium battery alarms, which can be fitted by the home owner or anyone competent in DIY;
• Mains-wired alarms, which are cheaper than tamper-proof long-life battery alarms, but should be installed by a qualified electrician in accordance with BS7671.

Further detailed information on the requirements of the standard, including the types of alarms, is set out in the Tolerable Standard Guidance Chapters 16 and 17.

Numerous retailers can supply alarms online & in their shops. Approved alarm installers such as ourselves can also advise on which alarms you need, as well as supplying & fitting them for you.

Please contact us to arrange your free survey.

Your first choice is between battery-powered alarms or hard-wired alarms. You can fit battery-powered alarms yourself, whereas hard-wired alarms need to be installed by an electrician.

Battery alarms must be tamper-proof long-life lithium battery powered and must be capable of being interlinked

The carbon monoxide alarm must have a sealed battery for the duration of its operational lifespan, which may be up to 10 years.

If you already have hard-wired smoke alarms in your home, it may be possible to use a mix of hard-wired & battery-powered alarms…as long as they can be interlinked.

Approved smoke alarm installers such as ourselves will be able to give you advice on your options and supply/fit the alarms if required. Contact us to arrange a free survey.

Once you have chosen your system, order a good brand of alarm. You need to ensure the packaging clearly displays compliance with BS EN14604:2005 for smoke alarms and BS 5446-2:2003 for heat alarms.

Carbon monoxide alarms should have the British Kitemark (EN 50291-1).

Important: the Nest Protect System does not meet the new standard.

Why is this?  They do not meet the requirements for a heat alarm under the relevant British Standard. British Standard (BS 5839-6:2019) makes it clear that only heat alarms should be installed in kitchens.

The legislation allows for alarms to be either hard-wired or sealed, tamper-proof long-life lithium battery powered. Both types of alarms can be interlinked by radio frequency, and it’s also possible to link battery-powered alarms to hard-wired alarms.

All costs need to be met by the home owners and landlords. How much you actually pay will vary according to what you currently have in place and the alarms you choose to install.

The Scottish Government estimates that the cost for an average three-bedroom house which requires three smoke alarms, one heat alarm and one carbon monoxide detector will be around £220. This is based on using the type of alarms that you can install by yourself without the need for an electrician.

The Scottish Government has, over the period 2018-20, provided the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) with £1m funding to install these alarms in the homes of people assessed to be at high risk from fire as part of a Home Fire Safety Visit.

As with other housing standards, the homeowner will be responsible for the costs of ensuring their home meets the new standard for fire & carbon monoxide alarms.

Your local authority will have broad discretionary powers to provide advice and assistance to home owners with work needed to look after their homes.

The local Care & Repair service is also available to older & disabled homeowners. They may be able to provide assistance 

Older and disabled homeowners can also contact their local Care and Repair service which can provide independent advice and assistance to repair, improve or adapt their homes, allowing them to live in comfort and safety in their own community.

Local authority and housing association landlords) are aware of the new standard, and are working to ensure all homes are meeting the required standard by February 2022.

Over £15m of loan funding has been made available for Social Landlords by the Scottish Government, ensuring that social tenants are safe in their homes. The new standard will be monitored by the Scottish Housing Regulator, who may intervene as they deem appropriate for any non-compliance.

Responsibilities for condition standards for shared ownership properties will have been set out in your occupancy agreement.

Usually, as the proportion owner, it will be your responsibility to meet the fire & smoke alarm standard (rather than the registered social landlord).

As the new standards for fire and smoke alarms extend those which currently apply in the Private Rented Sector PRS to housing of all tenures, your landlord should already be complying. The standard is enforced by the right of tenants to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), so if you believe that your landlord is failing to comply, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal. Penalties for non-compliance would be determined by the Tribunal.

This will depend on your insurance company. Home insurance policies provided by different insurers will have different terms and conditions. For the homeowner’s insurance to be valid, they need to comply with these terms & conditions.

Our advice is for the home owner to contact their insurer in the first instance, to check whether the new requirements will be specifically included in their policy or not.