The Scottish Government’s new law on fire alarms requires all homes – owned or rented – to have interlinked smoke and heat alarms installed by February 2022.

This new law means by February 2022 every home must have:

• one smoke alarm in the living room or the room you use most
• one smoke alarm in every hallway or landing
• one heat alarm in the kitchen
• All smoke and heat alarms should be mounted on the ceiling and be interlinked.

If you have a carbon-fuelled appliance – like a boiler, fire, heater or flue – in any room, you must also have a carbon monoxide detector in that room, but this does not need to be linked to the fire alarms.

Costs are the responsibility of home owners and landlords. The Scottish Government estimate that the average cost per house will be around £220. This is based on using the type of alarms that you can install by yourself.

You can find out more about the new law on the Scottish Government website.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has £1m funding to help people assessed to be at high risk from fire as part of a home fire safety visit. If the individual / household does not meet these criteria, SFRS staff will provide safety advice, information and details of the revised legislation during the visit. To request a fire safety visit follow this link, contact SFRS on 0800 073199, or text “FIRE” to 80800.

Older and disabled homeowners on low incomes can also contact their local Care and Repair Scotland office which gives independent advice.

If specialist alarms are needed – such as for deaf people or Telecare systems – these must be fitted in addition to any smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms.

Different homes in a shared property like a tenement or block of flats do not need to be linked to each other, and there is no need for alarms to be fitted in communal areas.

The Scottish Government does not endorse any particular supplier. If a company has used the Scottish Government logo on its marketing material this is misleading and can be reported to Trading Standards on 03000 200292.

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