Fire alarm service frequency in leasehold property

[Guest AdamCro]

Hi,
I own a leasehold property. The landlord is under the impression that the buildings fire alarms need to legally be checked every 6 months by a professional. Is this the law?
Many thanks,
Adam Crofts

[Tom Sutton]

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states you must have fire alarm in the common parts, if necessary and it needs to be maintained. Good practice dictates it should be installed and maintained in accordance with BS 5839 part 6 which in turn says the this should be done, Grade A systems should be inspected and serviced at periods not exceeding six months  in accordance with part 1, Grade B and Grade C systems should be serviced every six months in accordance with the supplier’s instructions.

[AnthonyB]

And if it's a commercial leasehold property the same applies except the standard is BS5839-1:2017 where again the whole system needs to have been tested each year over a minimum of 2 service visits.