Compliant CO alarms supplied, positioned and fitted in every room that needs one — meeting the landlord requirements in force since October 2022, and usually done in the same visit as your annual gas safety check.
The rules
The rules changed on 1 October 2022: rented homes in England must now have a carbon monoxide alarm in every room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance. That means a room with a gas boiler, gas fire, oil-fired boiler or solid-fuel stove needs its own alarm — the one carve-out is the gas cooker, which the regulations specifically except.
The 2022 amendment also added a repair duty. When a tenant tells the landlord an alarm is not working, the landlord must repair or replace it as soon as reasonably practicable. "The battery probably went flat" is no longer an answer that keeps you compliant, which is one reason we fit sealed alarms whose battery lasts the life of the unit.
The same regulations set the smoke alarm duties for rented homes — covered on our smoke alarms page — and both sets of alarms can be fitted and recorded in a single visit.
Carbon monoxide is invisible, has no smell and no taste. Early symptoms — headache, dizziness, nausea, tiredness — are easily mistaken for flu, so people treat the symptoms and go back into the room producing the gas.
An alarm is the only reliable warning a tenant gets. That is the logic of the regulations: wherever fuel burns in a room people live in, a detector listens for the failure mode nobody can sense.
What we fit
We supply alarms manufactured to BS EN 50291 — the standard for domestic CO detection — with sealed long-life batteries, so there is no battery compartment for a tenant to raid for the TV remote and no annual battery swap to remember.
Each alarm is sited to the manufacturer's guidance — typically at head height and one to three metres from the appliance, clear of vents and dead air spaces. A detector in the wrong spot can sound late or not at all, so placement is part of the job, not an afterthought.
Alarm locations and test results are recorded so your compliance file shows what was fitted, where and when. If we prepare your inventory, the alarms are photographed and logged there too — useful evidence that they were present and working at check-in.
One visit, both duties. Most landlords have CO alarms fitted while our engineer is already on site for the annual gas safety check — no second appointment, no second access arrangement with the tenant. An annual boiler service in the same visit tackles the most likely CO source at its origin.
Common questions
It depends on how many rooms need an alarm and whether we fit them during a gas safety check or as a separate visit. Tell us the property type and how many rooms have a boiler, fire, stove or other fixed combustion appliance, and we'll send a fixed quote, usually the same working day.
Since 1 October 2022, every room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance needs one — that captures rooms with a gas boiler, gas fire, oil boiler or log burner. Gas cookers are the one exception the regulations carve out, though we would still recommend an alarm in a kitchen with gas.
The landlord must ensure alarms are in working order at the start of each tenancy; tenants should test them regularly during the tenancy. Once a tenant reports an alarm as faulty, the landlord must repair or replace it as soon as reasonably practicable — a duty added in the 2022 amendment.
The regulations specifically except gas cookers, so there is no legal duty. But carbon monoxide does not respect exceptions — a poorly maintained cooker can still produce it — so fitting an alarm in the kitchen anyway is cheap insurance we usually suggest while we are on site.
To the manufacturer's instructions — typically at head height, between one and three metres horizontally from the appliance, away from vents, windows and dead corners. Ceiling-mounted alarms should sit clear of the walls. Positioning matters: a compliant alarm in the wrong place gives false confidence, which is why we fit rather than post them.
Tell us the property type and postcode — we'll come back with a fixed quote and the earliest available date.