9.2 Smoke, CO, Bedbugs & Safety Ordinances

9.2 Smoke, CO, Bedbugs & Safety Ordinances

Quick Answer: Illinois expects working smoke alarms—including the statewide push to 10-year sealed-battery units where the update applies—and carbon monoxide alarms within 15 feet of sleeping rooms. In Chicago, Chapter 7-28 bedbug rules add brochure disclosure before leasing/renewal, inspection/treatment duties, and a ban on renting infested units until cleared. Build a short checklist before every showing and signing.

Safety ordinances are high-yield for Illinois leasing agents because they combine statewide statutes with Chicago-specific duties. Exam items often mix “who installs,” “where devices go,” and “what must be handed to the tenant before the lease.” Treat this section as an operational checklist, not trivia.

Illinois Smoke Detector Act (including 10-year sealed batteries)

Illinois has long required smoke detectors in dwellings. A major update—highlighted by the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal—took effect January 1, 2023. Residents still using alarms with removable batteries (or certain alarms that are not hardwired) were directed to replace them with alarms that use a long-term, 10-year sealed battery. The policy goal is simple: fewer dead or missing batteries, more working alarms when fires start.

Leasing-agent takeaways

• Confirm the property’s smoke alarms are present and appear compliant with current Illinois expectations before marketing a unit as ready.
• Hardwired systems and sealed 10-year units are not interchangeable trivia—know that the sealed-battery update targets many older battery-only devices.
• Owners/landlords remain responsible for providing required detectors; tenants typically handle routine testing/battery issues after move-in under common statutory allocations—but lease-start operability is an owner-side problem you should catch early.
• If a showing reveals chirping, missing, or disconnected detectors, pause the “ready to lease” narrative and escalate to the owner/managing broker.

Public Act materials and industry summaries often reference the sealed-battery modernization (including Public Act 100-0200 themes in secondary explainers). For exam purposes, lock the January 1, 2023 / 10-year sealed battery pair and the idea that removable-battery units were the compliance problem being fixed.

Illinois Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act

The Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act (Public Act 094-0741 themes; effective January 1, 2007) requires CO protection in dwelling units. Core exam facts:

OSFM guidance emphasizes that CO rules focus on dwellings that use fossil fuels for cooking/heat/hot water or that connect to an enclosed garage—another reason to know the property systems, not just the floor plan.

Illinois leasing scenario

A one-bedroom in a gas-heated six-flat has a CO alarm in the kitchen (30+ feet from the bedroom). That placement fails the 15-foot sleeping-room rule. Fix it before lease start; do not argue that “the building has one in the hallway already” if the unit itself lacks compliant coverage.

Chicago Bedbug Ordinance (Chapter 7-28 themes)

Chicago’s bedbug framework appears in Municipal Code Chapter 7-28 (Article VIII bedbug provisions) and related RLTO education duties. Key leasing themes:

Disclosure / education before lease or renewal

For rental agreements entered into or renewed after the ordinance’s effective framework, the landlord (or authorized agent) must provide the informational brochure on bed bug prevention and treatment prepared by the Chicago Department of Public Health (§5-12-101 / §7-28-860 themes). This is a before signing/renewing duty—exactly the kind of timing the exam loves.

Landlord extermination and inspection pattern

When infestation is found or reasonably suspected, the landlord must provide pest control by a pest management professional until no evidence of bed bugs can be found and verified, and must keep written records (reports/receipts) generally retained for inspection (commonly taught as a three-year record theme). Pest control is expected within a short statutory window after notice or discovery (Chicago materials cite 10 days themes after written notice or reasonable suspicion on the premises).

In multi-unit buildings, inspection/treatment typically expands to units on either side and those directly above and below, continuing until no further infestation is detected.

Tenant duties

Tenants must notify the landlord in writing of known or reasonably suspected bed bugs (Chicago materials emphasize notice within 5 days of finding/suspicion) and must cooperate with preparation and access. Before inspection/treatment, landlords send written notice explaining tenant preparation responsibilities.

Do-not-rent rule

It is unlawful to rent a unit in which bed bug infestation is discovered or suspected unless a pest management professional has determined no infestation exists or the infestation has been exterminated. For leasing agents, that means: if maintenance reports “possible bedbugs in 3B,” you do not show 3B as a clean lease-ready unit until clearance is documented.

Leasing-agent checklist before showing or signing

Use this as a pre-flight list for Illinois (add Chicago rows inside the city):

1. Smoke alarms: Present? Seeming compliant with Illinois sealed-battery / hardwired expectations? No chirps or missing units?
2. CO alarms: Operable device within 15 feet of each sleeping room? Owner-ready at lease initiation?
3. Lead (if pre-1978): EPA pamphlet + disclosure form + available records ready before obligation?
4. Chicago bedbugs: Health brochure ready for new leases/renewals? Any open infestation tickets on the unit?
5. Showing honesty: No marketing an infested or detector-dead unit as “move-in ready.”
6. Escalation: Anything unclear → managing broker/owner before collecting signatures.

Safety compliance is part of professional leasing, not an optional courtesy. Agents who verify detectors and bedbug paperwork protect occupants and avoid preventable License Act / ordinance failures.