Scottish legislation has changed. Introduced in February 2019, the change applies to all households in Scotland and must be met by February 2021. Applies to ALL Homeowners and Landlords.

The new Scottish legislation states that an interlinked Fire and Smoke alarm system must be fitted in a property and that there should be adequate Carbon Monoxide protection.​
Further detailed information is below.

But can you summarise what Fire, Smoke, Heat and Carbon Monoxide alarms I now require in my home to comply with the new legislation
  • Most importantly all smoke alarms and heat alarms must interlink with each other e.g. when one alarm sounds then all smoke and heat alarms in your property must also sound at the same time. This interlink can either be done by hard wire cable between each alarm or by radio wireless communication or by a combination of both. This means that installing simple standalone smoke and heat alarms with replaceable 9 volt batteries is NOT allowed
  • A heat alarm is required in your kitchen
  • A smoke alarm is required in your main daytime room which will likely be the living room or lounge, you may have more than one room you class as a daytime room so a smoke alarm would also be required in this room
  • A smoke alarm is required on each level of your house, for most homes that will be for ground and 1st floor hallways/landings. Homes with more than 2 storeys and attic conversions would also require smoke alarms on those additional levels 
  • More smoke alarms may be required depending on the size and layout of your home e.g. you may require smoke alarms in any rooms that are adjoining to your kitchen or daytime room if you have to go through those rooms from your kitchen or daytime room to reach your escape route hallway. Smoke alarms will be required in those adjoining rooms if the kitchen and daytime rooms have no doors leading directly to outside your home
  • You may require more smoke alarms in hallways that are large and smoke alarms may be required in small rooms that you need to go through to get from the hallway escape route to outside your home. Additional heat and smoke alarms may be required in rooms, hallways, areas that have obstructions on the ceiling e.g. dropped beams
  • You can install hard wire cable smoke and heat alarms that connect to your electricity but the smoke and heat alarm must have a battery back up. As long as this alarm is mains powered then for private individual households then the back up battery in the alarm can be 9 volt replaceable back up (although we recommend that replaceable 9 volt battery back up types are not used, instead use long-life non-replaceable lithium battery back up type. For all rented accommodation e.g. Private Rented or Social Housing Rented then the battery back up in the mains powered smoke and heat alarms must be of the long-life non replaceable lithium type
  • Battery only smoke and heat alarms are allowed but this type of alarm must be powered by a long-life non-replaceable lithium battery that will last for the life span of the actual alarm detector itself. This long-life battery only type of smoke and heat alarm must also be capable of interlinking either by hard wire or wirelessly by radio communication to all other smoke and heat alarms in your home
  • You can install a mixture of mains powered and long-life battery powered smoke and heat alarms as long as they all interlink, communicate and sound together when one smoke or heat alarm is activated 
  • If you already have existing smoke or heat alarms e.g. in your hallways, those detectors will have an expiry date (usually 10 years) so those alarms may need replaced. 
  • If you already have existing smoke or heat alarms e.g in your hallways then one or more of those alarms may need to be replaced in order that it can be replaced with a type of alarm that can interlink and communicate with any new smoke and heat alarms
  • Depending on your type of house any new smoke and heat alarms can be wired with cable but this will be determined on your type of home and how easy it is to get new cables to the required new alarm locations e.g. living room or kitchen, if the cable route is difficult or disruptive a long-life battery only interlinking smoke or heat alarm may be used instead
  • All smoke and heat alarms must be installed on the ceiling in each room/area
  • A Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarm should be installed close to all fuel burning appliances (excluding an appliance solely used for cooking) and in any room where a flue is installed or runs through
  • CO Alarms do not need to interlink to each other and do not need to interlink to any other smoke or heat alarms 
  • CO Alarms can be battery only type but the battery must be long-life and last for the full working life of the CO alarm
  • CO Alarms can also be connected to the mains power but the connection cannot be by a removable plug and the detector should have an indicator and warning to alert users when its working life is due to expire
  • The new legislation applies to all homes in Scotland - whether that be private homes you live in, rented flats and homes from a private landlord or rented flats and homes from social housing
  • Stricter fire, smoke, heat alarm, CO detection may be required in some private and social rented accommodation and will be stricter in HMO properties where each bedroom must also have fire detection devices installed
  • The new legislation covering all homes comes into force on 1st February 2021
  • See below for more guidance and legislation details
  • Contact Stirling Electrical Services when you are ready to start the process to comply
What is new?
All houses in Scotland are required to meet the 'Tolerable Standard'. This includes Social Housing properties and Private Dwellings. Any house which does not meet the Tolerable Standard is treated as not being in a reasonable state of repair and Local Authorities may use their statutory powers to require owners to carry out work to substandard housing. 
By 1st February 2021, ALL HOMES should comply to the Tolerable Standards by having:
  • Smoke alarms in every circulation space on each storey, such as hallways and landings
  • Smoke alarms installed in the room most frequently used for general daytime living purposes (normally the living room/lounge)
  • Heat alarms installed in every kitchen
  • All smoke and heat alarms to be interlinked (either with hard wire cable or wireless)
  • All smoke and heat alarms to be ceiling mounted
  • Carbon Monoxide alarms to be fitted where there is a fuel burning appliance or a flue
  • The above applies to ALL homeowners and landlords
Types and Grades of Smoke/Heat Alarms
The alarms can consist of the following Grades:
  • Grade D1/D2 (mains powered with battery back up) alarms interlinked with wiring (hardwired) or wirelessly (by radio communication) throughout
  • Grade F1 (tamper proof long life battery) alarms interlinked with wiring (hardwired) or wirelessly (by radio communication) throughout
  • Mixed system: i.e. using a mix of both Grade D1/D2 and F1 which are interlinked either with wiring (hardwired) or wirelessly (by radio communication) or a combination of these
  • When adding to an existing system fire detection and fire alarm system in a dwelling, care should be taken to ensure that all alarms are interlinked and that all alarms sound when any one device is activated. 
Carbon Monoxide: What is it?
Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a killer. It is a toxic gas that has no colour, taste or smell - it's impossible for human senses to tell that it is there. Exposure to low levels of Carbon Monoxide can lead to headache and nausea. High levels can cause death in minutes.

