Bellingham, WA Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)

Under Bellingham's residential rental housing program, a qualified rental housing inspector or city building code enforcement officer must inspect and certify compliance with a specific checklist before issuing a certificate of inspection, which is required to register or renew a rental property. Item 10 on that checklist is the requirement to provide and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms as set by the adopted building code. Most properties face this inspection at least once every three years, tied directly to the city's rental registration cycle rather than a standalone CO-alarm ordinance.