League City, TX Fire Regulations: Smoke Detectors (2026)

League City's Building Department enforces the adopted International Residential Code (IRC) and International Fire Code through Chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances, and fire-prevention rules through Chapter 46. Under IRC Section R314, smoke alarms must be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms, on every additional story including basements and habitable attics, and not less than three feet horizontally from any door to a bathroom containing a tub or shower. New construction and additions must use hardwired, interconnected alarms with battery backup. Alterations or repairs that expose the wiring trigger interconnection unless ceilings remain intact. Statewide, Tex. Health & Safety Code Ch. 766 requires every one- or two-family dwelling to have working smoke detectors per the local building code, and Tex. Property Code Subchapter F requires landlords to install and maintain smoke alarms in rental units, including STRs. Existing owner-occupied homes may use battery alarms (10-year sealed-lithium recommended).