We recently purchased a residential property. We have decided to lease it for 15 months while we decide if we will move in, tear down the old home and build, or simply sell it again. We just signed a lease with our tenants and our attorney directed us to the state property codes to make sure we understand our obligations.
I have a couple of questions with regard to smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
1)Our state’s property code apparently requires smoke alarms only in bedrooms or in the corridor if bedrooms are adjacent. But I don’t see any other requirements, other than there should be one on every floor.
I’m thinking there should be one in the vicinity of the kitchen. Where is the best location? I have had them too close in the past, where even cooking a piece of toast sets it off.
Any other obvious places to install a smoke detector?
2)State law does not require us to install carbon monoxide detectors, but “strongly suggests it.” Other than in the corridor outside the bedrooms and just inside of the house adjacent to the attached garage, where else should we consider installing them? Do any of you have specific recommendations as to brand/model?
Thanks for any collective wisdom. This is our first foray into residential leasing; we have no plans to do it in the future, but one never knows.
It makes sense to put them in areas adjacent to potential source of CO - fireplaces, garages, heaters in closets, etc.
I recommend getting the kind that is battery powered and attaches to a wall etc. instead of having the plug into the outlet version so they would not be removed.
Oh, we plan to install at least a couple of CO monitors, just to be safe (for the tenants as well as liability). I just didn’t want to ignore any locations that should have one that didn’t seem apparent to me.
I had read a link that said not to put them too close to a source of heat (I’m thinking fireplaces, of which there are two gas log fireplaces in this home). Perhaps in a far corner of the room?
If there are any fuel burning appliances which may vent exhaust into the house (including through defects or incorrect use), then CO2 detectors would be indicated (bedrooms and hallways outside bedrooms seem to be usual places).
Note that fuel burning appliances could include non-electric cars in attached garages (if one is left running in an enclosed garage and the garage air gets into the house air) as well as natural gas or oil heaters.
Other than that, correct. Wood-burning fireplaces and coal BBQ can produce CO. Most local CO poisoning cases usually invole folks bringing a hibachi or a grill inside to warm up and to cook during power outages.
We actually tested our CO detector in the house by idling our truck in the garage. It did not take long for the detector to begin registering detectable but below lethal amounts.
We install smoke detectors & CO detectors in our rental properties however we have a clause in the lease that the tenants are responsible for testing and replacing batteries as needed. For smoke detectors, we install them in the bedroom hallway and in hallway or room adjacent to the kitchen.
I am going to add the replace batteries in the lease. Good idea. We replace the detector every so often and always install fresh, good batteries when a new tenant moves in. 90% of the time, tenants take them out to use in toys. Sigh…
Our lease says we install functional smoke detectors, but the tenant is responsible for replacing batteries. Which is good, because my DH has to do that here at our house and at his 4’11" tall mother’s house too!
Regarding smoke and CO detectors, many now have sealed batteries that are supposed to last 10 years (but then you have to replace the detector, although that is often the rated lifetime of smoke and CO detectors anyway). So less worry about someone removing the battery for other purposes or neglecting to replace the battery, although if it starts complaining, the detector itself needs to be replaced.
Smoke detectors can be ionization (detects flaming fires better), photoelectric (detects smoky fires better), or both (preferred, since it gives quicker alarm for either kind of fire).
The smoke detector near my kitchen is my mortal enemy. Apparently it is installed in a location where gasses tend to accumulate, because it goes off when there is no smoke at all. (Ionization?) If I go out and fan it with a potholder it will stop.
Contenders for a Darwin Award…I bet they smoke in bed, too.
You can install whatever you want but in our experience with over a dozen units when you are in the unit(s) for an inspection 8 Times out of 10 the detectors are missing.
They don’t. If you read the fine print, it says,“up to 10 years” –
I had to replace all detectors in my home a few years ago to bring things up to code when I did some renovations, and thought the 10-year batteries would be a good idea-- but all of the detectors with the 10-year-batteries have failed. Maybe lasted about 4 years at most. Nice that they lasted that long, but I’m back to just using regular batteries & replacing as necessary.
I also think it’s a good idea to put it in the lease that the tenant is responsible to replace the battery (for liability reasons)- but I think the property owner should still check and be ready to replace batteries as necessary. As a practical consideration, tenants are often not all that reliable about maintenance – and if there was a tragedy down the line, you really don’t want to be in court arguing about whose job it was to replace the battery. So the lease should have another clause allowing the landlord to make periodic property inspections, and if a smoke alarm is chirping… then just fix it.
This is a large home built around 1930. The rent is very high, due to the size of the lot, the fact that it has a lighted tennis court, and that it is in a very desirable neighborhood. The tenants are a highly educated professional couple with a child in high school (who apparently is a top tennis player, hence their desire to live there). The ceilings are high and will require a ladder to change out batteries, so I don’t see them taking them out to put in toys. But I know that I have removed batteries out of a smoke detector that went off constantly in the kitchen, so that is something to keep in mind.
We have put in the lease that we will give them fresh detectors, but I feel comfortable with the language of the lease stating that we are required to repair a broken one within 7 days of written notice and that they are responsible for changing out the batteries. But I will buy the 10 year batteries. Hopefully, they will last the duration of the 15 month lease.
I can’t remember the language about periodic landlord inspections, though.
My house has one in each bedroom and one in the halls outside the bedrooms. There is also one in the basement. None in the kitchen. I’ve never lived in a house with one in the actual kitchen and I’ve lived in 15 houses since married.
We moved the one that had been in our kitchen into the adjoining dining room after it went off 4 times in two days. We have one in the upstairs hallway and a CO detector in the basement because of the boiler and furnace.
We just acquired a house that we bought out of tax lien foreclosure. We have granted the former owner a life estate so we are not technically landlords. However, H and the boys went inside to look and found no detectors. One of our shopping list items today is detectors. I was thinking about the 10 year version but now I am going to crunch the numbers between replacing batteries every year and the initial cost of the 10 year.
Another option - I don’t know if this is nationwide, but in my area, the Red Cross periodically offers to install detectors in homes and apartments.
I have to research the law in my town, but in NYC, the landlord of a multiple dwelling is required to install detectors in apartments but it is the tenant’s responsibility to maintain them. I am defending a case right now where a tenant apparently disabled the detector, then burned candles and/or incense before going out and leaving her young son and an old friend of hers in the apartment. A fire ensued and now the owner (my client) is being sued. I am suing the tenant but she has no insurance and no assets. She claims that she complained to the super that the detector didn’t work for awhile before that , but the super denies it. FDNY said that the fire was due to the candles/incense not being extinguished properly. It is SO important to make sure that the detectors are working.
