10 Years On: How the 2015 Smoke and CO Alarm Law Changed Rental Safety in EnglandÂ
- Technical review: Thomas Jevons (Head of Training, 20+ years)
- Employability review: Joshua Jarvis (Placement Manager)
- Editorial review: Jessica Gilbert (Marketing Editorial Team)
- Last reviewed:
- Changes: Complete 10-year retrospective analysis covering 2015-2025 trends, incorporating Home Office fire statistics, English Housing Survey data, NHS hospital admission records, enforcement reality assessment, 2022 amendment comparison, and myth-busting section addressing common misconceptions about the regulations' scope and impact.
On 1 October 2015, something shifted in England’s private rental sector. Not dramatically, not with fanfare, but quietly. Private landlords became legally required to fit smoke alarms on every storey and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with solid fuel appliances. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 aimed to close a gap where private rentals consistently lagged behind social housing in basic fire safety provision.Â
Ten years later, we’ve got enough data to ask the uncomfortable questions. Did the law work? Did it save lives? And perhaps more importantly, what did we learn about the difference between compliance on paper and actual protection in practice?Â
The answer, backed by a decade of Home Office fire statistics, English Housing Survey data, and NHS hospital admission records, is more nuanced than “yes” or “no.” The law succeeded in getting equipment onto walls. It failed at ensuring that equipment stayed functional. It closed some gaps and exposed others. And crucially, it revealed that statutory minimums don’t automatically translate to meaningful safety improvements without enforcement mechanisms that actually work.Â
What the 2015 Law Actually Required
The regulations weren’t complicated. Private landlords in England had to install at least one smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel-burning appliance like a wood stove or open coal fire. Alarms needed testing at the start of each new tenancy. Local housing authorities could issue remedial notices for non-compliance, followed by penalties up to £5,000 if landlords ignored the requirement.Â
Here’s what the law didn’t do: it didn’t cover social housing (until 2022 amendments), didn’t mandate CO alarms for gas or oil appliances (again, fixed in 2022), didn’t require interconnected alarm systems, and didn’t specify ongoing maintenance beyond that initial tenancy test. It set a floor, not a ceiling. And critically, it relied on complaint-led enforcement rather than routine inspections.Â
The scope was deliberately narrow. Owner-occupied homes were exempt. Long leases over seven years were out. Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation already had stricter rules under separate regulations. The 2015 law specifically targeted the private rented sector, where alarm coverage in 2014 sat at 83% compared to 92% in social housing.Â
The Data Story: 2010-2025 Trends
Pre-2015 Baseline (2010-2014)Â
England saw approximately 40,000 dwelling fires annually, with around 250-300 fire-related fatalities and 10,000-12,000 non-fatal injuries each year. Smoke alarm prevalence was 88% overall, but the private rented sector lagged at 83%. Carbon monoxide alarms were rare, present in only 15-20% of homes, mostly where visible risk appliances like wood burners existed.Â
Fire incidents showed a steady downward trend throughout this period, driven primarily by declining smoking rates (from 20% in 2011 falling toward 12% by 2024), updated building regulations from 2010, and fire service prevention campaigns. The trajectory was already positive before the 2015 law took effect.Â
Post-2015 Changes (2015-2025)Â
Dwelling fires declined to approximately 27,000 by 2024/25. Fatalities dropped to around 270 in 2023/24 (309 across Great Britain). Non-fatal injuries fell to roughly 7,000 annually. Smoke alarm prevalence in the private rented sector rose to 93% by 2023/24, effectively closing the gap with social housing (96%) and owner-occupied properties (92%).Â
Carbon monoxide alarm coverage increased more slowly. By 2024, surveys indicated 42% of UK homes still lacked CO alarms, with the private rented sector showing better adoption than owner-occupied but falling short of the near-universal smoke alarm saturation.Â
The critical observation: there’s no sharp break in the data around October 2015. Fire deaths and incidents continued declining along the trajectory established years earlier. The 2015 law appears to have accelerated equipment installation in the targeted sector without creating a sudden inflection point in harm reduction outcomes.Â
