Checking your smoke detector

Our customers' safety is our top priority, and we regularly carry out safety checks in our customers’ homes such as gas and electrical checks and fire doors to ensure everything is in working order to keep you and your home safe.

As a minimum you should have a smoke detector in every hallway and on every landing in your home, as well as a carbon monoxide detector near any fuel-burning appliances such as your boiler or a log burner.

Our regular safety checks help us to make sure that you’re safe in your home, but we need your help too, and we ask that you regularly check and test all smoke detectors to ensure that they’re working properly. A good rule of thumb is to check they are working at least once every month.

If your smoke detector is battery operated, we also ask that you check that the batteries are working and not damaged, and to please replace them if necessary.

If you’re not sure how to check over and test your smoke detector, you can watch our helpful video to the right which explains the difference between mains and battery-operated smoke detectors and how you can test that they’re working.

If you’ve tested your smoke detectors and they’re not working as they should, they’re damaged, or they’re missing, you need to let us know as soon as possible and we will come and repair or replace them for you.

Report a repair

You can let us know by reporting a repair and choosing the right option for your type of smoke detector, whether it’s mains or battery-operated. We try to fix these the same day.

If you notice your smoke detector has a fault on a weekday after 4pm or at the weekend, you should contact us immediately using our emergency out-of-hours number on 0800 358 6025, otherwise we won’t be able to come and fix it for you until the next working day.

You can find this option quickly by searching for smoke once you’re on the report a repair page.

How to search for a repair category

In the box highlighted on the left, type in smoke and the category relating to smoke detectors will pop up.

Alternatively, you can find this by looking in the Heating & electrics category, choosing Electricity and then choosing Fans and smoke detectors.