New requirements for smoke alarms in homes or units being sold or leased

Conveyancing 20 January 2022
New requirements for smoke alarms in homes or units being sold or leased

From 1 January 2022, all homes or units being sold or leased, or existing leases renewed, will require hardwired photoelectric, interconnected smoke alarms in accordance with Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 and Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008.  The obligations on sellers are triggered by the date the initial sale contract is signed.  When a contract of sale is signed after 31 December 2021, the seller is obligated to upgrade the dwelling to the updated interconnected domestic smoke alarm standard prior to the dwelling being transferred.  The seller must declare on a “form 24” to the buyer as part of the transfer process that this obligation has been discharged.

There are also strict requirements on where smoke alarms must be located within the dwelling as follows:

    • 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.

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-year battery or a combination of both; and
    • be interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling so all activate together.

New editions of the Contract for Houses and Residential Land (17th ed.) and Contract for Residential Lots in a Community Title Scheme (13th ed.) now include a new clause 7.8 which provides for the changes to smoke alarm regulations. The new clause will impose a contractual obligation on the seller to install smoke alarms in compliance with the new requirements.  If the seller fails to comply with clause 7.8(1), the buyer is entitled to an adjustment at settlement equal to 0.15% of the purchase price but only if claimed by the buyer in writing on or before settlement. This is the buyer’s only remedy for non-compliance with clause 7.8(1). The buyer will be required to install compliant smoke alarms after settlement if the seller has not complied.

Please contact Elliott Law for further information, or head to the Queensland Fire Emergency Services website or click here.

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