Queensland Fire and Emergency Services is urging landlords to act now as the deadline for residential rental properties to comply with smoke alarm legislation looms.
From 1 January 2022, residential rental properties will be required to have interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, in hallways and on every level.
Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, Mark Ryan said the law applied when new leases began or an existing lease was extended “but we urge all property owners to transition to the new safer alarms as soon as possible”.
He said this was about landlords putting the safety of their tenants first while also protecting their property and rental income.
Mr Ryan said residential rental properties that didn’t comply with the legislation would be unable to be rented out from January next year.
“This legislation isn’t new, it was introduced in 2017. We gave landlords until January 2022 to ensure they had time to make changes to their property,” Mr Ryan said.
“If you haven’t made the necessary changes to your rental property, now is the time. Complying with the legislation is not optional, it’s the law.”
QFES Commissioner, Greg Leach said interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms were designed to give residents extra time to escape a house fire.
“Research tells us that children are less likely to wake to the sound of a smoke alarm. This makes it important that adults in the home can hear them,” Commissioner Leach said.
“Interconnection means that the smoke alarms communicate with each other so that if one smoke alarm activates in one room all the smoke alarms activate, making it more likely that everyone will have the best chance of getting out before they are overcome by smoke.”
