Your diligent and you test it regularly. It beeps loud and clear and scares the cat. You put a good quality long-life battery in it as soon as starts to chirrup. You must be safe & sound, yes?? You’ve done well, but the one thing you probably haven’t done is check the expiry date as you most probably never even knew it had one!

Many landlords and homeowners are unaware that smoke alarms do not last forever. Most smoke alarms have a lifespan of around 10 years, after which the sensor can become less effective, potentially putting occupants at risk.

It’s important to regularly check the manufacture or expiry date on all smoke alarms within a property and replace any units that have reached the end of their service life. Simply testing the alarm button is not enough, as this only confirms that the battery and sounder are working, not the smoke detection sensor itself.

Regularly replacing expired smoke alarms helps ensure continued protection, supports legal compliance, and provides peace of mind that the property remains safe for occupants.

Every year in the UK around 250 people are killed by house fires. It is thought around a 35% of those are in properties with failed or missing smoke alarms.

At Granger & Oaks, as part of our compliance inspections, our team check for smoke alarm and CO alarm expiry and we diary when to replace them. We also endeavour to educate our tenants about the importance of keeping a spare battery in stock – you’d be surprised to see how many alarms we see removed from the ceiling as the battery has died.

If you want to find out more, click this link here, and when you get home, get the steps out and check if yours have expired too!