Clocks changing? My 4-step smoke and CO alarm check for rentals

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Clocks changing? My 4-step smoke and CO alarm check for rentals

Leo SteinBusiness Member
Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 231 posts · 48 votes

The fall clock change is when we check every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm on the Orange County rentals we manage. Four steps:

- Press test. Every smoke and CO alarm in the home, with proper notice to the tenant before entry.

- Check the dates. Weak batteries get swapped, and any alarm past the date its maker lists gets replaced.

- Hear a chirp? Report it. Tenants are asked to report a chirping or dead alarm right away and never to pull the battery.

- Put it in the file. Date, rooms checked and units replaced go in the property file.

California requires working smoke alarms in rentals, and CO alarms in homes with gas appliances, a fireplace or an attached garage. Do you test on a schedule, or only at turnover?

General information, not legal advice.

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  • Matthew MorrowBusiness Member
    Investor · PA - NY - NJ · Member since 2019 · 916 posts · 320 votes
    5d

    @Leo Stein tying it to the clock change is smart, easy to remember. We do something similar with heat. Our HVAC company services every unit in September on a retainer so we aren't finding problems on the first cold night. Alarm checks would fit into that same visit pretty easily. Do you have tenants sign off on the test, or just log it in the file?

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  • James JonesPro Member
    Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 926 posts · 637 votes
    5d

    On a schedule, and the schedule is the turnover. At 236 doors I can't run alarm checks as a separate trip — the cost in labor would be real money. So the checks live inside processes that already touch the house: every turnover gets test, date check, and battery swap as part of the rent-ready punch list, and every Section 8 inspection prep runs the same list, because a dead alarm is an automatic fail and a re-inspection delay I don't want. Between those two touches, the tenant reporting rule is the backup — chirp gets reported, we swap it, no debate. Date, rooms, and replacements go in the property file, same as yours. One system, checked twice a year at minimum, beats five systems checked once.

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  • Leo SteinBusiness Member
    OP
    Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 231 posts · 48 votes
    5d

    Matthew, a September HVAC retainer visit is a smart place to fold in the alarm check. I log the date, rooms and replacements in the property file, and a tenant sign-off is a good extra step to consider. James, thanks for showing how you batch it into turnovers and inspection prep at 236 doors. Matthew, does your HVAC crew record the alarm test with photos or just a note?

    [email protected]949-391-1019
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  • Leo SteinBusiness Member
    OP
    Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 231 posts · 48 votes
    4d

    Matthew, thanks for sharing that. A photo of each alarm plus a satisfactory or not note is a solid record, and it makes the file easy to hand over if anyone ever asks. Since your HVAC crew is already in every unit each September, that visit seems like a natural place to also check the alarm dates and batteries. Do you have them replace any alarms that are near the end of their life on the spot, or flag them to you first?

    [email protected]949-391-1019
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    • Matthew MorrowBusiness Member
      Investor · PA - NY - NJ · Member since 2019 · 916 posts · 320 votes
      3d

      @Leo Stein anything that fails or is getting close to its date gets flagged and swapped right away. It's a cheap part, and I'd rather not have it sitting on a to-do list. The photo goes in the file either way, so there's a record of the old one and the new one.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 231 posts · 48 votes
      3d
      Quote from @Matthew Morrow:

      @Leo Stein anything that fails or is getting close to its date gets flagged and swapped right away. It's a cheap part, and I'd rather not have it sitting on a to-do list. The photo goes in the file either way, so there's a record of the old one and the new one.

      Matthew, swapping on the spot is the right call, since the part costs so little and the before-and-after photos make a clean record. That is a simple routine to copy. Do you store those photos by unit or by visit date?

      [email protected]949-391-1019
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    • Matthew MorrowBusiness Member
      Investor · PA - NY - NJ · Member since 2019 · 916 posts · 320 votes
      2d

      @Leo Stein by unit. Each property has its own folder, and the photos go in with the date in the file name, so I can pull up the history on one unit without scrolling through every visit.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 231 posts · 48 votes
      2d

      A folder per unit with the date in the file name is a clean way to pull up one property's history fast. That also makes it easy to compare the old and new alarm photos at a glance. Do you review a unit's folder before each renewal, or only when something comes up?

      [email protected]949-391-1019
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  • Randy Schell
    Member since 2026 · 142 posts · 16 votes
    2d

    A fresh battery every time the clocks change is such an easy habit to remember. One thing I'd add is checking the date stamped on the back of each alarm, since they quietly wear out after about ten years even if the test button still beeps....

    Randy, Bunklow

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    • Matthew MorrowBusiness Member
      Investor · PA - NY - NJ · Member since 2019 · 916 posts · 320 votes
      1d

      @Leo Stein mostly before renewals. I'm already looking at the unit and the lease at that point, so it's a natural time to open the folder and see what's changed. If something comes up mid-lease I'll look then too, but renewal is the routine.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 231 posts · 48 votes
      1d
      Quote from @Matthew Morrow:

      @Leo Stein mostly before renewals. I'm already looking at the unit and the lease at that point, so it's a natural time to open the folder and see what's changed. If something comes up mid-lease I'll look then too, but renewal is the routine.

      Matthew, checking the unit folder before renewal makes sense, since you're already looking at the lease and the unit anyway. It also gives you a chance to compare the old and new alarm photos and catch anything that's close to its date before the next year starts. Do you ever add a note to the folder on what to budget for the next year, or do you keep it to a record of what was done?

      [email protected]949-391-1019
      Real Property Management Optimal 517 Reviews
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