Smoke detectors are mandatory in Dutch houses per July 1, 2022

15-3-2022 — 

As of July 1, 2022, smoke detectors are mandatory in every home in the Netherlands. This obligation already exists for some time for newly built houses, but the regulations will per July 1 also apply to existing buildings.

What does the obligation entail?
All floors of a house must have at least one smoke detector. In properties with separately rented rooms, such as student houses, a fire alarm is required in each room. In addition, confined spaces, where an escape route runs through, must also be equipped with a smoke detector.
The purpose of the new rules is to reduce the number of deaths in house fires. After all, most deaths in a fire occur as a result of smoke inhalation.

What does this mean for landlords?
A property without smoke detectors is considered "non-compliant" with the legislation. As a landlord of a property, you are obliged to rent out the living space in a good state. This also includes installing enough smoke detectors. If there is no smoke alarm, you risk a fine from the municipality. Moreover, an insurance company may decide not to pay out after a fire in a house without sufficient smoke detectors.
In fact, the landlord is also responsible for replacing the batteries! Unless other agreements have been made. To us this seems quite difficult for many landlords, so we will start stating in all our rental agreements that the tenant is responsible for replacing the batteries.

What requirements must a smoke alarm meet?
According to Dutch law, a smoke alarm must meet several requirements. For example, the European EN 14604 certificate is compulsory. For network powered smoke detectors, a NEN 2555 certificate is also required. These certificates guarantee, among other things, that the smoke detector gives a good sound signal, is easy to install and detects smoke in time. In addition, a smoke detector must have a CE mark and not be of the ionic type.

Which smoke detectors are suitable?
In principle, any detector with batteries or on electricity is sufficient. However, we do not recommend purchasing a (cheap) detector whose battery needs to be replaced after just one year. It is better to buy a smoke detector with a battery life of 10 years. In addition, in larger houses it is wise to choose detectors with a pairing function. A pairing function ensures that all detectors go off in the event of an alarm. In addition, there are also smart smoke detectors. These detectors also give a signal to a cell phone. Handy for when the tenant is not at home. And of course this prevents unnecessarily larger damage to the property.

Coolblue's selection of connectable smoke detectors. The Bol.com range of connectable smoke detectors.

Tip: To avoid drilling into the ceiling, it is best to buy a smoke detector with a magnetic mounting kit. This consists of 2 metal magnetic plates, both with strong 3M double sided tape. One plate is stuck to the bottom plate of the smoke detector, and the other plate is stuck to the ceiling.

Where do you hang the smoke detector?
Because smoke rises, you should always hang a smoke detector on the ceiling. There must be at least one smoke detector on every floor in the house. Are there several bedrooms on the floor? Then hang the smoke detector within hearing distance in the hallway, not in the bedroom itself. That way, if there is a fire, your tenant will wake up in time to the alarm.
Do you want to hang a detector in the kitchen? Then a heat detector is more suitable, because it does not give false alarms in the event of water vapor.