Illinois Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act

Regulations

Effective January 1, 2007, every dwelling unit is required to have at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm in operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. Alarms can be:

  • Battery-powered
  • Plug-in with battery back-up
  • Wired into the AC power line with a secondary battery back-up

The alarm can be combined with smoke detecting devices if the combined unit complies with specific standards and the alarm differentiates the hazard.

Law Features

The primary features of the law (Public Act 094-0741) are:

  • A dwelling unit means a room or suite of rooms used for human habitation and includes single-family residences, multiple-family residences, and mixed-use buildings.
  • A landlord is required to furnish one tenant per dwelling unit with written information regarding alarm testing and maintenance.
  • If a structure contains more than one dwelling unit, an alarm must be installed within 15' of every sleeping room in each dwelling unit.
  • The owner must supply and install all required alarms. A landlord must ensure that the alarms are operable on the date of initiation of a lease. The tenant is responsible for testing and maintaining the alarm after the lease commences.
  • Willful failure to install or maintain in operating condition any alarm is a Class B criminal misdemeanor.

Exemptions

The Act does exempt certain residential units from the requirement. As determined by the authority having jurisdiction, those residential units in a building shall not require carbon monoxide detectors if the building:

  • Does not rely on combustion of fossil fuel for heat, ventilation, or hot water
  • Is not connected to a garage
  • Is not sufficiently close to any ventilated source of carbon monoxide to receive carbon monoxide from that source, or a residential unit that is not sufficiently close to any source of carbon monoxide so as to be at risk of receiving carbon monoxide from that source

For More Information

If you have any questions regarding carbon monoxide alarms and regulations, or if you have concerns which you would like to share, please contact the Fire Department at (708) 579-2338.