Every tenancy change in Queensland starts a 30 day clock on the smoke alarms, and it runs against the owner, not the tenant. Miss it and the agency is the one explaining why the entry condition report says the alarms were checked when nothing on file proves it. This is exactly what the law requires inside those 30 days, who is responsible at each stage, what to keep on file, and how we run it for agencies so it never slips.
What must happen in the 30 days before a tenancy starts?
The Fire Services Act 1990 puts four duties on the lessor in the 30 days before a tenancy begins:
- Test every smoke alarm in the property, by pressing the test button (section 148B).
- Clean every smoke alarm the way the manufacturer says, which usually means vacuuming the dust out of it (section 148E).
- Replace any battery that is flat or close to flat (section 148C).
- Replace, immediately, any alarm that does not work when tested, and replace any alarm that has passed 10 years from its manufacture date (section 148A).
On top of that, since 1 January 2022 every rental must meet the full standard before a new tenancy starts or an existing one is renewed: photoelectric alarms complying with AS 3786-2014, hardwired or with a sealed 10 year battery, interconnected so that when one sounds they all sound, in every bedroom, in the hallway the bedrooms open onto, and on every level without a bedroom (section 147Z). A check in the 30 days that finds an old ionisation alarm or two alarms that do not talk to each other is a check that has found non-compliance.
Who is responsible: owner, agent or tenant?
The owner. The Act lets the owner’s agent do the work on the owner’s behalf, which is how it lands on the property manager’s desk, and it says in terms that the tenant cannot be the owner’s agent for this (section 148H). The tenant’s duties begin once the tenancy is running: test and clean each alarm at least once every 12 months, replace a flat battery, and tell the lessor as soon as practicable if an alarm has failed or is about to (sections 148B, 148C, 148D and 148E). The tenant must not remove an alarm or its battery (section 148F). Everything before the keys are handed over, and everything that is a replacement rather than a battery, belongs to the owner.
Does a lease renewal count?
For the installation standard, yes: the Act names “a new tenancy for the dwelling starts or an existing tenancy for the dwelling is renewed” as the trigger (section 147Z(2)). The 30 day test and clean is tied to “the start of a tenancy”. Most agencies treat a renewal the same way, and it is the safe practice, because a renewal is the one moment you can prove the alarms were checked without arranging a separate visit.
What to keep on file
If a tenant, an owner or the tribunal asks, you want to be able to show, for each property and each tenancy:
- the date of the test and clean, inside the 30 days
- who did it
- the result for every alarm, including the manufacture date and the 10 year expiry that follows from it
- which alarms were replaced, and why
- the smoke alarm line on the entry condition report (Form 1a), completed to match
We give the owner or managing agent the result after every visit. If you want a document for the file, we provide a Certificate of Compliance on request once the invoice is paid. It is not something the law requires, but it is the quickest answer to “show me”.
The 10 year trap
Most alarms that fail a tenancy check are not broken. They are old. The Act requires every alarm to be replaced within 10 years of the date it was manufactured, which is printed on the alarm itself (section 148A). An alarm installed in 2016 is due now. A sealed battery alarm installed in 2017, when the new standard began, is due in 2027. If your rent roll was upgraded in the first wave, the second wave is about to start, and it is cheaper to plan it than to find it one tenancy at a time.
How we run it for agencies
- Every property on one schedule, built around your tenancy dates. You send us the move in date, we book the visit inside the 30 days and contact the tenant by email, SMS and phone to arrange access.
- The annual service plan, priced per property per year on our pricing page, covers unlimited compliance checks during the year, including before new tenancies, lease renewals and sales. There is no lock in.
- Any alarm that fails or has expired is replaced on the spot at our published per alarm price, interconnected and tested before we leave. Hardwired alarms are fitted by a licensed electrician, and we organise it.
- Every alarm we supply is covered for its full 10 year life while the property stays on the plan.
- The result goes to you after every visit, and a Certificate of Compliance is available on request once the invoice is paid.
Send us the rent roll and we will tell you which properties are inside their 30 days this month. Call the office on (07) 3349 0636, or send your details through the contact form and we’ll get back to you. Send me the rent roll form.
Smoke Alarm Services has serviced rentals across Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Redlands and Moreton Bay for over 20 years.
