HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire a carbon monoxide alarm fitter in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies to fitting a CO alarm; the law says where alarms must go. The rules by nation, the questions to ask, and what a proper fitting includes.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a carbon monoxide alarm fitter in five steps

  1. List the appliancesBoiler, wood burner, open fire, oil or gas heater: each room with one is where an alarm is likely needed.
  2. Know your nation's ruleScotland: every home with a carbon-fuelled appliance. England and Wales: rented homes, under the landlord rules.
  3. Battery or mains-wired?A sealed battery alarm is a quick fit; a mains-wired or interlinked alarm is electrical work.
  4. Ask for the positionPlacement follows the maker's instructions for distance from the appliance and height.
  5. Test it before they leavePress the test button with the fitter there and note the replace-by date.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register covers fitting carbon monoxide alarms in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and a battery alarm is not electrical installation work. A mains-wired alarm is minor electrical work that should be tested.

For a mains-wired or interlinked alarm, ask for a Minor Works Certificate; for a battery alarm, ask for the model and expiry date.

Landlord alarm rules (England and Wales)

In England, the 2015 smoke and carbon monoxide alarm Regulations make a landlord put a carbon monoxide alarm in every room used as living space that has a fixed fuel-burning appliance, gas cookers excepted. In Wales the 2022 fitness for habitation Regulations require one in each room with a gas, oil-fired or solid fuel appliance.

If you let the home, ask the fitter to check every room with an appliance against your nation's rule. legislation.gov.uk →

Scotland: every home

According to the Scottish Government, any home with a boiler, open fire, wood burner or other carbon-fuelled appliance needs a carbon monoxide detector in that room; it can stand alone rather than join the smoke alarm interlink, and gas cookers and hobs are left out. The property owner is responsible, and a mains-wired detector is electrical work that should come with a test certificate.

In Scotland, ask the carbon monoxide alarm fitting to cover every room with a boiler, fire or stove. gov.scot →

Insurance and trader status

For the carbon monoxide alarm fitting, a trader should hold public liability insurance; check the insurer and the cover. Trader status matters: it brings the Consumer Rights Act 2015 into play, and under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 an off-premises or online booking usually has 14 days' cancellation, with any work you asked to start early charged for and personalised goods outside the right.

Request the current insurance schedule before the carbon monoxide alarm fitting, and look at the profile badges for trader status and ID.

VAT

Supplying and fitting a carbon monoxide alarm is standard-rated, so VAT is 20%; a firm with taxable turnover over £90,000 must be VAT-registered, charge that 20% and show it as a separate line on the quote and invoice.

Ask for the VAT number, and look for VAT as its own line on the alarm quote. gov.uk →

“Which rooms need a carbon monoxide alarm?”

A good answer: Every room with a fuel-burning appliance, at least — and in a rental, the rooms your nation's landlord rules name.

“Battery, mains-wired or interlinked alarm?”

A good answer: The difference and the price of each; a sealed ten-year battery alarm is often enough outside Scotland's interlinked smoke system, which carbon monoxide alarms do not have to join.

“Where exactly will the alarm go?”

A good answer: The maker's distance from the appliance and height, not just wherever is easy to drill.

“Does the carbon monoxide alarm meet the British and European standard?”

A good answer: An alarm marked to the standard, with the model named on the invoice.

“For a mains-wired alarm, will I get a certificate?”

A good answer: A Minor Works Certificate for the connection, with the test results.

“When does the alarm need replacing?”

A good answer: A replace-by date on the alarm and on the invoice.