What Actually Worked: Equipment Saturation in Private Rentals
The law succeeded at its primary objective: getting alarms installed in previously under-equipped private rental properties. English Housing Survey data shows private rented sector smoke alarm coverage increased approximately 10 percentage points post-2015, rising from 83% to 93% within five years. That’s roughly 1 million additional rental homes with smoke detection capability.Â
For carbon monoxide, the effect was more modest initially. The 2015 requirement only applied to solid fuel appliances, covering a fraction of rental properties. The bigger CO alarm surge came after the 2022 amendments extended the requirement to gas and oil appliances and included social housing. Between 2015 and 2022, CO alarm presence in affected private rentals climbed from an estimated 28% to over 60%, then jumped to 90%+ post-2022 as the scope widened.Â
The mechanism was straightforward. By shifting alarm provision from discretionary (“landlords should consider”) to mandatory (“landlords must install”), the law made safety equipment default rather than optional. Landlords integrated alarm checks into tenancy start inventories alongside gas safety certificates and deposit protection documentation. The safety standard became embedded in standard operating procedure.Â
Thomas Jevons, Head of Training at Elec Training, observes the practical reality:Â
"The 2015 law succeeded at getting alarms onto walls, but what we've learned over ten years is that presence doesn't equal protection. I've assessed properties where alarms were fitted to tick the compliance box, then installed in locations where cooking steam triggers false alarms every week. Tenants disable them within months. The law created a minimum standard, but without guidance on optimal placement or ongoing maintenance requirements, we're seeing a cycle where equipment is present but functionally useless."
This distinction between installation and effective protection runs throughout the decade’s data.Â
Where the Law Fell Short: Maintenance, Enforcement, and the Shadow Sector
The Maintenance Gap
The 2015 regulations require landlords to test alarms at the start of each tenancy. Responsibility for ongoing testing typically falls to tenants, though this isn’t explicitly stated in the law itself. Home Office fire incident data reveals that smoke alarms fail to operate in approximately 28-30% of dwelling fires, often due to missing batteries, expired sensors, or physical damage.Â
Most smoke alarms have a 10-year sensor lifespan regardless of battery type. Alarms installed in October 2015 to comply with the new law are reaching expiration now, between 2025 and 2026. The regulations don’t explicitly mandate replacement at the 10-year mark, only that alarms must be “working” at tenancy start. This creates ambiguity: does a 12-year-old alarm with a fresh battery meet the legal requirement? Technically yes, functionally no.Â
Electricians working in the rental sector report encountering 2015-era installations that have never been replaced, with landlords unaware that sensor degradation occurs independently of battery life. The “replacement bubble” is here, and many landlords haven’t budgeted for wholesale alarm renewal across their portfolios.Â
The Enforcement RealityÂ
Local housing authorities can issue remedial notices and impose penalties up to £5,000 for non-compliance. In practice, these powers are rarely used. There is no central database of enforcement actions, making national-level assessment impossible, but available evidence suggests councils lack resources for routine inspections. Enforcement is complaint-led, meaning it only occurs when tenants report missing or faulty alarms.Â
Vulnerable tenants in insecure housing arrangements, the demographic most at risk from fire and CO poisoning, are least likely to challenge landlords over safety issues. Fear of eviction, language barriers, or simply not knowing their rights creates an enforcement gap that leaves thousands of rental properties technically non-compliant despite the statutory requirement.Â
Joshua Jarvis, Placement Manager at Elec Training, highlights the structural problem:Â
"The 2015 law only works if properties are visible to local authorities. We place electricians who've worked on unregistered rental properties, sub-lets, informal arrangements, landlords operating below the radar. Those tenants have no recourse. The law created a two-tier system: compliant landlords in the formal market, and an untouched shadow sector where the most vulnerable renters live. Until registration becomes mandatory, statutory requirements only protect people already in relatively secure housing."
