Smoke alarm servicing, who has it done and who does it themselves?

Hardwired smoke alarms are actually the required type moving forward.. replaceable battery ones will soon be phased out. More info:

https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/community-safety/smokealarms/Pages/default.aspx

 

There are now 10 year battery ones.
Surely they are just as good

 

@dan2101 @gman65 thanks for the info & for clearing that up.

 

They will still have a battery back up for when power is out. So this needs to be changed and will also have an expiry date, so will need to be replaced once this date comes around

 

We have an electrician do all of ours for $40 each lease renewal (yearly) Just received this from one agent re new smoke alarm rules

 

@Propertunity or anyone else can you please confirm if the new NSW strata laws contains some changes around smoke alarms in units/apartments.

Recently received an email from my PM from Sydney advising below and either accept their suggested provider to do the maintenance for $99. There is no change in tenancy. Plus I am aware that strata company is doing their annual smoke alarm/detectors check...

One of these legislated requirements is the installation and maintenance of smoke alarms in your rental property. These alarms need to meet the requirements of the Building Code of Australia, Environmental Planning and Assessment Act & the Residential Tenancies Act. Many properties inspected in our area are found to be non-compliant. Plus some scary looking statistics saying over 50% properties in this area are non-compliant.

Wondering what do other people do in Sydney...

 

It only needs to be compliant & follow the act regarding batteries and age etc

but

lot's of PMs now do not want too look after this basic requirement, so they often force the use of a fire company to do yearly checks, prices range from around 50-100 a year, per property.

you can read about the requirements for each state by doing a search, in NSW your individual unit may be being checked when the main building is being checked if a strata block, if they are checking each unit yearly, ask for a compliance certificate & send that to PM, so your not paying twice (if the PM is trying to get this done as well that is)

 

Be careful with hard-wired smoke alarms, they all have backup batteries and the physical alarms have expiry dates (not just the batteries). Hardwired alarms in unit blocks are still generally the responsibility of the unit owner, unless they are networked.

If they are networked, there will be a large red fire information panel with microphone, phone line back to fire department etc, and those alarms, sprinklers, speakers are tested monthly (like in a high-rise). In those situations the body corporate should be contracting that out, meaning that unit owners are generally not responsible for alarms at all.

Aside from that - 98% of the clients I speak to do not know that the alarms expire too, not just the batteries, so I would have very low confidence in most owners doing this themselves. Litigation often follows fires.

Matt

 

Interesting. Something for me to bring up with strata to confirm networking or not. Thanks @Matthew Savage

 

Am going through this with our strata right now.

1/ non hardwired meets “AS 3786-1993" NSW requirements.
2/ strata are required to file annually that units are working correctly (so if you have a PM for your IP in a strata....say thanks but you'll need to earn your kickbacks somewhere else as you aren't paying for it twice).

If you have a house then this $55 unit is good for 7 years so anyone paying $50-$100 a year for a standalone house to get "inspected" is overpaying......
- First Alert Photoelectric And Carbon Monoxide Detector Smoke Alarm

 

Hi Dean,

When you say that strata is responsible for filing annually - in QLD the body corporate is required to submit occupier's statements to the effect that common property fire protection systems are free from defects. As per my earlier post, internal unit smoke alarms in QLD are NOT common property unless they are shared infrastructure (networked) so in most buildings, the body corporate/strata has nothing to do with internal smoke alarms at all.

I'm not saying you are wrong - just make sure that someone is servicing them, because in QLD, generally the body corporate is not.

Matt

 

I paid for a once-off service for my IP, to have a (professional) independent third party establish a baseline for compliance of smoke alarms, safety switch and corded window safety.

New legislation (QLD) will take effect before my current alarms expire, so unless something major happens (like they get (re)moved or damaged), I'm happy to do my own "servicing" (press a button/replace battery, and clean) every lease renewal/new tenancy. I can also sight the safety switch (and test if the tenants are happy for the power to go out momentarily) and installed cord tensioning devices during my visit (ie make sure they're still there/haven't been (re)moved). For me this is currently a better option than paying ~$100 or more a year, but I'm open to outsourcing if/when my circumstances change.

 

Here you go Matt, has details on requirements for NSW strata
- Strata Compliance Issues in NSW...by Strataman

 

I've just had my PM organise it for me - $99 per dwelling, for a 2-year annual service arrangement.

The main reason I get someone else to service it is for the legal coverage. A professional has checked it, and said it is fine, so for potential insurance claims and tenant complaints down the track, I'm covered.

 

been following up with the company my PM has associated with and strata....this is in NSW. Strata does annual fire check as per legislation and as part of that they check each unit and make sure all is good but company does this generates the compliance certificate for entire lot for strata which get submitted to fire authority and local council.

So I asked the company my PM is recommending that comes with $99 charge they advised you need to have compliance cert for your unit, which after pushing further I found is not must. Plus they said, question to consider.. will your strata company

- change alarm batteries between tenancy - No. However strata check happens every year so this is done regardless albeit after some time.
- will they attend property when smoke alarm beeping or need replacing - No. Doesn't this fall under maintance job for PM to handle if that happens.
- in the event of fire (is smoke alarmfound to be faulty) strata insurance will cover the damage - haven't received confirmation on this.

I don't see a point paying for this twice especially if strata covers the insurance part of it...

 

How do you prove that you have done this? I find this the most difficult part. Changing batteries is a piece of cake

 

Who do you guys use/recommend in Melbourne?

The PM I have has recommended Smart House - Smoke Alarm Testing – SmartHouse Australia

 

Just adding a comment, you want all the smoke alarms to be of the photoelectric type, not ionising. Ionising won't go off in a timely manner in a smoldering fire. And ionising smoke alarms are no longer sold in Qld because they have been outlawed, but you might still find them for sale in other states and territories.

 

I posted this recently on another thread, relevant here:
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I've attached here a fully up to date section of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 that relates to the installation, testing and maintenance of smoke alarms in rental properties. There's also an REIQ update sheet on the recent amendments.

It is not a legal requirement to have Smoke Alarms tested by a qualified electrician or suitable compliance specialist. However, without engaging a professional you as the lessor are responsible for installing, testing and maintaining the alarms as per the legal requirements and manufacturers specifications specific to each individual alarm. The Property Manager cannot take on any of these tasks on your behalf.

The REIQ and I would imagine other REI (Real Estate Institute) variants around Australia consider it non-negotiable best practice to have every property signed up to a smoke alarm compliance plan. For approximately $79 or $99 you are paying for testing, unlimited call outs and best of all- total indemnification in relation to the condition of the smoke alarms should a fire occur and tragedy strike.

I have about 2% of my clients testing their own alarms. These clients are fully educated on the requirements and local, so I'm comfortable with it. Everyone else is more than happy to pay for the annual compliance and leave it to us.

It's annoying that this is yet another cost that the Landlord has to bear in the quest to over-legislate everything, but it is what it is. If you really want to shock yourself, check out the requirements coming in 2022, fully inter-connected alarms in every bedroom and hallway!!!