Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms in a Los Angeles Rental: What the Owner Installs, Tests and Fixes
California does not leave smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to the lease. Two sections of the Health and Safety Code put them on the owner of a rented unit: section 13113.7 for smoke alarms and sections 17926 and 17926.1 for carbon monoxide. Those state rules apply the same way in Inglewood, Culver City, Beverly Hills and the City of Los Angeles. A city can add to them through its building code or a local ordinance (section 13113.7(a)(4) lets a local rule bar battery-only alarms, and section 17926(e) allows local carbon monoxide ordinances), so treat the state law as the floor.
They are short statutes, and they are easy to half-remember. This guide goes through what each one requires, where the devices go, what a tenant has to tell you, how you get into the unit to fix one, and what changes when you pull a permit or sell.
The short version. Every rented dwelling unit needs working smoke alarms placed to current building standards. Any unit with a gas or other fossil fuel appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage also needs a carbon monoxide device. Both must work when the tenant moves in. After that, the tenant reports a dead one and you fix it.
Which units are covered
The smoke alarm statute covers every “dwelling unit intended for human occupancy.” Section 13113.7(b) spells that out to include a one- or two-unit dwelling, a lodging house, an apartment complex, a condominium, a stock cooperative and a unit in a multiple-unit complex. Manufactured homes and mobilehomes sit under a different set of rules and are not covered by this section.
For rented property the duty is clear. Section 13113.7(d)(2) makes the owner of an apartment complex or other multiple-dwelling complex responsible for testing and maintaining the alarms. Since January 1, 2014, the same responsibility has applied to the owner of a single-family home that is rented or leased. A house you rent out is treated the same way as a fourplex.
The carbon monoxide rule is narrower. Section 17926(a) requires a device only in a dwelling unit “having a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage.” Section 13262 defines fossil fuel to include coal, kerosene, oil, wood and fuel gases. A gas furnace, a gas water heater, a gas range or a wood-burning fireplace therefore brings a unit in. So does a garage attached to the building. A unit with all-electric appliances, no fireplace and no attached garage is outside section 17926, though nothing stops you installing a device anyway.
The deadlines for existing buildings passed long ago: July 1, 2011 for single-family homes and January 1, 2013 for every other existing dwelling unit except hotels and motels. Any rental that qualifies should already have its devices.
Where the alarms go
Neither statute lists the rooms. Both send you to the building code. Section 13113.7(d)(3) required owners with rented units to add alarms, by January 1, 2016, wherever needed to match current building standards. Section 17926(b) says carbon monoxide devices go in “a manner consistent with building standards applicable to new construction” or the manufacturer’s instructions, where that is technically feasible.
In the 2022 California Residential Code, as county and city building departments summarize it, the locations are these. The 2025 edition of the state building code took effect on January 1, 2026, and LA County building departments’ 2026 handouts list the same locations, but confirm the current section numbers with your building department.
| Smoke alarms (section R314.3) | Carbon monoxide alarms (section R315.3) |
|---|---|
| In each sleeping room | Outside each separate sleeping area, in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms |
| Outside each separate sleeping area, in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms | On every occupiable level of the unit, including basements |
| On each additional story, including basements and habitable attics | Inside a bedroom where a fuel-burning appliance is in that bedroom or its attached bathroom |
| At least 3 feet horizontally from the door of a bathroom with a tub or shower, unless that would prevent a required alarm |
In a typical two-bedroom apartment on one floor, that means one smoke alarm in each bedroom, one in the hall outside them, and a carbon monoxide device in that same hall if the unit has gas. A two-story townhouse needs the same on each floor. Combination units are allowed. Section 13262(a)(3) requires a combined device to meet both standards and to sound differently for carbon monoxide than for smoke, so a tenant can tell which one is going off.
Building codes are updated on a cycle and local departments can amend them. Before you rewire a unit or close out a permit, confirm the current edition and any local amendments with the building department that issued the permit.
Battery, plug-in or hardwired
For an existing building where no construction is going on, battery alarms are allowed. Section 13113.7(a)(4) says a battery-operated smoke alarm that met the State Fire Marshal’s standards when installed satisfies the law unless a local rule prohibits it. The 2022 Residential Code exception in R314.6 says the same for existing buildings.
The battery itself is regulated. Under section 13114(b)(2), since July 1, 2014 a smoke alarm that runs only on a battery can be approved and listed in California only if the battery is nonreplaceable, nonremovable and rated to power the alarm for at least 10 years. Since January 1, 2015, a listed alarm must also show its date of manufacture, have a place to write the installation date, and include a hush button. Those features are what make a 10-year replacement schedule workable. Write the install date on every alarm you put up.