The Pre-2022 CO GapÂ
Between 2015 and 2022, carbon monoxide alarms were only required in rooms with solid fuel appliances. Gas boilers, wall heaters, and oil-fired systems were excluded despite contributing significantly to CO poisoning incidents. This left properties with faulty gas appliances unprotected by statutory alarm requirements for seven years.Â
Hospital admissions for carbon monoxide poisoning show mild declines over the decade, dropping from an average of 246 per year (2001-2010) to lower levels, but the data is too volatile to attribute changes to the 2015 law specifically. The 2022 amendment closing the gas appliance gap likely had more impact on CO detection than the original 2015 solid-fuel-only requirement.Â
The Confounders: Smoking, Grenfell, and Broader Safety Trends
Smoking DeclineÂ
The most significant driver of reduced fire deaths over the past decade has nothing to do with alarm legislation. UK smoking prevalence fell from 19% in 2014 to 12% in 2024, a 7 percentage point drop. Smoking-related fires, particularly those involving upholstered furniture and bedding, are the leading cause of fatal domestic fires.Â
Statistical modeling suggests the smoking decline accounts for more harm reduction than alarm installation mandates. This doesn’t mean alarms are ineffective, but it means separating the law’s specific contribution from pre-existing societal trends is statistically difficult without controlled comparisons.Â
The Grenfell EffectÂ
The June 2017 Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people and triggered a national reckoning on fire safety. The immediate aftermath saw voluntary increases in fire safety awareness and equipment upgrades across all housing tenures, not just private rentals. Fire service data shows a spike in “precautionary” calls and safety checks post-Grenfell that lasted through 2018-2019.Â
This complicates evaluation of the 2015 law. Did alarm coverage in private rentals increase between 2015-2017 due to regulatory compliance, or did the 2017-2019 surge driven by Grenfell fear dominate the trend? English Housing Survey data suggests both factors mattered, with steady growth 2015-2017, then acceleration 2017-2019, followed by plateau.Â
Building Regulations and Appliance SafetyÂ
The 2010 amendments to building regulations improved fire safety standards for new builds and major renovations, introducing stricter requirements for fire doors, escape routes, and electrical safety. These changes primarily affected new construction, with limited retrofit impact on older rental stock, but they contributed to the overall downward fire incident trend.Â
Shifts toward safer appliances also played a role. Declining use of open coal fires, replacement of older gas boilers with modern sealed systems, and increased adoption of electric heating reduced inherent fire and CO risk independently of alarm legislation.Â
The 2025 Reality: What We're Left With
Near-Universal Smoke Alarm Coverage (With Caveats)Â
Smoke alarm prevalence in English rental properties now sits at 93-96% depending on tenure. The private rented sector caught up with social housing and owner-occupied properties, closing the gap that prompted the 2015 law. This is a genuine achievement.Â
The caveat: presence doesn’t guarantee function. Home Office data shows approximately 9-12% of alarms present during fire incidents fail to activate. Causes include dead batteries (still common despite 10-year sealed units), physical damage, poor placement triggering nuisance alarms that lead to deliberate disabling, and sensor expiry.Â
Landlords who installed cheap, overly sensitive battery-powered alarms in 2015 to meet minimum compliance often created problems rather than solutions. Kitchenette rentals with smoke alarms positioned too close to cooking areas generate weekly false alarms. Tenants remove batteries within months. The alarm remains visible during inspections, appearing compliant, but provides zero protection.Â
Persistent CO VulnerabilitiesÂ
Despite the 2022 expansion to gas and oil appliances, 42% of UK homes still lack carbon monoxide alarms. The private rented sector shows better coverage than owner-occupied properties, but substantial gaps remain. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes approximately 25 deaths annually in England, with hospital admissions significantly underreporting actual incidents due to missed diagnoses.Â
The CO alarm adoption curve is roughly 5-7 years behind smoke alarms. It took decades for smoke alarms to achieve near-universal acceptance. Carbon monoxide faces lower public awareness, with many occupants unaware that faulty boilers or blocked flues can produce lethal gas without visible signs.Â
The Ongoing Enforcement DeficitÂ
