(A) The owner of a dwelling shall be responsible for supplying and installing in an operable condition the required smoke detectors and for providing maintenance and testing in an owner-occupied residence; or for providing the manufacturer’s maintenance and testing instructions to a tenant in the case of rental property.
(B) The owner of a dwelling shall be responsible for maintenance and testing of detectors, in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions, which are located in common areas or detectors in rooming units where the tenant usually has short periods of occupancy (hotels, motels, or rooming or tourist homes).
(C) The tenant shall be responsible for maintaining and testing the detector, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, which are within the exclusive control during the life of the tenancy. The tenant shall be responsible for notifying the owner when a detector becomes inoperable, where after the owner has ten days in which to repair or replace the detector in operable condition. In the battery operated type of detectors, battery replacement shall be the responsibility of the tenant.
(D) At every change of tenancy, it shall be the duty of the owner to test and ascertain that those detectors contained in the unit are in operable condition, and if not, the owner shall be responsible for placing them in operable condition. It shall be the duty of the owner to notify the Fire Department to verify that detectors are in operable condition before the dwelling can be occupied by a new tenant.
(E) At every change of occupancy of every dwelling unit occasioned by or incidental to a sale, lease, or sublease of the unit, it shall be the duty of the grantor thereof (the seller, lessor, or sublessor, as the case may be) to provide, before occupancy, to the new occupant that all smoke detectors as required by this section or other applicable laws are installed and in proper working condition. Failure to comply with this division shall be punishable as set forth herein, provided however, that this division shall not be construed to violate or render void any contract, lease, or sublease subject hereto.
(F) No smoke detector or alternative system shall be directly connected (permanently wired) to the electrical system of a structure without the proper electrical certification.
(Prior Code, § 93.58) (Ord. 310.02, passed 9-5-2019) Penalty, see § 93.99