Home Seller FAQs

Below are the most common questions we receive from those who are selling their properties in Queensland.

Select a category:

Afterhours Support Enrolment Process Legislation Sellers Support
Service Offerings and Inclusions Smoke Alarms and Warranties Smoke Alarm Troubleshooting

Afterhours Support

There are many reasons a smoke alarm can sound when smoke is not present. We recommend you or your tenants do not remove the battery as this means your smoke alarms will no longer provide protection against the dangers of fire. We suggest you press the hush button which should be on the front of the alarm depending on the brand. The hush button will reset the alarm. During this time, your tenants may hear occasional beeps before it falls silent. If your tenant is still having issues with their alarm after they take these steps, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Service to arrange for a technician to service the property.

Enrolment Process

To ensure a quick and hassle-free enrolment process for landlords, we offer the ability to enrol your property either via our online enrolment form or by calling 1300 852 301. Our online enrolment form is very user friendly and will provide an indicative quote for upgrading to the 2022 legislation for QLD rental properties and properties being sold. If you have a property in either VIC or SA, you can use this same online form. Make sure you click the customer type and state your property is located in, then complete the form from there.
Once you enrol a property online, you will receive an email confirmation from us shortly aftewards. Please make sure to check your junk mail folder as well. If you do not receive an email confirmation within an hour or so, please feel free to call our team on 1300 852 301.

If your property is enrolled in one of our annual maintenance subscriptions and has not been upgraded to the new Queensland legislation, you will need to do so online. Alarms will be installed at $99 each. If your property has the new style of smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, you can organise to have a once off pre-sale inspection. You can enrol in either service via our online enrolment form here.

You don’t need to log in to a PayPal account to pay. There is an option to pay via credit or debit card under the PayPal option.

Legislation

No, but as a landlord you have a responsibility to ensure the smoke alarms installed in the property are compliant. Each state of Australia has different requirements however the requirements are complex and intricate, and differ from state to state. As a minimum, expiry dates and battery levels need to be checked and the correct style of smoke alarms need to be replaced or installed if missing, damaged, faulty or expired. Locations, Australian Standards and audible output also need to be correct in order for alarms to meet current requirements. Smoke alarm compliance involves a complex set of requirements, which is why many landlords opt for a professional company to carry out this work.
Since January 1, 2022, all residential properties leased or sold in Queensland must be fitted with photoelectric, interconnected smoke alarms in all bedrooms and hallways or between areas containing bedrooms. This new smoke alarm legislation will make Queensland households among the safest in the country. By 2027, all Queensland owner occupiers will need to meet the same legislation as leased or sold properties. For more information on Queensland smoke alarm legislation, please click here.

New Queensland smoke alarm legislation came into effect from January 1, 2017 following a coronial inquest into the fatal 2011 Slacks Creek house fire.

From January 1, 2017, all new builds must meet the requirements.
From January 1, 2022, all dwellings sold or leased and Government-owned housing must comply.
By January 1, 2027, all domestic dwellings must comply, which includes homeowners.

You can find additional information about the Queensland legislation here.

If your smoke alarms do not meet all legislative requirements, the buyer is entitled to 0.15% of the purchase price, which in most cases is higher than the cost to install.
There is no requirement to submit a Compliance Report by law however it is your proof that legislation has been met and a handy document to show the property seller prior to contract to avoid any delays with the sale.

Sellers Support

We email a Compliance Report detailing all smoke alarms at the property, their expiry date, type and position approximately 24-48 hours after a smoke alarm inspection has been completed.

Smoke Alarm Solutions installs Emerald Alarms for $109 each, plus a $189 installation fee, under our Sellers Compliance Service. This is a fixed cost and includes installation, hard-wiring and radio frequency bases where required. We also provide a compliance report following our attendance. For us to provide you a more accurate price, we require a few details about your property layout, including the number of bedrooms and levels. You can either call us on 1300 852 301 or enrol via this link.

We understand compliance matters are of extreme importance to you and your clients and our service requires a great deal of trust. As we need to communicate directly with tenants to arrange access to carry out our smoke alarm service, keeping your clients’ information confidential is important to us, and we take our responsibility regarding the security of their personal information very seriously. Our full Privacy Policy can be found here.

We cannot provide an exact number without first attending your property, as it is dependent on the state your property is located plus the number and rooms and levels in your property. Please feel free to refer to your state requirements here.