Ten years into statutory alarm requirements, enforcement remains complaint-led and under-resourced. Local housing authorities issue warnings, remedial notices occasionally surface, but the £5,000 penalty power sits largely unused. National-level enforcement data doesn’t exist in accessible form, preventing systematic evaluation of compliance reality versus reported compliance.Â
The shadow private rental sector, estimated at hundreds of thousands of properties operating outside formal registration, remains entirely untouched by the 2015 law. These properties house disproportionately vulnerable tenants, yet face zero statutory oversight.Â
What the Data Can and Cannot Tell Us
Strong AssociationsÂ
We can confidently state that smoke alarm coverage in the private rented sector increased post-2015, with English Housing Survey data showing approximately 10 percentage points growth in the targeted tenure. This association is robust and plausibly attributable to the regulatory change.Â
We can also state that dwelling fires declined from 40,000 annually (2010-2014) to 27,000 (2024/25), and fire-related fatalities fell from 250-300 to around 270. These are real improvements.Â
Weak CausationÂ
What we cannot prove is direct causation linking the 2015 law to specific lives saved. The fire death decline trajectory began years before 2015 and continued smoothly through the decade without a discernible break point. Confounders including smoking reduction, building regulation updates, the Grenfell safety response, and appliance improvements compete for explanatory credit.Â
Statistical methods like difference-in-differences analysis comparing private rentals (targeted by the law) to owner-occupied properties (not targeted) suggest the law had modest positive effects on alarm installation rates, but translating equipment presence into measurable harm reduction remains statistically elusive without randomized controlled data.Â
The Near-Miss ProblemÂ
The most significant data gap is the absence of “near-miss” recording. When a carbon monoxide alarm sounds and occupants evacuate before poisoning occurs, or when a smoke alarm provides early warning allowing safe escape before fire service arrival, these events often go unrecorded in national datasets. Fire incident statistics capture attended fires where casualties occur or property damage is significant. The preventive value of alarms, the disasters that didn’t happen, is largely invisible in official statistics.Â
Myths vs Reality: 10 Years of Misunderstanding
Myth: The law applies UK-wide.Â
Reality: The 2015 regulations apply to England only. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have separate timelines and requirements.Â
Myth: CO alarms were required for gas boilers from 2015.Â
Reality: Only solid fuel appliances were covered until October 2022, when the requirement expanded to all combustion appliances including gas and oil.Â
Myth: Social housing was always safer.Â
Reality: Social housing had no specific CO alarm statutory requirement until the 2022 amendments, despite generally better smoke alarm coverage.Â
Myth: The law guarantees safe properties.Â
Reality: The law requires minimum equipment. It doesn’t mandate interconnected systems, annual maintenance, or optimal placement. Statutory compliance doesn’t equal comprehensive protection.Â
Myth: Enforcement is automatic.Â
Reality: Local authorities act on complaints or during inspections. There is no routine checking, and penalties are rarely imposed.Â
Myth: Statistics prove the law saved thousands of lives.Â
Reality: Fire deaths declined, but smoking reduction, building regulations, and broader safety trends explain much of the improvement. Association is clear, causation is ambiguous.Â
Myth: Alarms last forever.Â
Reality: Smoke alarm sensors degrade after 10 years. Carbon monoxide alarm sensors typically last 5-7 years. Alarms installed in 2015 need replacement now.Â
Myth: Working alarms are guaranteed in all rentals.Â
Reality: English Housing Survey data shows 93% coverage in private rentals, meaning 7% still lack smoke alarms. Functionality varies widely even where alarms are present.Â
For landlords and electricians working in the rental sector, understanding the gap between statutory minimums and genuine protection matters. The 2015 law established a baseline. Effective fire and CO safety requires going beyond that baseline: interconnected alarms where appropriate, proper placement away from nuisance trigger zones, annual maintenance, and replacement at manufacturer-specified intervals.Â
Elec Training provides structured learning on electrical safety compliance for rental properties, covering installation standards, testing procedures, and regulatory requirements. For electricians pursuing the industry benchmark qualification, the ECS Gold Card pathway includes competencies in electrical safety systems. Understanding the broader context of how to become an electrician in the UK helps clarify career routes serving the rental sector’s ongoing safety needs.Â
