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Richland County, SC Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Trigger
fossil-fuel appliance or attached garage
Requirement
operational carbon monoxide alarm
Correction window
30 days after written notice
Effective date
February 10, 2015 (Ord. 002-15HR)
Enforcing agency
Property Maintenance Division
Max penalty
$500 fine or 30 days jail

Summary

Every mobile or manufactured home in unincorporated Richland County with a fossil-fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage must carry an operational carbon monoxide alarm. Going without one makes the home a substandard nuisance under Section 6-217(d)(11), and the Property Maintenance Division can order the owner to fix it within 30 days.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Richland County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

(d) Any mobile or manufactured home shall be deemed substandard and a nuisance when any of the following conditions exist that endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the occupants or the public: ... (11) Any mobile or manufactured home containing fossil-fuel burning appliances or an attached garage that is not supplied with an operational carbon monoxide alarm.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-24: This supplement is current through Ordinance No. 033-25HR).

Full Breakdown

Section 6-217(d) of the Richland County Code sets eleven conditions that make a mobile or manufactured home substandard and a nuisance, and item (11) targets carbon monoxide risk directly: a home with a fossil-fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage must have an operational carbon monoxide alarm, and a home without one is deemed substandard. The requirement was added by Ordinance No. 002-15HR, effective February 10, 2015, as part of the county's Chapter 6 mobile home park regulations, and it sits alongside other (d)-list hazards, including inoperable heating equipment, unvented fuel-burning appliances, and faulty weather protection, all of which the Property Maintenance Division can cite during the same inspection.

The parallel list for permanent buildings and structures in Section 6-217(c) does not carry its own carbon monoxide item, so this specific mandate is tied to the mobile/manufactured home list. Once the Division documents a missing or inoperable alarm, it issues a written notice describing the violation and orders it corrected within 30 days under Section 6-217(g), the same notice-and-cure process used for the chapter's other substandard conditions. The registered owner, or the park operator if the home's identification numbers cannot establish ownership, receives the notice.

Violations & Fines

An owner who does not install or repair the required carbon monoxide alarm within the 30-day correction window faces the same enforcement path as any other Section 6-217 nuisance: a willful violation is a misdemeanor, the code official can seek a court order for abatement, and the responsible owner is billed for the Property Maintenance Division's investigative and case costs under Section 6-217(j). Section 1-8's general penalty applies in the absence of a chapter-specific fine: up to $500 or 30 days in jail, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Richland County require carbon monoxide alarms in mobile homes?
Yes. Section 6-217(d)(11) requires an operational carbon monoxide alarm in any mobile or manufactured home with a fossil-fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. A home without a working alarm is deemed substandard and a nuisance under the county's mobile home park code.
What happens if my alarm is missing or broken?
The Property Maintenance Division can cite the home once it documents the missing or inoperable alarm, and you get 30 days from the written notice to install or fix one before the county can pursue prosecution or a court-ordered abatement.
Does this rule apply to a regular site-built house?
No, this specific carbon monoxide mandate sits in Section 6-217(d), the list that governs mobile and manufactured homes. The parallel list for permanent buildings in Section 6-217(c) does not include a carbon monoxide item, and it applies within unincorporated Richland County's mobile home park regulations, not county-wide.
Who enforces this and can I appeal a citation?
The Property Maintenance Division enforces it. You can request an informal conference and, if that fails, a hearing before the Building Codes Board of Appeals under Sections 6-218 and 6-75 before further enforcement proceeds. Requesting review does not pause correction deadlines tied to an imminent safety risk.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Richland County

All Richland County rules

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