Blog · Waterloo
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in a Waterloo home: what Ontario requires in 2026
On January 1, 2026, Ontario's Fire Code started requiring carbon monoxide alarms on every storey of many homes, not only outside the bedrooms. Waterloo Fire Rescue has been reminding residents to check. Here is what the rules say, how they apply to the houses in Lakeshore, Laurelwood and the student streets, and where the handyman's job ends.
Last updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Waterloo Handyman team
Smoke alarms: every storey and outside sleeping areas
Ontario's Fire Code requires working smoke alarms on every storey of a home and outside all sleeping areas. In a rental, the landlord has to provide them. The Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs sets out what "working" means in practice. Alarms must be:
- Tested monthly
- Kept in operating condition at all times
- Installed according to the manufacturer's instructions
- Replaced within the timeframe the manufacturer states
A replacement alarm cannot give less protection than the Building Code required when the house was built. So if the house was built with hardwired smoke alarms, swapping one for a battery unit is a downgrade. Replace like with like, or upgrade.
What changed for CO alarms on January 1, 2026
Before 2026, CO alarms were required outside sleeping areas. The Technical Standards and Safety Authority's summary of the amendment says existing detached and semi-detached houses, townhouses and cottages now need a CO alarm:
- Adjacent to each sleeping area, and
- On every storey of the home, including storeys with no bedroom.
The rule applies if the home has any of the following:
- A fuel-burning appliance, such as a gas furnace, water heater or gas stove
- A fireplace
- An attached garage
- Heat supplied by a fuel-burning appliance outside the home
That covers most Waterloo housing. The 1970s and 80s split-levels in Lakeshore and Beechwood often have a gas furnace in the basement and a gas fireplace in the family room. The two-storey houses in Laurelwood and Columbia Forest usually have an attached garage too. A typical house with a finished basement, main floor and bedroom floor now needs a CO alarm on each of those three levels. The old single alarm in the upstairs hallway is no longer enough.
Waterloo Fire Rescue's advice on checking
Waterloo Fire Rescue has pointed out that the old advice to change batteries when the clocks change matters less now that so many homes have hardwired alarms and 10-year lithium batteries. The time change is still a good yearly reminder to test every alarm and make sure there is a CO alarm on each floor. The City of Kitchener's fire safety page, which covers the same provincial rules, says to replace smoke alarms once they pass their recommended life, usually 10 years, or sooner if one is damaged or not working. It also confirms the Fire Code allows CO alarms to be hardwired, battery-operated, plug-in, or combined smoke and CO units.
Landlords: the duty is yours, and tenants' tampering is your problem too
For a student house on Lester or Columbia, the landlord provides and maintains the alarms. The Fire Chiefs' guidance for landlords is practical:
- Keep records every time you enter and test alarms, and every time you find one disabled.
- Make maintaining the alarms part of the lease.
- Give tenants 24 hours' written notice to enter and check alarms, as the Residential Tenancies Act requires.
- Tampering with a smoke alarm is against the law for tenants, and they can be charged if you can show you provided the alarms and checked them regularly.
Fines under the Fire Code are significant for individuals and higher still for corporations. A turnover visit is the natural time to walk every storey, test each alarm, check the date on the back, and replace anything expired. That walk-through is part of rental property maintenance. The City's licence requirements are covered in our rental licence checklist.
What the handyman installs, and what goes to an electrician
The line is simple. It follows the same rule the handyman uses everywhere: no wires.
- Handyman: battery-powered and plug-in CO alarms, battery smoke alarms where the house was built with battery units, and replacing expired battery units with the same type. Mounting them properly on ceilings and walls, and testing them, fits easily into a visit alongside other small items.
- Licensed electrician: anything hardwired. That includes replacing an existing hardwired smoke alarm, swapping to a hardwired combination unit, adding an interconnected alarm, or chasing a hardwired alarm that chirps with a new battery.
Since smoke rises, smoke alarms go on the ceiling or high on the wall, away from bathrooms, heating appliances, windows and fans. For CO alarms, follow the placement in the manufacturer's instructions.
Getting it done
A quick self-check before you call: count the storeys, including a finished or unfinished basement. Note which have a CO alarm, which have a smoke alarm, and the date printed on the back of each. Then check whether any bedroom sits on a floor with no alarm outside it. That list tells you exactly what is missing.
If you are adding CO alarms to a few floors, add them to a longer list: a sticking door, a drywall patch, a loose rail. A single trip for one small job is the least efficient way to buy handyman time, as the Waterloo cost guide explains. Send the list, say how many storeys the house has and whether the existing alarms are hardwired, and the quote will split the items between the handyman and an electrician. Start on the contact page.