Fire safety for housing companies and property managers

Smoke alarms from 1 January 2026

Following an amendment to the Rescue Act, responsibility for acquiring and maintaining smoke alarms moved on 1 January 2026 from residents to the owner of the building, in other words the housing company. A dwelling must have at least one smoke alarm for every 60 m² or part thereof on each floor or level (Ministry of the Interior Decree 300/2025). Residents must report faults in the smoke alarms to the housing company without delay.

Smoke alarms and fire alarm systems in a housing company: obligations and checklist

Equipment upkeep

Section 12 of the Rescue Act requires fire detection and alarm devices and other safety equipment to be kept in working order and appropriately maintained and inspected. The timing of maintenance is determined by the equipment’s maintenance instructions and the maintenance programme.

Fire alarm system inspections

If the housing company has a statutory fire alarm system, an inspection body approved by Tukes carries out a verification inspection before the system is taken into use and after significant changes, and a periodic inspection every three years (Act on Certain Fire Safety Equipment 191/2024).

Rescue plan

A rescue plan must be drawn up for, among others, residential buildings with at least three dwellings (Rescue Act, section 15, and Government Decree on Rescue Services 407/2011). The plan is kept up to date when the premises, responsible persons or procedures change.

Centralised smoke alarm system

For housing companies, we offer centralised systems compliant with the EN 54 standard, in which a central unit monitors the detectors in the flats and reports, for example, a contaminated detector. Panasonic’s EBL One suits smaller sites and the EBL512 G3 larger ones. A comparison with stand-alone smoke alarms can be found in the smoke alarm guide.

Maintenance and servicing

TURVA maintenance services take care of periodic maintenance of the systems and maintenance planning. Explore our maintenance services.

Rescue plan online

We prepare the rescue plan and set it up on the Codeax®SAFE platform, where the housing company updates it using its own user accounts. We help when needed. Read more about rescue plans.

Documents kept safe

TIETO Tallelokero brings maintenance reports and system documents together in one service, so the information does not depend on the folders of an individual property manager or caretaker. See documentation.

Financing

The TUOHI financing service turns the cost of a system purchase into monthly rental payments. The terms are given in the quotation: ask about financing.

What should a property manager include in a request for quotation?

The site address, the number of buildings and flats, the existing systems, previous maintenance reports and the current rescue plan. Not everything needs to be ready when you first get in touch.

Who is responsible for inspections of a housing company’s fire alarm system?

For a statutory fire alarm system, an inspection body carries out a periodic inspection every three years. The system holder – in practice, the housing company – is responsible for arranging it. Maintenance keeps the system in good order between inspections.