Section 13113.7(d)(3) also says existing alarms do not have to be replaced unless they are inoperable. Once an older alarm with a removable battery fails, its replacement has to be a currently listed model, and a battery-only replacement will be the sealed 10-year type.
Carbon monoxide devices have their own definition in section 13262(a). The device may be battery powered, a plug-in with battery backup, or wired into the unit’s power with a secondary battery backup, and it must be certified to the UL 2034 or UL 2075 standard by a laboratory the State Fire Marshal recognizes. Section 13263(b) bars the sale of any device the Fire Marshal has not approved and listed. Buy devices that carry the State Fire Marshal listing.
Move-in day: the owner’s check
Both statutes fix the same moment. Section 13113.7(d)(2)(B) says that “at the time that a new tenancy is created, the owner shall ensure that smoke alarms are operable.” Section 17926.1(c) says the carbon monoxide device “shall be operable at the time that the tenant takes possession.”
That makes the turnover the one point where the burden is entirely on you. A practical way to meet it is to test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm during the make-ready, after painting and cleaning are done, and to record it. Note each device’s location, its manufacture date, and that it sounded when tested. Have the incoming tenant sign or initial that line on the move-in inspection. If a dispute ever comes up, that record shows the devices were working on the date the law cares about.
Paint and tape can disable an alarm without anyone noticing. Check for overspray or tape on the sensor after any paint job, and look at the manufacture date while you are there. Our guide to move-out inspections covers the rest of the turnover walk.
During the tenancy: the tenant reports, the owner fixes
Once the tenant has moved in, the statutes shift the first step to them. Under section 13113.7(d)(2)(B), the tenant is “responsible for notifying the manager or owner if the tenant becomes aware of an inoperable smoke alarm.” Section 17926.1(c) has the same rule for carbon monoxide devices.
The owner’s side has two parts. You must correct any reported deficiency. And you are not in violation for a deficient alarm “when he or she has not received notice of the deficiency.” That protection depends on your intake. A report sent to an inbox nobody reads may still count as notice. Give tenants one clear way to report, such as a maintenance request form, and treat a chirping or dead alarm as a priority ticket rather than routine work.
Put the reporting duty in the lease in plain words, and add a line asking tenants not to remove or disconnect alarms. The statutes do not spell out what happens when a tenant disables one, so how you handle that in a lease, and what follows if it happens, is a question for a landlord-tenant attorney.
Getting in to install, test or replace
Section 13113.7(d)(2)(A) lets the owner or the owner’s agent enter a unit to install, repair, test or maintain smoke alarms. Except in an emergency, you must give the tenant reasonable written notice and enter only during normal business hours, and 24 hours is presumed reasonable. Section 17926.1(b) gives the same right of entry for carbon monoxide devices, and points to Civil Code section 1954.
Section 1954(d)(1) sets out what the written notice must contain: the date, the approximate time and the purpose of the entry. It can be handed to the tenant, left with someone of suitable age at the unit, or left on or under the usual entry door where a reasonable person would find it. If you mail it, mailing at least six days before the entry is presumed reasonable. Under section 1954(d)(3), a tenant can also agree orally to an entry for agreed repairs within one week, in which case no written notice is needed. Section 1954(c) prohibits using the right of entry to harass a tenant, so keep alarm visits to alarm work.
If a building needs new alarms in every unit, one written notice per unit with a date and time window, and a single visit per unit, keeps the work inside these rules.
When you pull a permit or sell
Alarms come up again in two transactions.
Permits for work over $1,000
Under section 13113.7(a)(2), for any dwelling unit where a building permit issued on or after January 1, 2014 covers alterations, repairs or additions over $1,000, the permit issuer will not sign off on the work until you show that every required smoke alarm is a State Fire Marshal approved and listed device. Building departments may also apply the code’s alarm requirements to the whole unit when a permit is issued, so a kitchen remodel can mean new alarms in the bedrooms. Ask the inspector what will be checked before final.
Carbon monoxide devices have a related rule. Section 17926.2(b) says an owner who installed a compliant device does not have to replace it to meet newer building standards until the owner applies for a permit for alterations, repairs or additions to that unit costing more than $1,000.
Selling a house or duplex
Section 13113.8 requires every single-family dwelling that is sold to have an operable smoke alarm, and requires the seller to give the buyer a written statement of compliance. For this section, “single-family dwelling” includes a one- or two-unit dwelling, so a duplex is covered. The statement can go in the purchase agreement, an addendum or a separate document, and is delivered as soon as practicable before title transfers. Transfers by court order, foreclosure, a fiduciary administering an estate or trust, and transfers between co-owners or to a spouse are among the exceptions listed in section 13113.8(d). If you are selling a rented house or duplex, the tenant’s alarms are part of the sale, so plan the entry under Civil Code 1954 early.