If your property is located in Queensland and you need to arrange an upgrade of the smoke alarms to the new requirements, you can use the handy quoting tool here - Make sure to click Queensland, Landlord/Agent then Upgrade to 2022.

We will refund the amount you paid minus our once off attendance fee of $100. We will carry out an inspection and issue a Compliance Report in this instance.

Service Offerings and Inclusions

Yes, we offer once off services when required although we do recommend an annual subscription to ensure continuity of service from year to year. To request this inspection option, please fill out the property enrolment form following and select from the “once off” service options.
Yes, we offer a two business day turnaround for an additional fee of $199, for properties located in certain areas. Additional terms and conditions can be found here.
Yes, we offer once off services when required although we do recommend an annual subscription to ensure continuity of service from year to year. To request this inspection option, please fill out the property enrolment form following and select from the “once off” service options.
Your property must be located within a 50km radius of the Cairns, Townsville, Mackay or Rockhampton General Post Offices, or it is located within a 150km radius of the Brisbane General Post Office. Please note, islands that are inaccessible by road are ineligible for the Express Service.
Unfortunately, our services do not cover commercial buildings or ‘1b dwellings’. We provide smoke alarm compliance and maintenance services for Class 1a or Class 2 (sole occupancy) residential properties only. If you own or manage a commercial property, we recommend you speak to QFES or a commercial smoke alarm provider.

Smoke Alarms and Warranties

At Smoke Alarm Solutions, we only install high quality products. As we carry out maintenance of the alarms we install, we don’t compromise on quality, and we are constantly working closely with our provider to ensure our alarms continue to meet the highest standards in Australia. 

Working on/with asbestos isn’t illegal as the installation of smoke alarms on asbestos is only classed as asbestos-related work and does not require a license. There are however strict guidelines on the handling and disposal of all contaminated material after installation as well as health risks associated with both our installers and the occupants of the dwelling. With this in mind, Smoke Alarm Solutions has adopted a best practice approach and have eliminated the hazard altogether by not disturbing asbestos. Safe Work Queensland backs this approach as elimination is better than any control measures that could be implemented. The legislation also backs this approach in the sense that it allows for battery operated smoke alarms to be installed as opposed to hard wired. Health and Safety always takes precedence over everything else in the workplace and we take that very seriously.
 
However, there are ways to avoid installing smoke alarms on asbestos-containing material and still comply to the new legislation. For example, here at Smoke Alarm Solutions, where likely asbestos containing material is present, our technicians will install smoke alarms:
- on timber strips or any other material on the ceiling that is not asbestos, where present.
- using double-sided tape, where alarms cannot be screwed into the ceiling.
- on to the wall, where the ceiling has sprayed on plaster which contains asbestos fibers.
We no longer use smoke-in-a-can or compressed air when cleaning a smoke alarm as it is not recommended by the manufacturer’s instructions. Our approach is to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for maintenance.
We're able to interconnect our alarms over multiple levels by radio frequency identification (RFID) technology where wiring is not a suitable option. The RFID module is already contained in the base of these smoke alarm models.

Smoke Alarm Solutions offers a 12 month service warranty on all smoke alarms they install as set out in our Standard Operating Procedures

In addition, we offer extended warranty options on selected smoke alarms installed in Queensland properties that have been upgraded to meet the 2022 or 2027 legislation requirements.

For more information, please call us on 1300 852 301.

Smoke Alarm Troubleshooting

Sometimes it can take a while for the alarm to reset itself after the hush button has been pressed, which can cause your alarm to sound. If you are still having issues with your alarm, please contact your real estate agency and inform them of this issue and they will arrange for Smoke Alarm Solutions to either troubleshoot the problem or reattend the property. Similarly, you can call our 24/7 Emergency Service on 1300 852 301 and one of our friendly team will assist you.

The first step is always to check and ensure there is no danger present before hushing a sounding smoke alarm.

Do not remove the battery as the smoke alarms will no longer be fully functional and provide protection against the dangers of a house fire. We instead recommend you ‘hush’ the smoke alarm as this resets the alarm and leaves it functional.

Hushing a sounding smoke alarm can be dependant on the brand. Generally, a smoke alarm can be silenced by locating the hush button and pressing it. This will trigger a reset of the alarm which may take a few minutes. During this time, you may hear occasional beeps before it falls silent.

If pressing the hush button does not work, please contact our 24/7 Emergency Service on 1300 852 301.

WARNING: If you damage or activate the end of life function, you will be charged for the alarm replacement. Alarm costs start from $124 per alarm.