New Orleans, LA Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)

Section 26-230 covers 'Fire and carbon monoxide protection systems' within the Minimum Property Maintenance Code's Division 7 (Mechanical and Electrical Requirements). Subsection (a) requires every dwelling unit to have 'an operable fire detection system and alarm,' which can be hard-wired or run on a ten-year sealed lithium battery. S. Ordinance No. 30078 on October 10, 2024, extends the same operability duty to carbon monoxide protection: every dwelling unit must have 'an operable carbon monoxide detector with a long-life sealed battery,' maintained in accordance with the city's Fire Code.

Both subsections give 'the code official or duly authorized representative' the power to test the system and alarm during an inspection to confirm it's actually functioning, a device installed but dead or removed does not satisfy the section. The requirement sits inside the broader Minimum Property Maintenance Code framework, so it applies to every dwelling unit citywide, owner-occupied or rented, and ties into the same enforcement and penalty structure as the rest of Chapter 26, Article IV: a code official's notice, a Chapter 6, Article II hearing if contested, and a § 26-232 penalty, capped at the § 26-37 maximum per violation, with daily continuation counted as a fresh offense.

Because § 26-230 was only added in its current CO-specific form in late 2024, older listings or inspection checklists that don't mention carbon monoxide detectors are working from an outdated version of the code.