All Suffolk County residences must have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors under the NY Uniform Code and Amanda Law. Since April 2019, any newly installed or replacement battery-powered smoke alarm in NY must be a sealed 10-year lithium battery unit. Rentals require landlord-installed detectors before occupancy.
NY Executive Law 378 and 19 NYCRR Part 1225 require smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area, and on every level. CO detectors are required within 15 feet of each sleeping room under Amanda Law (NY Exec Law 378). Landlords must provide working detectors and test them at each tenant change. Suffolk County towns enforce via rental permit inspections (e.g., Brookhaven Chapter 82, Islip Chapter 25). Non-compliance can void a Certificate of Occupancy.
Missing or non-working smoke detector: $250-$500 per device under town code. Landlord failure to provide: tenant may withhold rent after notice. Tampering with detectors: misdemeanor under NY PL 240.20.
See how Suffolk County's smoke detectors rules stack up against other locations.
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