From today, members of the public are required to have smoke alarms in the room where they spend most of their time, as well as in kitchens and in hallways.

However, the Scottish Government was criticised for the “chaos” surrounding the introduction of the fire safety standards.

Concerns have been raised over a lack of awareness over the changes, costs for homeowners and shortages of alarms.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison said the legislation, which was introduced following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, will “save more lives”.

‘Not too late’

The Scottish Conservatives still hope to secure a re-think by making a “last ditch attempt to force a temporary halt to these rules”.

Miles Briggs, housing spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, said it was “not too late for the SNP to see sense and delay their bungled alarms law at the 11th hour”.

He added: “Ordinary Scots shouldn’t be punished as a result of SNP incompetence.

“The SNP government must set a new deadline so that all households can meet the requirements in time.”

Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour’s housing spokesman, said the chance to delay the policy had passed but urged the Scottish Government to do more to deliver it.

It was announced on Sunday that Care and Repair Scotland will be given an extra £500,000 to help elderly and disabled homeowners to comply with the new regulations.

The Scottish Government confirmed there will be no penalties for non-compliance and no one will be penalised if they need more time.

Insurers indicated that while they may ask whether your home has working fire alarms, they are “unlikely to ask whether the alarms meet this new standard”.

References: Press and Journal