Smoke Detector Addendum

Some fire departments will install battery-operated smoke alarms in your home at no cost. Contact your local fire department's non-emergency phone number for more information.A smoke alarm only works when it is properly installed and regularly tested.

Tenants are generally responsible for replacing smoke detector batteries. Show your tenant how to test the fire alarm upon move-in (normally, it can be done with the push of a button) and ask that they do it bi-weekly, or even monthly.

A lease addendum allows a landlord or tenant to make changes to a current residential or commercial lease agreement.Once both parties agree and sign, the addendum should be added to the original lease.

Rip off a piece of aluminum foil to fit over the smoke detector and around its sides. Wrap the piece of aluminum foil around the smoke detector. It should stay by itself, but if it doesn't, wrap a large rubber band around it.

Landlords are required by law to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every floor of their properties and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance (eg a coal fire, wood burning stove). You must also make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy.

How will the rules be enforced? All local housing authorities in England are responsible for enforcing these new regulations. If the council is satisfied that the landlord has failed to comply with the requirements, they can serve a remedial notice requiring the landlord to fit and/or test the alarms within 28 days.

Adding an Addendum An addendum must include the basic elements of any landlord/tenant agreement. You should include the date, the address of the rental property and the names of each party just as you would in the original lease.

But who bears the responsibility of maintaining smoke alarms in a strata property? Let's break down the basics. It is the Owners Corporation's responsibility to install, replace and maintain all smoke alarms in the common areas of the property.

The landlord is responsible for installing working smoke detectors, but the tenant bears some responsibility for ensuring that they stay in good working order.Tenants cannot remove the smoke detectors and must ensure that batteries are regularly replaced.