In 2006, the Illinois General Assembly passed a new law which requires the placement of Carbon Monoxide Detectors in residences.
Public Act 94-741 mandates that every dwelling in Illinois must be equipped with at least one carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes.
A dwelling unit is defined as a room or suite of rooms used for human habitation, which would include a single-family residence as well as each living unit of a mulit-family residence and each living unit in a mixed use building.
The law exempts residential units that are in buildings that:
1. do not rely on conbustion of fossil fuel for heat, ventilation or hot water
2. are not connected in any way to a garage
3. are not sufficiently clos to any ventilated source of carbon monoxide.
Buildings with electric heat are exempt.
The law allows three different types of alarms to be used to meet the requirement. The alarm can be battery powered, a plug-in style (with battery back-up) or it can be wired into the AC power line with secondary battery back-up.
The carbon monoxide alarm must bear the label of a nationally recognized testing laboratory and must comply with the most recent standards of the Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
The carbon monoxide alarm may be combined with the smoke detector provided that the combined unit emits an alarm in a manner that clearly differentiates the hazard.
Willful failure to install a detector is a Class B misdemeanor . Tampering with, or removing, destroying, disconnecting an alarm (except in maintenance or inspection) is a Class A misdemeanor.
This law is effective January 1, 2007.
For more information or resources on this topic, visit www.illinoisrealtor.org
Information provided by the Illinois Association of Realtors.
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