Harrison County, MS Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- Required disclosure
- CO detectors on the permit site plan
- Paired requirement
- Smoke detectors, same sentence
- Standard
- "Recommended number": no fixed count stated
- Governing section
- UDC §834.01(a), eff. 8/2/21
- Enforcement
- Cease and Desist under §1409
- Scope
- Unincorporated Harrison County only
Summary
Harrison County requires a short-term rental's permit site plan to show the unit is equipped with the recommended number of carbon monoxide detectors, alongside smoke detectors, under UDC Section 834.01(a). It's a permit-file disclosure tied to the Short-Term Rental Permit, not a stand-alone fire code.
The site plan shall reflect that the unit is equipped with the recommended number of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
01(a) of the Unified Development Code folds carbon-monoxide detection into the same site-plan requirement that covers parking and occupancy. The provision states that "the site plan shall reflect that the unit is equipped with the recommended number of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors," making detector coverage a documented condition of getting the Short-Term Rental Permit and companion Tax Privilege "Business" License rather than a separate inspection ordinance. The section doesn't set a device-per-bedroom count or reference a specific fire code chapter for the number required; it asks the owner to state that the unit meets "the recommended number," which the Zoning Officer reviews alongside the rest of the site plan.
This sits inside the short-term rental rule adopted August 2, 2021 by Ordinance 2011HC186, and it applies only to the unincorporated county, rentals inside Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach, Pass Christian or D'Iberville answer to whatever building or fire code each city has adopted, not to this county provision. Because the site plan is part of the permit application the code says must be made by the owner of the property, the owner, not a manager or booking platform, is responsible for certifying detector coverage before the county issues the permit.
Violations & Fines
Filing a Short-Term Rental Permit application without documenting carbon monoxide detector coverage on the site plan is a Section 834.01 violation. The Zoning Officer can issue a Cease and Desist Order under Section 1409, with a fine of up to $100 per day if the deficiency isn't corrected, addable to the property's ad valorem taxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Harrison County require carbon monoxide detectors in short-term rentals?
Who checks that a Harrison County short-term rental has CO detectors?
Does this CO detector rule apply to rentals in Gulfport or Biloxi?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Harrison County
Compare Harrison County to another location·View the Mississippi building safety overview
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