Bensalem, PA Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

The Township incorporated the International Building Code and International One and Two Family Dwelling Code, both 2000 editions, as the Bensalem Township Building Code of 2001, and Section 66-3 layers a smoke-detector condition on top of those model codes. No building permit for constructing, altering, repairing or adding to any building with a dwelling unit can issue, and no occupancy permit for such a building can issue, including on a change of ownership, occupancy or use, until the required smoke detectors are installed and working.

Rental housing carries its own, separate mandate: Section 123-6 of the Housing Code requires the owner of every rooming or dwelling unit to install at least one working smoke detector on each floor, while the occupant is responsible for checking and replacing the battery and telling the owner about any malfunction. The same section bans kerosene heaters from any dwelling or rooming unit except single-family homes, and requires every dwelling to otherwise comply with the Bensalem Township Fire Code, cross-referenced to Chapter 6, Fire Companies.

Housing Code compliance is checked at the annual premises license inspection the Building and Planning Department runs for every rental unit, and a landlord who is cited and does not correct a hazardous condition faces the same enforcement track as any other housing violation. Section 123-18 fines a housing code violation, including one uncorrected within the required time, between $100 and $1,000 or up to 90 days' imprisonment, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense, giving a rental owner real exposure for a missing or dead smoke detector found at inspection or after a tenant complaint.