The questions it asks
Who are you? An owner living in the home, a landlord, a tenant, or someone building or selling.
What you get. The rules that apply to you, each linked to the official page it comes from, with Fire and Emergency New Zealand's advice for every home underneath.
Same house, different rules
A landlord gets the rental rules: working alarms in every room where someone sleeps or within 3 metres of each bedroom door, at least one on every level, and new or replacement alarms that are photoelectric with a long-life battery or hard-wired. A tenant gets their side of the same rules, like replacing dead batteries in older alarms and never disconnecting one.
Someone building a new home gets C/AS1, which names interconnected alarms complying with NZS 4514:2021 as the minimum. An owner living in an existing home gets FENZ's advice: long-life photoelectric alarms in every bedroom, hallway and living area, tested monthly.
Where the checker stops
It can't see your alarms, so it shows the rules, not whether your alarms meet them. It isn't legal advice. If you're selling, it'll tell you we haven't found a separate smoke alarm rule for homes being sold, rather than guess.
It also won't tell you who has to fit hard-wired or interconnected alarms, because we couldn't confirm that from an official page. For that work, an electrician who fits smoke alarms regularly is the person to ask.
Our take
Whatever the checker says, find the date on each alarm first. An alarm with no date, or one that's past it, is one we'd replace, whether or not the rules require it in your situation.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.