Des Moines, IA Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Rental structures & rooming houses
- Trigger
- Fuel-burning appliance or attached garage
- Placement
- Outside each sleeping area
- In-bedroom rule
- If appliance is in the bedroom
- Enforcer
- Neighborhood Inspections Division
Summary
Des Moines requires carbon monoxide alarms in rental units and rooming houses with a fuel-burning appliance or attached garage, placed near sleeping areas.
Carbon monoxide alarms are required in rental structures and rooming houses if the structure is served by a fuel-burning appliance or has an attached garage. Installations shall be in accordance with the International Fire Code, the manufacturer's specifications and in the following locations: (a) Carbon monoxide alarms shall be installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 38 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Under the city's Rental Property Maintenance and Blighted Property Code, landlords must install carbon monoxide alarms in any rental structure or rooming house served by a fuel-burning appliance or with an attached garage. Alarms go outside each sleeping area, and if a fuel-burning appliance sits inside a bedroom or its attached bathroom, an alarm is required inside that bedroom too. Neighborhood Inspections enforces this alongside the smoke-alarm rule in the same rental housing article. Owner-occupied, non-rental single-family homes aren't covered by this section.
Violations & Fines
Failure to install required alarms is a Code violation enforced by Neighborhood Inspections; unresolved municipal infractions carry a civil penalty up to $750 per violation, $1,000 for repeat offenses, under the citywide penalty schedule at § 1-15.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do owner-occupied Des Moines homes need CO alarms?
Where exactly must the alarm go?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Des Moines
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