Elgin, IL Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)

Elgin created Section 310, 'Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detectors,' in its Property Maintenance Code under Ordinance No. 020 of the Elgin Municipal Code. It requires every dwelling unit to be equipped with at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm in operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes, and a structure containing more than one dwelling unit must have at least one such alarm within 15 feet of every sleeping room in the building. An 'approved' alarm must comply with the rules of the state fire marshal, bear the label of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, and meet current Underwriters' Laboratories or Canadian Standard Association standards; the alarm may be combined with a smoke detector as long as the combined unit clearly differentiates which hazard it is signaling.

The section splits responsibility between owner and tenant: the owner must supply and install all required alarms and ensure batteries work at move-in, while the tenant must test the alarm, perform general maintenance, replace batteries, and notify the owner in writing of any deficiency the tenant cannot fix; the owner must in turn give at least one tenant per unit written instructions on alarm testing and maintenance. The section also lists two narrow exemptions: a unit that does not rely on combustion of fossil fuel for heat, ventilation or hot water, is not connected to a garage, and is not close enough to any carbon monoxide source to receive it, and any unit the building official determines is not close enough to a carbon monoxide source to be at risk.