lack of smoke detector in apt

younghoss
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 03:40:51 +0000

The op’s post indicates the missing unit had been hardwired and installed in the ceiling… The previous tenant may have added one he purchased himself- and then took it with him, but it is the ceiling one that is missing.

funny, post 7’s first comment is that slumlord chooses not to provide working detector. My first inclination was that a previous tenant took it out. Cooking and smoking can set them off and tenants frequently take out the battery or rip off the unit.

I would like Massmom to know that I can’t count how many times I have inspected one of my units after a tenant left and found detectors missing or batteries removed. If a fire had occurred, it would have appeared that I had not provided working detectors. Then I might have unfairly been called a slumlord or negligent scumbag, just because people jumped the gun with conclusions that did not know the whole story. Think about it: if the wiring is there, but the unit itself is missing it was probably an unethical tenant that removed it. People may have died as a result of previous scumbag tenants, to re-phrase her words.

In any case the 20 something college grad is no child.

In my state laws dictate working smoke detectors must be near all bedrooms, and battery ones are acceptable. CO detectors are optional. Also in my state, a tenant is required to report such defects in writing to the landlord. Let’s take it easy before we call the housing board or the Supreme Court. Let’s start by a cheap fix ourself or a quick notice to the LL.
As a practical matter, tell the young adult to handle it. Buy a smoke detector for about $7, tack it to the wall with a small nail, and consider it done.