What are the smoke alarm rules for NZ rentals?

Every rental must have working smoke alarms: at least one in each room where someone sleeps or within 3 metres of its entrance, and at least one on every storey or level with living space. Alarms installed since 1 July 2016 must be photoelectric with a battery life of at least eight years, or hard-wired. The landlord must have them working at the start of every tenancy and keep them working. The tenant must not interfere with them, must replace flat batteries in older alarms designed for it, and must report problems.

Where the rules come from

The duty sits in the Residential Tenancies Act, and the detail is in the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms) Regulations 2016. Until 2 July 2025 they were called the Smoke Alarms and Insulation Regulations; the insulation part was revoked because insulation is now covered by the Healthy Homes standards, and the smoke alarm rules carried on unchanged. Smoke alarms sit beside the Healthy Homes standards rather than inside them, so they are not part of the Healthy Homes compliance statement.

Where alarms must go

• Every sleeping space: at least one alarm in the room, or within 3 metres of its entrance (or main entrance). A sleeping space is any space used, or reasonably expected to be used, as a bedroom, so a study with a bed in it counts.
• Every storey or level with living space: at least one alarm on that level. Tenancy Services' guide confirms split levels count.
• Rental caravans and self-contained sleep-outs need at least one working alarm too.
• Each alarm must be installed where the manufacturer's instructions say it should go.

That is the legal minimum. Tenancy Services' smoke alarm guide for landlords notes that the fire service's recommendation to put an alarm inside each bedroom as well is not a regulatory requirement, but landlords may wish to follow it. When mounting alarms, follow the instructions in the box, which will steer you away from dead air spaces such as the angle where a wall meets the ceiling.

Which alarms qualify

The regulations call a compliant alarm a qualifying smoke alarm. It must be fully working with no faults or damage, installed in a location that matches the manufacturer's instructions, and not past its recommended replacement date. Unless it is hard-wired, it must also:

• Be photoelectric.
• Show its recommended replacement date on the alarm.
• Be made to Australian Standard AS 3786:1993 or an equivalent standard, stated in the manufacturer's information. Tenancy Services lists UL 217, BS EN 14604 and ISO 12239 among the equivalents.
• Contain batteries with a stated life of at least eight years.

Alarms installed before 1 July 2016 do not have to be photoelectric or long-life, but they must still work and must not be past their replacement date. Tenancy Services' guide adds a practical rule: if an alarm shows no replacement date, is more than eight years old, or you do not know how old it is, replace it to be certain. Hard-wired systems are acceptable, must be maintained as the manufacturer requires, and any backup batteries must be present and not worn out.

Who does what

The landlord must make sure alarms are working at the start of each new tenancy and stay in working order throughout, which means replacing alarms that fail or reach their replacement date. The tenant must not damage, remove or disconnect an alarm, must replace worn-out batteries during the tenancy in older alarms that are designed to have their batteries changed, and must tell the landlord about problems as soon as possible. In boarding houses, landlords replace batteries in common areas and tenants replace them in their own rooms.

Sealed long-life alarms make this simpler. They have no battery the tenant can change, so if one fails, replacing it is the landlord's job. Landlords can enter to install or replace alarms with at least 24 hours' notice, giving the reason, between 8am and 7pm.

Checking before every tenancy

1. Walk every room someone could sleep in, including sleep-outs, and confirm there is an alarm in the room or within 3 metres of its door.
2. Confirm there is at least one alarm on each level of the home that has living space.
3. Press the test button on every alarm and listen for it.
4. Read the replacement date on each one. Replace any alarm past its date, undated and older than eight years, or of unknown age.
5. Check that any non-hard-wired alarm installed since 1 July 2016 is photoelectric with a long-life battery.
6. For a hard-wired system, check it has been maintained to the manufacturer's requirements.
7. Record the date, each alarm's location and replacement date, and a photo, and remind the new tenant how to report a fault.

Repeat the test at routine inspections; it takes seconds per alarm. A dated line in the property's record for each check and replacement is all the evidence this ever needs, and Landy's inspection reminders are a natural place to hang it. Our rental inspection checklist includes the alarm check.

If the rules are not met

A landlord who fails to meet smoke alarm obligations commits an unlawful act, and the Tenancy Tribunal can order financial penalties of up to $7,200. Tenancy Services says a tenant who does not meet their obligations, such as by removing or disconnecting an alarm, could face penalties of up to $4,000. The Tribunal can also order the work to be done. Most problems never get near that point: talk first, and if that fails, mediation and the Tribunal are available to either side.