Miami Beach follows Florida Building Code Residential Section R314 and Florida Statute 553.883 for smoke alarms, plus F.S. 509.211 carbon monoxide rules for lodging. Alarms are required in every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every story including basements, with interconnection in new construction. Battery-only alarms installed or replaced after January 1, 2015 must use a sealed nonremovable 10-year battery.
Miami Beach has not adopted a city-specific smoke alarm ordinance; the controlling rules are state-level. Florida Building Code Residential Section R314 (which incorporates NFPA 72) requires UL 217-listed smoke alarms in each sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms, and on each additional story of the dwelling including basements and habitable attics. New construction and substantial alterations must use alarms that are hardwired to the building's electrical system with battery backup and that are interconnected so activation of one triggers all alarms. F.S. 553.883, effective January 1, 2015, requires that any battery-powered smoke alarm newly installed or replacing an existing battery alarm be powered by a nonremovable, nonreplaceable 10-year sealed battery; one- and two-family dwellings and townhomes undergoing repairs or Level 1 alterations may use these sealed-battery units in lieu of retrofitting hardwired devices. For carbon monoxide, F.S. 509.211 requires every lodging establishment room containing a fossil-fuel-fired boiler regulated by Chapter 554 in a building that also contains sleeping rooms to have a carbon monoxide alarm; F.S. 553.885 requires any new building constructed on or after July 1, 2008 with a fossil-fuel appliance, fireplace, or attached garage to have an approved CO alarm within 10 feet of each sleeping room. Vacation rental and lodging properties licensed by DBPR under F.S. Ch. 509 are inspected against these standards as part of the Annual Fire Inspection administered by Miami Beach Fire Rescue alongside the BTR.
Missing or non-compliant smoke alarms are cited by Miami Beach Fire Rescue and Code Compliance under Florida Fire Prevention Code; permits and Certificates of Use may be withheld. DBPR can suspend a vacation rental license under F.S. Ch. 509 for failed life-safety inspections.
See how other cities in Miami-Dade County handle smoke detectors.
See how Miami Beach's smoke detectors rules stack up against other locations.
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