SMOKE DETECTORS

As the Landlord, you are responsible for installing smoke detectors in rental property (kitchen, bedrooms, hallway, and garage) and insuring that they are fully functional. This should be part of the pre-occupancy checklist. It’s also a good idea to include this as part of your 6-month check-up…you know…the check-up where you confirm that there are no leaky pipes, bug or rodent visitations (or other surprise visitors…either four-legged or two-legged that aren’t included on the lease) , furnace or AC filter replacements, etc.

If you have elderly tenants, who may be hard of hearing, installing a strobe light smoke detector is the RIGHT thing to do. It may cost a bit more, but your elderly tenants will appreciate your thoughtfulness and concern for their well being.

Fire extinguisher and smoke alarm requirements for Section 8 housing can be found at http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/HUD/HUDSPEC/h16722.pdf and addresses the needs for both the hearing and hearing impaired tenant.

Each building/dwelling unit must contain sufficient numbers of  correctly placed and operable fire extinguishers and smoke detectors in accordance with State and Local Fire Codes.

At a minimum:

1. Each level used for living purposes (recreation, sleeping and/or common areas) of a multilevel rental dwelling must be equipped with at least one battery-operated or hard-wire smoke detector and
maintained in proper working condition;

2. Each rental dwelling unit must be equipped with at least one battery-operated or hard-wired smoke detector and maintained in proper working condition. The smoke detector must be located in
a hallway adjacent to the bedroom(s);

3. Dwelling units occupied by hearing-impaired persons must be equipped with an alarm system, designed for hearing-impaired persons, in each bedroom(s) occupied by a hearing-impaired person.

The alarm system(s) in each bedroom(s) occupied by a hearing-impaired person must be connected to the smoke detector installed in the hallway adjacent to the bedroom(s). www.hudclips.org