Here is the checklist, plus the parts that are commonly missed.
The product specification
Alarms in a rental must be either photoelectric with a battery life of at least eight years, or hardwired to the mains. A cheap ionisation unit with a nine volt replaceable battery does not meet the standard, even if it is brand new and working.
The photoelectric requirement exists because that sensing technology detects smouldering fires, which are the ones that kill people at night, considerably earlier than ionisation sensing. The eight year battery requirement exists because relying on someone to change a battery every twelve months across a portfolio of properties does not work in practice.
The placement rules
Within three metres of each bedroom door, or alternatively inside each bedroom.
In each self contained caravan, sleepout, cabin or minor dwelling on the property. This is the most frequently missed requirement by a wide margin.
At least one alarm on each level of a multi storey or multi level dwelling.
In boarding houses, in each sleeping room or within three metres of each sleeping room door.
Alarms should be ceiling mounted where possible, kept at least 300mm clear of walls and light fittings, and positioned away from air vents and heat pump outlets, where moving air can carry smoke past the sensor.
Who is responsible for what
The landlord installs the alarms, replaces units at end of life, and makes sure everything is working at the start of every new tenancy. The tenant replaces batteries in non sealed units during the tenancy and must notify the landlord of any fault or defect. Tenants may not tamper with, remove or disable an alarm.
In practice, sealed long life units remove almost all of this ambiguity, which is a good reason to fit them regardless of the eight year minimum. There is no battery for a tenant to change, and no argument later about who was supposed to change it.
The part everyone forgets: expiry
Alarms have a ten year service life from the date of manufacture printed on the back of the unit, not from the date of installation. Sensing chambers accumulate dust and household residue and gradually lose sensitivity, which is why the limit exists.
This matters right now for a specific reason. Any landlord who fitted sealed units to meet the 2016 deadline is at or approaching the ten year replacement point. Those alarms may still test fine and may still be within battery life, and they are still due for replacement. Testing the sounder tells you nothing about whether the sensor is still accurate.
Pull one down at your next inspection and read the date. It is a two minute job that a lot of portfolios have never had done.
Get the kitchen right or lose the system
A smoke detector installed too close to a hob will nuisance trigger repeatedly, and the entirely predictable outcome is a tenant disabling it. That leaves you non compliant through no deliberate act of your own, and you may not find out until an inspection.
Keep smoke units at least three metres from cooking surfaces, and fit a heat alarm in kitchens, laundries and garages. Heat alarms respond to rapid temperature rise rather than particles, so they ignore steam and burnt toast while still reacting fast to a real fire. Choosing units with a hush function also gives tenants a legitimate way to silence a cooking activation instead of reaching for a screwdriver.
New builds and consented work
If you are building a new rental or doing consented renovation work, a second layer applies. The updated Building Code Acceptable Solutions C/AS1 and C/AS2, effective November 2024, require interconnected alarm systems referencing NZS 4514:2021. Interconnected means all alarms sound together when one detects smoke.
For multi level rentals and properties with sleepouts, interconnection is worth specifying even where it is not required. A fire in a detached sleepout that sounds only in the sleepout is a much worse outcome than one that sounds throughout the property.
Documentation
Record the make, model, position and manufacture date of every unit in every property, and photograph the installation at the start of each tenancy. Include a signed acknowledgement in your ingoing inspection that alarms were present and working.
If a claim is ever made, that record is the difference between a defensible position and a dispute you cannot win. It costs nothing to keep.
Sourcing
For portfolio work, buying through a specialist channel is generally easier than sourcing retail unit by unit. On Point Distribution supplies CAVIUS, Watchman and SmartSense to more than 700 retailers and electrical wholesalers across New Zealand, including trade suppliers, so comparing compliant smoke detector nz options and interconnected ranges in one place is straightforward.
Photoelectric, sealed long life battery, correct positions, sleepouts included, dates recorded. That is the whole obligation, and it is a single afternoon per property.
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