The only way to protect against CO is to fit CO detection. CO can be produced by any fuel burning appliance, such as a boiler, gas fire, gas cooker or wood burning stove. Even if an appliance is serviced regularly, faults can still develop in the flue or in between services.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors:
​Types
CO detectors should be fitted in all rooms where there is a fixed combustion appliance (excluding an appliance used solely for cooking) or a flue. CO detectors should comply with BS EN 50291 and be powered by a battery designed to operate for the working life of the detector. The detector should incorporate a warning device to alert the users when its working life is due to expire.

Hard wired mains operated CO detectors complying with BS EN 50291 (Type A) with fixed wiring (not plug in types) may be used as an alternative, provided that they are fitted with a sensor failure warning device. CO detectors should be regularly maintained and tested in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. 
Carbon Monoxide Detectors:
​Locations
When installing Carbon Monoxide alarms it is importance to note that there are different siting requirements depending upon if the alarm is being installed in the room with the fuel-burning appliance or not.

In a room with the fuel burning appliance:
  • Alarms should be sited on the ceiling
  • Should be fitted between 1m-3m from all potential sources of Carbon Monoxide
  • Sited at least 300m from walls, light fittings or any obstructions - this is to ensure that they are outside of any 'dead air' spaces that occur in corners and spaces where airflow may be blocked
  • If the fuel burning appliance is in a confined space, for example a boiler room, then the alarm should be sited on the ceiling just outside the room

In a room without a fuel burning appliance
  • ​Alarms should be sited at breathing height
  • If installed within a bedroom, this could be at the height of the bedhead
Why are the changes happening?
In 2017 the Scottish Government conducted a public consultation on 'Fire and Smoke Alarms in Scottish Homes' and in March 2018 announced that they would enact legislation requiring all homes to have satisfactory provision for detecting and warning of fire.
When do the changes start?
The Tolerable Standard is extended by the 'Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (Tolerable Standard) (Extension of Criteria) Order 2019' and will apply to all housing in Scotland from 1st February 2021. 
What properties do the changes apply to?*
  • Social Housing
  • Private Rented Properties
  • Domestic Dwellings

    ​*Note: The requirements for the provision of fire detection and fire alarm systems for new dwellings, extensions or conversions as set out in the Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbook (Domestic) are unchanged.
The Repairing Standard: Private landlords in Scotland are required by law to ensure that a rented house meets the 'Repairing Standard' (which was introduced in September 2007) at the start of a tenancy and throughout a tenancy. The Scottish Government guidance on a satisfactory provision aligned with the Scottish Building Standards technical handbook (Domestic) which essentially requires alarms to be installed in the same locations as in the Tolerable Standard, as defined above.

All Smoke and heat alarms are to be mains powered with a battery back up - which is classified as a Grade D1/D2 system in BS 5839-6. Under the 'Housing (Scotland_ Act 2006 (Modification of the Repairing Standard) Regulation 2019' from 1st march 2019 the Repairing Standard can however now be complied with in respect of satisfactory provision for detecting and warning of fires in private rental properties by using mains powered alarms or tamper proof long-life lithium battery alarms. This Tolerable Standard for all Scottish housing, although having an earlier implementation date. 

In the case of house in multiple occupation (H.M.O), requiring to be licensed, a more stringent standard provision for detecting and warning of fire will be required.
Click here to visit the Scottish Government website explaining what you need to know about changes in legislation relating to fire and smoke alarms. Or, see below for a quick guide to the new Scottish legislation.

Click to download Scottish Fire and Rescue Service circular on the requirements.
​Our trained job booking team will be happy to discuss your requirements.
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Some of the information and guidance on this website comes from a combination of sources such as SELECT, AICO and Scottish Government