Fines and liability
The fines in the statutes are small. A violation of section 13113.7 is an infraction with a maximum fine of $200 per offense. A violation of section 17926 is also an infraction with a $200 maximum, but section 17926(c)(2) requires that the owner first receive a 30-day notice to correct. On a sale, a failure to comply with section 13113.8, whether the missing item is the operable alarm or the seller’s statement, does not invalidate the transfer, and the remedy under that section is actual damages of no more than $100. Section 17926(d) has a matching rule for carbon monoxide devices: no transfer of title is invalidated, and the remedy under that section is capped at $100 in actual damages.
Those numbers are not the real exposure. Both statutes say they do not affect any other rights the parties have “because of the presence or absence” of an alarm (section 13113.7(f) and section 17926.1(d)), and section 17926(d) says its $100 cap does not affect remedies otherwise available at law. A fire or a carbon monoxide injury in a unit where an alarm was missing or a reported failure was not fixed is a matter for insurers and lawyers, not a $200 citation. Talk to your insurance broker about what your policy expects, and to a real estate attorney about your lease language.
A simple routine for each building
None of this needs a system, just a record that is kept up. For each unit:
- A list of every smoke and carbon monoxide device with its location, type (battery, plug-in, hardwired, combination) and the manufacture or install date written on it.
- A note of whether the unit has any fossil fuel appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage, which tells you whether section 17926 applies.
- The tested-and-working line from each move-in inspection, signed by the tenant.
- Each tenant report of a faulty alarm, the date it came in, the written entry notice, and the date it was fixed.
- A replacement date for each device, based on the manufacturer’s stated service life.
The State Fire Marshal approves each smoke alarm’s instructions under section 13114(b)(5), so the manufacturer’s sheet is the right guide for testing intervals and replacement. Keep a copy with the building file.
How this fits with the rest of your compliance
Alarms are one item on a longer list. In the City of Los Angeles, a code enforcement order runs on the timeline in our guide to SCEP inspections and REAP. If your building predates 1978, the turnover is also when the federal lead rules apply, covered in our lead paint guide. City rent and eviction rules in Inglewood, Culver City and Beverly Hills sit alongside these state safety rules and do not change them.
Want someone else to handle the alarm calls?
Call (310) 272-9847, email info@bessaproperties.com, or book a 30-minute call. Our flat fee management is one predictable monthly amount, not a percentage of rent, covering rent collection and maintenance coordination, with leasing quoted separately. See how we work in Beverly Hills, Culver City and Inglewood.
Book a 30-minute call →Questions owners ask
My building is all electric. Do I need carbon monoxide alarms?
Section 17926 requires a carbon monoxide device only where the unit has a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. If none of those applies, the state requirement does not reach the unit. Check for a gas water heater in a shared closet, a decorative fireplace or a garage attached to the building before you conclude that none applies.
Can I make the tenant responsible for the alarms in the lease?
The statutes put testing and maintenance on the owner of a rented unit and give the tenant one duty, which is to report a problem. A lease can repeat that reporting duty and ask the tenant not to disable alarms. Whether it can shift more than that is a question for a real estate attorney.
A tenant says the alarm keeps chirping. Is that notice?
A tenant telling you an alarm is not working properly is the kind of report section 13113.7 describes. Treat it as notice, send a written entry notice under Civil Code 1954 or agree on a time within the week, and fix or replace the device.
Do I have to replace working alarms that still use a 9-volt battery?
No. Section 13113.7(d)(3) says existing alarms need not be replaced unless they are inoperable. When one fails, the replacement has to be a currently listed device, and a battery-only one will have a sealed 10-year battery. A permit for work over $1,000 can also trigger replacement.
Does the rule apply to a condo I rent out?
Yes. Condominiums are listed in both definitions of a dwelling unit, and as the owner renting the unit you carry the testing and maintenance duty for the alarms inside it. Check the CC&Rs for who handles any fire alarm system in the common areas.
Does a smoke alarm count as a carbon monoxide alarm?
Only if it is a listed combination device. Section 13262(a)(3) requires a combined unit to meet both the carbon monoxide and the smoke alarm standards and to give clearly different warnings for each.
Sources and disclaimer. California Health and Safety Code sections 13113.7, 13113.8, 13114, 13262, 13263, 17926, 17926.1 and 17926.2, and Civil Code section 1954, read from the text published by the California Legislature as reproduced at California.Public.Law; 2022 California Residential Code sections R314.3, R314.6 and R315.3 as summarized by the City of Gardena’s January 2026 alarm form and the County of Santa Cruz and City of Merced building departments. Current as of October 2026. This article is general information for property owners from a California DRE-licensed property management company, not legal advice. Building code editions and local amendments change, so confirm alarm placement with the building department for your property, and confirm your lease terms and obligations with a real estate attorney.
