How can the owner of a residential property comply with the current smoke alarm law? California law requires that all dwelling units intended for human occupancy have smoke alarms that comply with the State Fire Marshal’s regulations at the time of installation. This law applies to homes intended for owner occupancy, tenant occupancy, or homes for sale.
Where must smoke alarms be located? Generally smoke detectors must be located in the hallway next to the bedrooms. Since 1992, they must additionally be located in every bedroom and on every floor. If $1,000 or more of permitted improvements are made, then the smoke alarms must meet the more stringent location standards, typically that the smoke alarms to be hard wired and interconnected, if possible. More here on where exactly to install smoke and CO detectors.
Are there any special smoke alarm disclosure requirements when selling a residential
property? Yes. There is a requirement for the seller to certify that the smoke alarms are in compliance. Conveniently, this seller certification is fully contained within the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS). Thus, if the seller provides a TDS, then the seller has complied. If on the other hand, the transaction is TDS exempt, then there is no formal legal requirement for the seller to certify compliance. Either way, many brokers will require the use of C.A.R. form Water Heater and Smoke Detector Statement of Compliance (WHSD). Check with your escrow officer for an explanation of your choices.
Are smoke alarms required to be installed as a requirement for single family homes and duplexes when selling? Yes. Smoke alarms are required to be installed as a point of sale for single family homes, duplexes and factory-built homes unless the transaction is TDS exempt. But even if TDS exempt, it is standard practice to ensure compliance, since many municipalities have their own smoke alarm point of sale installation requirements, and it is often a lender requirement as well. All cities in Southern California require smoke detectors to be installed.
Are the requirements for locating smoke alarms different if you rent or lease property? Slightly. The difference is that if the property is rented or leased, then the smoke alarms must be located in compliance with the most recent building standards, as described above. Any attached home that is rented must have hard wired smoke detectors by California state code.
Are there landlord responsibilities regarding smoke alarms? The landlord is responsible for testing and maintaining the smoke alarms in all units even in single family dwellings. The tenant cannot be made responsible for this, but the tenant has a duty to notify the owner if the tenant becomes aware of an inoperable smoke alarm.
Call us at 310-800-4418 with any questions you may have or use the comment box below to contact us.
what if detector is so close to kitchen it prevents cooking at high temp
If it is hard wired, replace with a newer hard wired type that is better suited for kitchens. If it is not hard wired, remove it out of the kitchen area, as it will always go off. Smoke detectors are meant to be near bedrooms, not kitchens.
What if it’s near the bathroom in the hallway? It always goes off after our shower. There’s one right next to it in the bedroom, well on the other side of the wall. My neighbor is constantly complaining about it going off.
Only option is to take out the battery and disconnect it completely, then buy another one and install it on the wall far from the shower. Mine does the same thing and I had to move it and get rid of the old one.
What is the 2025 California State Fire Marshall Civil Code Number. _______Building Code. ______For Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors.
Devices that are Approved, Meet specifications in Compliance to Mandate. ex. First Alert, Dual 2-in-1 Unit made u.s.a.
Reason for inquiry – Sellers during walkthrough had x-Sense and or Siterwell that are not compliant, made in China from amazon.
These units had three (3) batteries. Not the 10 year Lithium sealed non-removable/replaceable. Both Selling Agent, Buyer’s Agent was not aware. California Association of Realtors are not aware. I was advised escrow will not close until Appraiser'(s) checks the box. Two (2) Appraiser’s have toured the property. A third (3rd) Appraiser will take a tour next week. Appraiser’s do not have the correct information as well. Why not book appointment by Listing Agent with the Local Fire Marshall for Ojai Valley, CA. 93023 (Ventura County)
Best to stick with detectors sold locally ie at Home Depot and Lowes. They will sell only CA compliant detectors. Amazon allows purchase of non CA compliant detectors, and many homeowners install those at time of transfer. Non compliant CA detectors will also detect smoke during a fire, but for highest safety stick with a 10 year battery type detector whenever possibe.
please cite the regulations for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors placement, power supply, and interconnectivity
I believe it is California Code, Health and Safety Code – HSC § 13113.7
We recently purchased a home where all the smoke detectors were removed. It was a wired system, and apparently still is. After the seller re-installed wired detectors, we tested the system and found when one was tested, they all did not trigger. What is the law regarding a wired system when the detectors do not all trigger?
Interconnected smoke detectors are very important for very large homes, less so for smaller homes. If you have a 3000 sq ft or less home I really would not worry about it. If you are referring to 120v hard wired system, some older systems were not set up for interconnectedness, and to retrofit that feature into a 120v system sometimes is not feasible. If the 120v system HAD the red wired installed between the smoke detecctors, it would be easy to reconnect the red wire to all of the detectors. If the system is a 12 volt system, like ADT, its proprietory and the ADT tech should be able to assist and those systems are always interconnected.
The ‘law’ is now, at least in Calif, that all smoke detectors to be interconnected when BUILT. When SELLING, there is no law saying they need to be interconnected, only that smoke detectors are present and working.
First Alert and Kidde now have non-interconnected detectors that can alert you on your phone when they detect smoke, so you might put some of those in various rooms or areas for your piece of mind.
Interconnectedness is important usually in REALLY big homes, ie 15,000 sq ft, to alert the resident that there is a fire on one side of the mansion somewhere. Interconnected wiring though, in our experience, can also trigger false alerts, and figuring out where the issue is is a big headache. Many of our customers disconnect the red wire to cut down on false triggers.