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Today’s Minimum Requirements Under NFPA 72:

1. In each sleeping room

2. Outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms

3. On each additional story of a dwelling unit, including basements and cellars but not including crawl spaces and uninhabited attics.  In dwellings or dwelling units with split-levels and without an intervening door between the adjacent levels.  A smoke alarm installed on the upper level shall suffice for the adjacent lower level provided that the lower level is less than one full story below the upper.

 

 

§ 15.2-922. Smoke alarms in certain buildings.

A. Any locality, notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, general or special, may by ordinance require that smoke alarms be installed in the following structures or buildings if smoke alarms have not been installed in accordance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code (§ 36-97 et seq.): (i) any building containing one or more dwelling units, (ii) any hotel or motel regularly used, offered for, or intended to be used to provide overnight sleeping accommodations for one or more persons, and (iii) any rooming houses regularly used, offered for, or intended to be used to provide overnight sleeping accommodations. Smoke alarms installed pursuant to this section shall be installed only in conformance with the provisions of the Uniform Statewide Building Code and shall be permitted to be either battery operated or AC powered. Such installation shall not require new or additional wiring and shall be maintained in accordance with the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§ 27-94 et seq.) and subdivision C 6 of § 36-105, Part III of the Uniform Statewide Building Code. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize a locality to require the upgrading of any smoke alarms provided by the building code in effect at the time of the last renovation of such building, for which a building permit was required, or as otherwise provided in the Uniform Statewide Building Code.

B. The ordinance may require the owner of a rental unit to provide the tenant a certificate that all smoke alarms are present, have been inspected by the owner, his employee, or an independent contractor, and are in good working order. Except for smoke alarms located in public or common areas of multifamily buildings, interim testing, repair, and maintenance of smoke alarms in rented or leased dwelling units shall be the responsibility of the tenant in accordance with § 55.1-1227.

 

Code of Virginia:

§ 55.1-1227. Tenant to maintain dwelling unit.

A. In addition to the provisions of the rental agreement, the tenant shall:1. Comply with all obligations primarily imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;2. Keep that part of the dwelling unit and the part of the premises that he occupies and uses as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permit;3. Keep that part of the dwelling unit and the part of the premises that he occupies free from insects and pests, as those terms are defined in § 3.2-3900, and promptly notify the landlord of the existence of any insects or pests;

4. Remove from his dwelling unit all ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste in a clean and safe manner and in the appropriate receptacles provided by the landlord;

5. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits;

6. Use in a reasonable manner all utilities and all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including an elevator in a multifamily premises, and keep all utility services paid for by the tenant to the utility service provider or its agent on at all times during the term of the rental agreement;

7. Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises or permit any person, whether known by the tenant or not, to do so;

8. Not remove or tamper with a properly functioning smoke alarm installed by the landlord, including removing any working batteries, so as to render the alarm inoperative. The tenant shall maintain the smoke alarm in accordance with the uniform set of standards for maintenance of smoke alarms established in the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§ 27-94 et seq.) and subdivision C 6 of § 36-105, Part III of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (§ 36-97 et seq.);

9. Not remove or tamper with a properly functioning carbon monoxide alarm installed by the landlord, including the removal of any working batteries, so as to render the carbon monoxide alarm inoperative. The tenant shall maintain the carbon monoxide alarm in accordance with the uniform set of standards for maintenance of carbon monoxide alarms established in the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§ 27-94 et seq.) and subdivision C 6 of § 36-105, Part III of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (§ 36-97 et seq.);

10. Use reasonable efforts to maintain the dwelling unit and any other part of the premises that he occupies in such a condition as to prevent accumulation of moisture and the growth of mold and promptly notify the landlord of any moisture accumulation that occurs or of any visible evidence of mold discovered by the tenant;

11. Not paint or disturb painted surfaces or make alterations in the dwelling unit without the prior written approval of the landlord, provided that (i) the dwelling unit was constructed prior to 1978 and therefore requires the landlord to provide the tenant with lead-based paint disclosures and (ii) the landlord has provided the tenant with such disclosures and the rental agreement provides that the tenant is required to obtain the landlord’s prior written approval before painting, disturbing painted surfaces, or making alterations in the dwelling unit;

12. Be responsible for his conduct and the conduct of other persons, whether known by the tenant or not, who are on the premises with his consent, to ensure that his neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises will not be disturbed;

13. Abide by all reasonable rules and regulations imposed by the landlord;

14. Be financially responsible for the added cost of treatment or extermination due to the tenant’s unreasonable delay in reporting the existence of any insects or pests and be financially responsible for the cost of treatment or extermination due to the tenant’s fault in failing to prevent infestation of any insects or pests in the area occupied; and

15. Use reasonable care to prevent any dog or other animal in possession of the tenant, authorized occupants, or guests or invitees from causing personal injuries to a third party in the dwelling unit or on the premises, or property damage to the dwelling unit or the premises.

B. If the duty imposed by subdivision A 1 is greater than any duty imposed by any other subdivision of that subsection, the tenant’s duty shall be determined by reference to subdivision A 1.