Smoke alarms are required statewide through the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (34 Pa. Code §403.21), which adopts the International Residential Code. Alarms must be in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level. Lancaster County has no separate rule; municipalities enforce via the UCC.
Pennsylvania has no county smoke-detector code. Instead, 34 Pa. Code §403.21 adopts the International Residential Code (IRC Section R314) as the statewide Uniform Construction Code, enforced by each Lancaster municipality's building code official. New one- and two-family dwellings must have interconnected smoke alarms inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every story including basements. PA modifies R314.4 so that homes undergoing alterations, repairs, or additions may use non-interconnected battery alarms rather than hardwired interconnected ones. Rental units are also covered under landlord-tenant and local property-maintenance codes. Requirements are uniform across Lancaster County because they flow from state law.
Enforced at building permit and inspection by the municipal code official; missing or non-compliant alarms block a certificate of occupancy and can bring code-violation citations.
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See how Lancaster County's smoke detectors rules stack up against other locations.
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