Victorian rental providers must have smoke alarms checked every year and kept in working order. We find each alarm, read its date and check its power supply, then replace expired or faulty ones on approval, hardwired with hardwired. The provider and agent get a written record of every alarm.
When to get it checked
Twelve months since the last check
Or nobody can find last year's record. The check falls due on the calendar, not when an alarm starts misbehaving.
A renter reports chirping
A chirp that carries on after a fresh battery, or one from an alarm with a sealed long-life battery, usually means the unit itself is finished.
An alarm off its base or missing its battery
Spotted at a routine inspection: an alarm twisted off and left hanging, an empty battery slot, or tape and paint over the vents. Each one is out of action until it's refitted or replaced.
Old dates, or no dates on file
The last record lists alarms more than ten years old, or lists no dates at all. The date is usually under the battery or on the back, so it's read with the alarm in hand.
A room now let as a bedroom
A study or sunroom advertised as a bedroom, or a rear extension, with no alarm between it and the rest of the house.
Why it happens
4 common causes
Dates nobody tracked
Alarms outlast agents, and sometimes owners, and the install date goes with the old paperwork. An alarm can sit on the ceiling years past its date and still beep when its test button is pressed.
Batteries pulled after false alarms
An alarm right outside a bathroom or near the kitchen reacts to steam and toast. The battery comes out to stop the noise and never goes back in.
Quick fixes between tenancies
A failed hardwired alarm swapped for a stick-on battery unit to get the place ready to lease, or a new alarm that won't link with the rest. A home built after 1 August 1997 needs mains-powered alarms with a backup battery.
Lost mains power
A circuit left off, a loose plug-in lead at the base or a fault further back leaves a hardwired alarm on its backup battery until that runs flat.
What the job covers
What we usually do on this job. Your quote confirms it for your place.
- Every alarm listed by room and level
- Expiry date read on each alarm
- Each alarm tested to the maker's instructions
- Mains power and backup battery checked
- Linked alarms checked to sound together
- Positions checked against bedrooms
- Replaceable batteries changed
- Failed alarms replaced on approval
- Certificate for any hardwired work
- Written record with next due date
Your options, explained
Annual check, fix on approval
Low disruption- Best for
- In-date alarms that passed last year
- How it works
- We test and record every alarm, and price any failure before replacing it.
- Worth knowing
- A failure can mean a second visit if nobody is available to approve it.
Check with pre-approved replacements
Low disruption- Best for
- Alarms near their date, or of unknown age
- How it works
- Like-for-like replacements are approved ahead of time, so failed alarms are swapped in one visit.
- Worth knowing
- Usually the tidiest option for agents and renters.
Replace the whole set
Medium disruption- Best for
- Mixed ages or alarms that won't link
- How it works
- Every alarm is replaced at once with matching units that share one expiry date and, where they're linked, sound together.
- Worth knowing
- More work on the day, then one date to track.
The people behind the work
One local team for electrical, heating and cooling. Family-run, based in Altona Meadows, with 19 years in the industry.
Licensed electrical contractor (REC 38187)See more team photos
Worth knowing before you book
- Hardwired stays hardwired
- A hardwired alarm must be installed by a qualified electrician, and a battery unit isn't a like-for-like replacement for one.
- One set, one date
- Replacing mixed-age alarms together leaves one expiry date to track.
- Send the last record
- The previous record tells us what's there, so we bring the right alarms.
What affects the price?
The right scope depends on your installation. These are the details we check so your quote is useful, with any additional work explained before it proceeds.
Number of alarms and levels
Each alarm is tested and recorded, so a double-storey house takes longer than a unit.
How many fail
Every expired, faulty or missing alarm adds a part and more time on the ladder to the check itself.
Hardwired or battery
A hardwired replacement means isolating the circuit and fitting a compatible base, which takes longer than a battery unit.
Access
Stairwell voids need taller ladders, and a locked room or a renter who wasn't told we're coming can mean a return visit.
