Ames, IA Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)

Sec. 13.802(5) of the Ames Rental Housing Code sets out when and where carbon monoxide alarms must be installed in the city's rental housing stock. An alarm is required in any dwelling unit or sleeping unit that contains, or is served by, a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage. Placement follows two rules: if the fuel-burning appliance sits inside a bedroom or an attached bathroom, the alarm goes inside that bedroom or sleeping unit; otherwise the alarm is mounted directly outside, in the immediate vicinity of, every room used for sleeping and every sleeping unit.

The section also regulates how the alarm is powered. For buildings where construction began on or after July 1, 2018, the alarm must draw its primary power from permanent building wiring with no disconnecting switch other than one required for overcurrent protection, plus a battery backup. For buildings where construction began on or before June 30, 2018, new and replacement alarms may instead be solely battery operated or plug into an electrical socket with a battery backup. Because this requirement lives in Chapter 13, it applies to the rental housing stock covered by that chapter's inspection and Letter of Compliance system, not to owner-occupied single-family homes, which Sec.

13.100(5) exempts. A missing or non-working carbon monoxide alarm found at a rental inspection is treated the same as any other Rental Housing Code defect: the Building Official can cite it as a Municipal Infraction under Sec. 13.104(2)(a), withhold or revoke the Letter of Compliance, and the owner can appeal to the Property Maintenance Appeals Board within 30 days under Sec. 13.108.