Smoke alarm obligation goes to building owners from January

The obligation to purchase and maintain smoke alarms will be transferred to the owner of the building from the resident on 1 January 2026, said the Ministry of the Interior in a press release on Monday.

Building owners, that is housing companies and rental housing companies got a two-year transition period following the amendments to the Rescue Act and have taken the necessary measures in this regard.

During the two-year transition period, most housing companies began by surveying smoke alarms in dwellings and arranging for the installation of any new ones.

In some housing companies, the necessary measures are still under way and they are speedily installing smoke alarms.

“If the measures have not been started at all, now is the time to act. The operators in the sector, such as the Finnish Real Estate Federation and the Finnish National Rescue Association, have prepared plenty of material and instructions on how to install smoke alarms and on how the responsibilities have changed, as well as offered a wide range of advice,” said Jaana Rajakko, Senior Engineer of the Ministry of the Interior.

Rescue departments aim to ensure compliance with the obligation to purchase and maintain smoke alarms primarily through advice, guidance and safety communications. If necessary, fire inspections may also be carried out.

From the beginning of 2026, it is the responsibility of the owner of the building to ensure that all dwellings have a sufficient number of functioning smoke alarms.

The resident is obliged to immediately notify the building owner, for example the housing company, of any defects in the smoke alarms, such as exhausted batteries or smoke alarm failure.

Provisions on the minimum number of smoke alarms are laid down in the revised Decree of the Ministry of the Interior on Smoke Alarms. Under the decree, there must be at least one smoke alarm for every 60 square metres on each floor or level of a dwelling, as is the case at present.

In addition, there may be the resident’s own smoke alarms or smoke alarm accessories in the dwelling.

According to the decree, smoke alarms must be installed on the ceiling of the room and at least half a metre from the walls.

Smoke alarms have been mandatory in dwellings for over 25 years. When residents were responsible for smoke alarms, it was found that they had been installed incorrectly, there were not enough of them or they were completely missing, were too old or did not work for some other reason.

The purpose of the amendments to the Rescue Act is to ensure better compliance with this obligation in future, as building owners will be responsible for smoke alarms in all forms of housing.

The Ministry of the Interior will monitor the implementation of the legislative reform.