Gaps in coverage
A bedroom with no alarm between it and the rest of the house needs a new alarm position. In a hardwired home, that means running cable through the ceiling.
How it runs
- 1
Book the check
The provider or agent arranges entry.
- 2
Test every alarm
Found, dated, tested and checked for power.
- 3
Replace on approval
Hardwired with hardwired.
- 4
Record
Sent to the provider and agent.
Step by step, in more detail
4 steps
Book through the provider or agent
Send us last year's record if there is one, and tell us how many levels and bedrooms. The agent or provider arranges entry with the renter.
List and test every alarm
We note each alarm's position, type, power supply and date, test it to the manufacturer's instructions and check that linked alarms sound together.
Fix what fails
Expired, faulty or missing alarms are replaced once the price is approved. A hardwired alarm is replaced with a compatible hardwired one.
Record the results
A written record of every alarm, what we replaced and the next due date goes to the provider and the agent.
What is safe to do, and what to leave to us
Safe for you to do
- Test each alarm monthly: press and hold the test button until it beeps three times, as Fire Rescue Victoria advises.
- Change a replaceable battery when an alarm chirps. Consumer Affairs Victoria says anyone can change a smoke alarm battery.
- Renters: report a dead, chirping or damaged alarm to the agent or provider in writing, and keep a copy.
- If an alarm sounds and there's smoke or fire, get everyone out and stay out.
Leave these to us
- Replacing, moving or rewiring a hardwired alarm without a licence. Energy Safe Victoria says unlicensed electrical work is illegal and potentially fatal.
- Pulling the battery or covering an alarm to stop false alarms.
- Swapping a hardwired alarm for a stick-on battery unit.
- Holding a reported fault over for the next yearly check.
When to get us in
- The yearly check is due or last year's record is missing
- An alarm still chirps after a new battery, or fails its test
- A hardwired alarm shows no power light
- An alarm's date has passed or can't be read
- A room is now used as a bedroom, or the house was extended
More detail
Which alarms a rental needs
It starts with when the home was built. Consumer Affairs Victoria says buildings built after 1 August 1997 must have hardwired smoke alarms with battery backup, older buildings can have battery-powered ones, and every alarm must meet AS 3786. The Building and Plumbing Commission says alarms must be on or near the ceiling of every storey, between each bedroom area and the rest of the house. At the check we compare what's on the ceiling with those rules, not just whether each alarm beeps.
How the yearly check sits with the electrical check
They run on separate schedules. The smoke alarm check is yearly. The electrical safety check of all installations and fittings has been due at least every two years for agreements entered into after 29 March 2021, and Consumer Affairs Victoria says that from 13 October 2026, two-yearly gas and electrical checks apply to all rental agreements, whenever they began.
When a renter complains about false alarms
A battery that goes missing has usually come out over toast or shower steam, so treat the complaint as a repair request. The fix may be cleaning a dusty alarm, replacing an ageing ionisation alarm with a photoelectric one, or moving the alarm a little further along the hall while keeping it between the bedrooms and the living areas.
Local rules and conditions
Victorian requirements and local conditions that shape this job, with the sources listed at the foot of the page.
Owners can be fined
The Building and Plumbing Commission says an owner who fails to comply with the smoke alarm requirements of the Building Regulations 2018 can be fined. Consumer Affairs Victoria separately requires a yearly smoke alarm safety check for every rental.
Extended post-war homes in Altona
Parts of Altona are Special Character Areas, where the planning scheme aims to preserve intact post-war brick and weatherboard homes. A home built before 1 August 1997 can have battery-powered alarms, but Fire Rescue Victoria's summary says one largely renovated or extended after 1 May 2014 needs interconnected, hardwired alarms with battery backup.