The 2025 Perspective: Qualified Success, Ongoing Vulnerabilities
The 2015 Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations achieved its core objective: raising equipment provision in the private rented sector to match social housing and owner-occupied properties. Smoke alarm coverage increased approximately 10 percentage points, bringing protection to roughly 1 million additional rental homes. Carbon monoxide awareness improved, though coverage remains lower at around 60% in affected properties pre-2022 expansion.Â
The law succeeded by making safety default rather than discretionary. Landlords who previously treated alarms as optional extras now include them in standard compliance checklists. The cultural shift toward viewing tenant safety as baseline landlord responsibility represents genuine progress.Â
But a decade of data also reveals persistent gaps. Maintenance remains inconsistent, with alarms frequently non-functional despite being physically present. Enforcement is under-resourced and complaint-dependent, leaving vulnerable tenants in shadow rental markets unprotected. The regulatory focus on equipment installation didn’t adequately address ongoing functionality, creating a compliance system where landlords tick boxes at tenancy start without ensuring continuous protection.Â
The broader fire safety landscape shifted dramatically between 2015 and 2025. Smoking prevalence fell sharply, Grenfell triggered sector-wide safety improvements, building regulations tightened, and appliance standards improved. Disentangling the 2015 law’s specific contribution from these overlapping trends is statistically difficult. What we can say with confidence is that equipment provision increased in the targeted sector, alarm presence in rental properties no longer lags behind other tenures, and fire deaths continued declining along a trajectory established before the law took effect.Â
The 2022 amendments extending CO requirements to gas appliances and social housing suggest regulators recognized gaps in the original 2015 framework. Whether those amendments deliver measurable harm reduction beyond equipment installation remains an open question for the next evaluation cycle.Â
Ten years on, the verdict is qualified success on equipment saturation, inconclusive on direct harm reduction, and ongoing failure on enforcement and maintenance oversight. The law established a minimum standard. Whether that minimum is sufficient depends on whether we measure compliance or actual protection.Â
References
Tier 1 (Official Legislation, Government Statistics, National Datasets)Â
- Home Office Explanatory Booklet for Landlords: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlordsÂ
- Home Office Fire Statistics Data Tables: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tablesÂ
- English Housing Survey Annual Reports: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/english-housing-surveyÂ
- ONS Carbon Monoxide Deaths and Poisonings Data: https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/carbonmonoxidedeathsandpoisoningsforthepast10yearsÂ
- NHS Digital Hospital Admissions Statistics: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-public-health/2023/part-1-hospital-admissionsÂ
Tier 2 (Authoritative Institutions and Peer-Reviewed Research)Â
- Smoke Alarm Effectiveness Meta-Analysis: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7262581/Â
Tier 3 (Market Signals, Industry Reports – Labelled)Â
- International Fire and Safety Journal UK Home Survey: https://internationalfireandsafetyjournal.com/survey-reveals-42-of-uk-homes-lack-carbon-monoxide-alarms/Â
- PropertyWire Renter Alarm Coverage Report: https://www.propertywire.com/buy-to-let/2-million-uk-renters-dont-have-a-smoke-alarm/Â
- Policy Connect Carbon Monoxide Alarms Report: https://policyconnect.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/carbonmonoxidealarmstenantssafeandsecureintheirhomes.pdfÂ
Note on Accuracy and Updates
Last reviewed: 10 January 2026. This retrospective analysis reflects data through 2024/25, incorporating Home Office Incident Reporting System statistics, English Housing Survey annual reports (2010-2024), ONS mortality records, NHS Hospital Episode Statistics, and peer-reviewed academic literature on alarm effectiveness. The 2022 amendments extending CO alarm requirements to all combustion appliances and social housing are noted separately as they represent policy evolution beyond the 2015 baseline being evaluated. Enforcement data remains fragmented due to lack of centralised local authority reporting. Fire incident trends are subject to reporting variations, particularly during COVID-19 (2020-2022). Always verify current legal requirements with official government guidance when making compliance decisions.Â
FAQs
What exactly did the 2015 Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations require landlords to install?
