Mitre 10 stores have seen a dramatic increase in smoke alarm sales over the past few months, thanks in large part to the new requirements for landlords under the Residential Tenancy Act.

Sales of smoke alarms at the home improvements retailer have increased by over 150 per cent in the last 15 weeks with tens of thousands more units being sold this year compared to 2015.

The top selling units are long-life photoelectric smoke alarms, the type required by the Residential Tenancy Act, and Mitre 10 GM marketing Dave Elliott says that Mitre 10 have had to increase supply to keep up with demand.

“We’ve been proactive in keeping stock levels high across the country and have upped our order of the top selling models for October and November,” he said.

“It’s positive to see such a strong response to the legislative requirements and it means that more Kiwis will be safer in their homes as a result.”

Since July 1st 2016, all rental houses in New Zealand are required to have smoke alarms supplied by their landlords. In rental properties where there previously were no smoke alarms, long-life photoelectric smoke alarms must now be installed.

Failure to comply with the regulations is an unlawful act, and the landlord may be liable for a financial penalty of up to $4,000.

If a property has existing smoke alarms that are not long-life photoelectric, landlords will not need to replace them immediately providing they are in working order. But when they do need replacing they should be replaced with long-life photoelectric alarms.

This will see older style, replaceable battery smoke alarms being progressively replaced over time with new long-life photoelectric alarms with long-life batteries that have a life span of at least ten years, compared with six to 12 months for their traditional counterparts.