What Fire Safety Equipment Does an Irish Landlord Legally Need in 2026?

If you rent out property in Ireland — a house, an apartment, a room, or a holiday let — the law places specific fire safety duties on you as the landlord. Get it wrong and you're exposed to fines, insurance disputes, and in the worst case, criminal liability. Get it right and it's a modest investment that keeps tenants safe and your property compliant.

This guide covers exactly what you're required to provide in 2026, based on the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and guidance issued by the Department of Housing and local authorities.

 

Smoke alarms — the non-negotiable starting point

Every rented dwelling in Ireland must have working smoke alarms positioned so they can be heard clearly from every sleeping area. In practice this means:

• One smoke alarm on every floor of the property

• One in the hallway or landing outside sleeping areas

• Alarms maintained in working order throughout the tenancy, tested at every inspection, and replaced when older than 10 years

Battery-powered 10-year sealed alarms — such as the Grundig 10-Year Sealed Smoke Alarm we stock — are a compliant, cost-effective choice for most existing rental properties. The sealed battery lasts the life of the unit, so there are no batteries to forget and no wiring works to commission. For newer builds and larger multi-story properties, a fire safety consultant may specify mains-wired or interlinked alarms — check the property's fire safety cert if you have one.

 

Carbon monoxide alarms — required wherever there's a fuel-burning appliance
If the property contains any combustion appliance (gas boiler, oil boiler, solid fuel stove, open fireplace, gas hob) or has an attached garage, a carbon monoxide alarm is legally required.
The alarm should be placed in the same room as the fuel-burning appliance, or in the room the flue passes through, and must comply with EN 50291. Battery-powered CO alarms are acceptable — unlike smoke alarms — but must be tested regularly and replaced according to the manufacturer's expiry date (typically 7–10 years). Our Grundig Carbon Monoxide Alarm meets all Irish rental compliance requirements.

 

Fire blanket — required in every kitchen

Every rental property with a kitchen must be supplied with a fire blanket meeting BS EN 1869. The recommended size for Irish rental properties is 1.2m × 1.2m — large enough to  smother a chip-pan fire or wrap a person whose clothing has caught alight.
The blanket must be:

• Mounted on the wall within easy reach of the cooker (but not directly above it)

• In a soft case with quick-release pull tabs

• Clearly visible and unobstructed

A €21 fire blanket is the single cheapest life-saving item you'll put in a rental property. Fit one and check it every
inspection.

 

 

Fire extinguisher — strongly recommended, sometimes required

Fire extinguishers are not legally required in every private rental in Ireland, but they are:

• Required in HMOs (houses in multiple occupation), student accommodation, and any premises subject to fire safety certification

• Required in short-term lets registered with Fáilte Ireland

• Strongly recommended by most home insurance providers for standard rentals — and increasingly demanded at renewal

The safe default for a standard Irish rental property is a 6-litre water extinguisher to EN3, mounted in a hallway or communal area, with a matching wall bracket. Water extinguishers cover Class A fires (paper, wood, textiles) — the most common household risk. For properties with electrical risk or commercial cooking, add a COn or wet chemical
unit as advised by your fire safety consultant

 

 

Escape routes — the requirement that catches landlords out

Regulations require every rental property to have a clear, unobstructed means of escape in the event of fire.

In practice this means:

• Hallways and stairwells kept free of storage and clutter

• Internal doors that close and latch properly (particularly kitchen doors)

• Window locks that can be opened from the inside without a key

• No bedrooms accessed only through another bedroom

• Escape windows in inner rooms where the primary route may be compromised

If you rent out an older property with only one staircase, get a fire safety consultant to walk the layout with you. A €150 consultation prevents the €15,000 remediation notice.

 

Records and documentation — the paperwork that proves it

Compliance is only compliance if you can prove it. Every landlord should maintain a fire safety log for each property containing:

• Dates and results of every alarm test

• Alarm installation and replacement dates (with receipts)

• Fire blanket and extinguisher inspection dates

• Any fire safety works, certifications, or consultant reports

• Copy of the property's BER cert and any relevant fire safety certificates

Store this documentation in a lockable metal document holder fixed to the wall of the property (not on your kitchen table at home). If an inspector, insurer, or the RTB asks for it, you produce it in under a minute. Read our companion piece on the Landlord Compliance page for a downloadable log template.

 

What we recommend as a minimum kit

For a standard 3-bedroom rental with a gas boiler, this is the minimum kit we'd send an Irish landlord out the door with today:

• 2× Grundig 10-year sealed smoke alarms (one per floor)

• 1× Grundig carbon monoxide alarm

• 1× Fire blanket, 1.2m × 1.2m, Kitemarked

• 1× CTX 6L water fire extinguisher (EN3)

• 1× Slimline lockable document holder for the fire safety log

We've bundled the extinguisher, blanket and cover as our Landlord Fire Point Bundle — the exact combination Irish landlords are asked for at inspection, priced to save versus buying separately.

 

What to do next

If you're a new landlord or you haven't reviewed your property in 12 months, work through this checklist tonight:

• Walk each floor and count the working smoke alarms — are any older than 10 years?

• Check the CO alarm (if fitted) is within its expiry date

• Locate the fire blanket — is it accessible, or has a tea towel been draped over it?

• Check the extinguisher pressure gauge — needle in the green?

• Open the fire safety log — is the last entry within the last 12 months?

If you answered 'no' or 'not sure' to any of the above, we can help. Message us via the contact page with the property size and we'll put together a compliant kit list within one working day.

 

Safety in Store — Irish-owned, Irish-shipped, safety in the bag