Getting the quote right

  • The alarm model and type — battery, mains-wired or interlinked
  • The number of alarms and the rooms they go in
  • Any wiring and a Minor Works Certificate for a mains-wired alarm
  • Who actually attends — the fitter, and the electrician for a mains-wired alarm, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line

Walk away if

  • An unbranded alarm with no standard marked on it
  • Puts the alarm next to a cooker hood or in a cupboard
  • Says one alarm in the hall covers a boiler in the kitchen and a stove in the lounge
  • A mains-wired alarm with no testing at all
LOW
£50
TYPICAL
£70
HIGH
£200

What a carbon monoxide alarm fitter costs: £50–£200 per job

Carbon monoxide alarm fitting is priced per job, by the number and type of alarms; mains-wired and interlinked alarms cost more than sealed battery units. Carbon Monoxide Alarm price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Carbon monoxide alarm fitters near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Survey the appliancesThe fitter notes each fuel-burning appliance and the rooms that need an alarm.
  2. Choose the positionEach alarm placed by the maker's instructions for distance and height.
  3. FitBattery alarms fixed; mains-wired alarms connected with the circuit isolated first.
  4. TestEach alarm tested; a mains-wired connection tested and certified.
  5. Hand overThe models, replace-by dates and what to do if an alarm sounds explained to you.

Carbon monoxide
A poisonous gas with no smell, made when fuel burns without enough air.
Fixed combustion appliance
A fuel-burning appliance fixed in place, such as a boiler or stove.
Sealed battery alarm
An alarm with a built-in battery lasting its whole life.
Interlinked
Alarms connected so that one sounding sets off the others.
Replace-by date
The date the alarm's sensor reaches the end of its life.
Minor Works Certificate
The certificate for connecting a mains-wired alarm to an existing circuit.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the recordThe alarm models, the rooms, the fitting date and the replace-by date; landlords should keep a record of the check on the day a tenancy starts.
Test it monthlyPress the test button; a chirp usually means a low battery or the end of the alarm's life.
Know what to do if it soundsOpen windows, turn off the appliance, get everyone outside and call the gas emergency line if gas is involved.
Rate the workOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the carbon monoxide alarm fitting falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Complain to the fitter firstEmail or message so there is a record, setting out the defect in the carbon monoxide alarm fitting and what you expect. A trader owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; the remedies it sets are a second attempt, then a price reduction.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the carbon monoxide alarm fitting under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3An unsafe appliance or a landlord who will not fit oneIf an alarm sounds, the appliance is the emergency; get out and call for help before anything else. A tenant whose landlord has not fitted the alarms the rules require should put it to the landlord in writing; for a trading dispute over the carbon monoxide alarm fitting, Trading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeIf the carbon monoxide alarm fitting is still not settled, you can claim without a solicitor: the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a carbon monoxide alarm fitter: questions people ask

No licence or register applies. A battery alarm can be fitted by anyone; a mains-wired one is minor electrical work that should be tested and certified by an electrician.

For landlords in England and Wales, in the rooms their rules name; in Scotland, for every home with a carbon-fuelled appliance, in the same room.

£50–£200 a job, typically around £70. A battery alarm is cheapest; mains-wired or interlinked alarms need more work. Our Carbon Monoxide Alarm price guide explains what moves the figure, and the search above shows carbon monoxide alarm fitters working near your postcode.

Not under England's landlord rules or Scotland's guidance, which both leave gas cookers out; Wales's landlord rules refer to gas appliances generally, so check the room.

No. The Scottish Government lets a carbon monoxide detector stand alone, outside the smoke alarm interlink.

Until the replace-by date on the alarm, often several years; replace it then even if it seems to work.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

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Carbon monoxide alarm fitters near you

Carbon monoxide alarm fitters in LondonCarbon monoxide alarm fitters in ManchesterCarbon monoxide alarm fitters in BirminghamCarbon monoxide alarm fitters in GlasgowCarbon monoxide alarm fitters in BelfastAll carbon monoxide alarm fitters on Locufy →Do it yourself: fitting a battery carbon monoxide alarm →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 4
  2. Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 5 — smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
  3. gov.scot — fire and smoke alarms: the law
  4. gov.wales — building regulations: electrics
  5. mygov.scot — repairs and maintenance as a private landlord
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  11. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  12. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  13. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  14. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  15. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  16. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register