Newer estates in Wyndham
New housing is planned in Wyndham's growth areas, including Truganina, Tarneit and Wyndham Vale. Fire Rescue Victoria's summary says a home built after 1 May 2014 needs interconnected, hardwired alarms with battery backup, so a failed alarm in one is replaced with one that links to the rest.
Useful reading
Guides to read before you decide, with checklists and questions to bring to the quote.
- Rental electrical and smoke alarm checks in VictoriaKnow which records to gather, how to arrange access and where to verify the current Victorian requirements.
- Smoke alarm rules for Victorian homesWhat Victoria expects of the alarms in the home you own: the type your build date calls for, where they go, interconnection and when to replace them.
- Landlords: heating, cooling and electrical obligations in VictoriaA rental provider's map of the heating, switchboard, safety check and repair duties on a Victorian rental, and what the 2027 energy standards change.
- Certificates of Electrical Safety explainedWhat a Victorian COES records, how prescribed and non-prescribed work differ, when your copy should arrive and why it belongs in your house file.
Common questions
Questions people ask about this
- Am I allowed to change the smoke alarm battery in my rental?Yes.
- What does an annual rental smoke alarm check involve?It's a yearly visit to confirm every smoke alarm is correctly installed and working.
- Do older leases now need gas and electrical safety checks?Yes.
From the blog
- What affects the cost of a rental electrical safety check?Property size, switchboards, access and what the check turns up all change how long a rental electrical check takes. Here's how to compare offers fairly.
- What do rental electrical safety checks commonly find?Cracked power points, unprotected circuits, smoke alarm faults and hazards from renters' own gear come up again and again. Here's how landlords can head them off.
Sources for the rules and local facts on this page
11 sources, with the date each was checked
- 1.Building and Plumbing Commission (formerly Victorian Building Authority): A fine can be imposed on an owner who fails to comply with the smoke alarm requirements of the Building Regulations 2018. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 2.Consumer Affairs Victoria: From 25 November 2025, it will be mandatory for all rental properties to have annual smoke alarm safety checks to ensure they are correctly installed and in working condition. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 3.Victorian Government, Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme (PDF snapshot, last updated by VC292 on 11/09/2025): SPECIAL CHARACTER AREAS, ALTONA 1.0 24/02/2022 C131hbay Neighbourhood character objectives To preserve the characteristics of the neighbourhood, comprising intact post-war brick and weatherboard dwellings with… Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 4.Fire Rescue Victoria: Residential home constructed, largely renovated, or extended after 1 May 2014 Interconnected, hard wired smoke alarms that are connected to 240 volt mains power and have a back-up battery. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 5.Victorian Electoral Commission (2023 electoral structure review fact sheet): New housing developments are planned in residential growth areas including Truganina, Tarneit, Wyndham Vale and Manor Lakes, as well as near activity centres and public transport. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 6.Consumer Affairs Victoria: a cooling appliance or service provided by the rental provider is not working the property does not meet minimum standards a safety-related device, such as a smoke alarm or pool fence, is not working Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 7.Consumer Affairs Victoria: Rental providers who enter into a new agreement after 29 March 2021, must have all electrical installations and fittings checked by a licensed electrician at least once every 2 years. This also applies to rental… Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 8.Consumer Affairs Victoria: Mandatory gas and electrical safety checks every 2 years for all rental properties Rental providers and their agents must arrange gas and electrical safety checks by a qualified tradesperson every 2 years for all… Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 9.Energy Safe Victoria: Whenever a licensed electrician completes any electrical installation work, they must provide a Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES). Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 10.Victorian Legislation (legislation.vic.gov.au) - Electricity Safety Act 1998, authorised version 089 (effective 8 Sep 2026): electrical installation work means installation, alteration, repair or maintenance of an electrical installation; Accessed 30 September 2026.
- 11.Energy Safe Victoria: Gas and electricity are inherently dangerous and it’s illegal and potentially fatal for unlicensed and unqualified people to undertake any electrical or gasfitting work. Homeowners and consumers must always use… Accessed 30 September 2026.