The regulations required private sector landlords in England to install at least one smoke alarm on every storey of rented premises used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation containing a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers). Alarms had to be tested and confirmed working on the first day of a new tenancy.Â
Did the 2015 alarm law actually reduce fire deaths and injuries in England?
Home Office fire statistics show fire-related fatalities in England fluctuated post-2015, with 139 fatalities from April to September 2015, rising to 279 in the year ending June 2025. No direct causal reduction is evidenced in official data, as deaths had been declining over prior decades due to broader factors like increased smoke alarm use and furniture regulations.Â
Why is there no clear statistical link between the 2015 law and lives saved?
Fire deaths in England were already decreasing before 2015 due to long-term trends in smoke alarm adoption, fire-resistant furnishings, and other safety measures, per Home Office data and BRE analysis. The law’s impact is confounded by high pre-existing alarm coverage, small annual fatality numbers limiting statistical power, and multiple influencing factors like fire prevention campaigns.Â
How did smoke alarm coverage in private rented homes change after 2015?
English Housing Survey data indicates smoke alarm coverage in private rented homes was already high at around 85-90% pre-2015; post-2015 reviews noted improved compliance and awareness, pushing coverage closer to 95%, though exact figures vary by survey year. The 2018 government review confirmed a positive impact on installation rates in the sector.Â
Why were carbon monoxide alarms only required for solid fuel appliances until 2022?
Until the 2022 amendments, regulations limited CO alarms to rooms with solid fuel appliances due to their higher risk of incomplete combustion and CO leakage compared to gas appliances, which are subject to separate safety standards. Gas cookers were excluded as their intermittent use poses lower risk, per government guidance. The extension in 2022 addressed broader risks from all fixed combustion appliances.Â
Are landlords legally required to maintain or replace smoke and CO alarms over time?
Yes, landlords must repair or replace faulty smoke and CO alarms once informed by tenants, as per the 2015 regulations and 2022 amendments. Tenants handle battery replacements, but landlords address structural faults; non-compliance can lead to local authority remedial notices and fines up to £5,000.Â
Why do so many smoke alarms fail to operate during real fire incidents?
Home Office statistics show around 28% of smoke alarms in England fail to activate in dwelling fires, primarily due to fire not reaching the detector (e.g., incorrect placement), missing or flat batteries, age exceeding 10 years, or poor maintenance. In 5-15% of cases, alarms lack batteries or coverage in fire-affected areas.Â
How effective has enforcement of the alarm regulations been over the past decade?
Enforcement has been moderately effective, with 2018 and later government reviews noting widespread awareness and positive compliance impacts among landlords. However, local authority actions vary, with fines up to £5,000 possible but not always pursued; NFCC data highlights ongoing gaps in alarm functionality despite regulations.Â
Does the law protect tenants in unregistered or informal rental properties?
The regulations apply to most private rented properties in England, including unregistered ones, but exclude shared accommodation with the landlord or their family (e.g., sharing a kitchen), long leases, student halls, and certain care homes. Informal rentals qualify as protected if they meet tenancy criteria, enforcing alarm requirements via local authorities.
What are the biggest misconceptions landlords and tenants still have about the 2015 alarm regulations?
Common myths include: landlords believing they only apply to new tenancies (reality: all ongoing rentals); tenants assuming landlords handle battery changes (reality: tenants do, but landlords repair faults); and both parties thinking CO alarms are needed for gas cookers (reality: excluded due to low risk). Another is that alarms last indefinitely (reality: replace every 10 years).Â
