Existing landlord’s and tenant’s obligations continue from 1 January 2017. Property sellers must continue to lodge a Form 24 stating the requirements of the legislation have been met. See New Smoke Alarm Legislation for more details.

From 1 January 2022

  • All homes or units being sold or leased, or existing leases renewed, will require hardwired photoelectric, interconnected smoke alarms. Non-removable 10-year battery smoke alarms can be installed in place.
  • Smoke alarms in the dwelling must:
    • be photoelectric (AS3786-2014); and
    • not also contain an ionisation sensor; and
    • Be hardwired to the mains power supply, if currently hardwired. Otherwise, smoke alarms can be either hardwired or powered by a non-removable 10 yr battery or a combination of both.
  • be interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling so all activate together.
  • The legislation requires smoke alarms must be installed in the following locations:
    • on each storey
    • in each bedroom
    • if there is no hallway, between the bedroom and other parts of the storey; and
    • if there are no bedrooms on a storey, at least one smoke alarm must be installed in the most likely path of travel to exit the dwelling.
  • The obligations on property sellers are triggered by the date the initial sale contract is signed.
  • When a contract of sale is signed after 1 January 2022 , the seller is obligated to upgrade the dwelling to the updated interconnected domestic smoke alarm standard prior to the dwelling being transferred.
  • The property seller must declare on a “form 24” to the buyer as part of the transfer process that this obligation has been discharged.

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How it could cost you more than a $1000?

Failure to comply with the new legislation means a property being sold allows the buyer to claim 0.15% of the purchase price prior to settlement. So on a property sale of $900,000, this would mean they are entitled to claim $1350. So make sure you have installed all the necessary smoke alarms well before settlement so this does not become an issue for you.

For more information on what is required please check the Queensland Fire Service Fact Sheets - Click here