Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 102; Title 68, Chapter 11 and Title 68, Chapter 120.

Under present law, it is unlawful to: (1) Own or operate a one-family or two-family rental unit without installing an approved smoke alarm in each living unit; or (2) Tamper with or remove any required smoke alarm, or a component of any smoke alarm. This bill adds that it is unlawful to own or operate a one-family or two-family rental unit that has a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, or other feature, fixture, or element that emits carbon monoxide as a byproduct of combustion without installing an approved carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each room used for sleeping purposes. This bill also extends the provisions described above in (2) to apply to a carbon monoxide alarm. Present law requires the tenant of a living unit to maintain a required smoke alarm where the smoke alarm is located in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. However, upon termination of a tenancy in a one-family or two-family rental unit, the owner of the one-family or two-family rental unit must ensure that any required smoke alarm is operational prior to reoccupancy of the one-family or two-family rental unit. This bill adds that a tenant must also: (A) Maintain the smoke alarm in the dwelling unit in good repair; (B) Test the smoke alarm in the dwelling unit annually; (C) Not remove or render the smoke alarm in the dwelling unit inoperable; and (D) Notify the owner of the dwelling unit or its authorized agent in writing of any deficiencies relating to the smoke alarm. Present law requires that a newly constructed one-family or two-family dwelling equipped with a smoke alarm meet the following requirements in order to be approved for connection of electric service on a permanent basis: (1) Listed in accordance with the standards of Underwriters Laboratories, or another testing agency or laboratory accepted by the state fire marshal; and (2) Installed in accordance with the building construction safety standards adopted pursuant to present law and in accordance with the manufacturer's directions, unless those directions conflict with applicable standards adopted by the state fire marshal. Notwithstanding the adopted building construction safety standards, battery-operated smoke alarms shall be permitted when installed in buildings without commercial power. This bill adds the following: (A) In one-family, two-family, and multi-family residential dwellings constructed prior to July 1, 2021, a smoke alarm that contains a tamper-resistant battery unit designed to enable the smoke alarm to operate continuously for a period of not less than 10 years must be used to replace an existing battery-powered smoke alarm when: (i) An existing battery-powered smoke alarm becomes more than 10 years of age from the date of manufacture; (ii) An existing battery-powered smoke alarm fails to respond to operability tests or otherwise malfunctions; (iii) There is a change of tenant in a residential unit and the residential unit has not been previously equipped in accordance with these provisions; (iv) A building permit is issued for an additional residential unit or an alteration to a residential unit, if the installation of a hardwired smoke alarm is not required due to the issuance of the building permit; (v) A battery-powered smoke alarm is replaced for any reason; or (vi) A battery-powered smoke alarm lacks any indication of its date of manufacture; and (B) The above provisions will not apply to a fire alarm, smoke detector, smoke alarm, or ancillary component when: (i) The unit receives power from an electrical system of a building or is electronically connected as a part of a centrally monitored or supervised alarm system; or (ii) The unit uses a low power radio frequency wireless communication signal; WiFi or other wireless local area network capability to send and receive notifications to and from the internet, such as early low battery warnings before the device reaches a critically low power level; or such other devices as the state fire marshal designates through its regulatory process.