Carbon Monoxide Detector Requirements for Delaware Hotels and Short-Term Rentals

Delaware is one of the few states with a dedicated hotel and lodging CO detector statute that explicitly covers both new and existing buildings. Under 16 Del. C. § 6602C, enacted as part of Chapter 66C (effective January 1, 2019), every owner of a lodging establishment must install carbon monoxide detection devices in any dwelling unit or sleeping unit that contains a fossil-fuel burning appliance, fireplace, or other CO-emitting feature, or that has an attached garage. This obligation applies to all lodging establishments regardless of when they were built, subject to phased compliance deadlines set by § 6604C. New construction after January 1, 2019 must install devices at the time of construction. Establishments existing before January 1, 2019 were required to achieve full compliance by December 31, 2020. The Delaware State Fire Marshal's Office is the enforcement authority statewide. Non-compliance carries civil fines of $100 to $500 per offense under § 6605C.

Delaware's "lodging establishment" definition under § 6601C is broad and then expressly narrowed twice. It covers hotels, motels, motor hotels, apartments, multi-family dwellings, bed and breakfast facilities, bunkhouses, cabins, condominiums, dormitories, extended-stay establishments, resorts, and any other similar place rented or leased to transient or permanent guests. Paragraph 3.b excludes two of those in particular cases: a dormitory or other sleeping facility owned or maintained by a school, college, university or church, unless it is made available to the general public and not used exclusively for students and faculty, and a private residence occupied by its owner where no unit is available for pay. Short-term rental operators qualify as lodging establishments under § 6601C because the definition includes any property held out to the public for lodging accommodations for pay, and "transient" is defined as occupancy of 30 days or fewer. This means Airbnb hosts and other STR platforms operating properties with fuel-burning appliances or attached garages are directly covered by the same statute as hotels, with no separate STR carve-out or exemption.

Under § 6602C(c), the owner of a lodging establishment must both install and maintain carbon monoxide detection devices in all qualifying units. The owner's maintenance obligation applies unless the lodging is subject to a rental or lease agreement of one month or longer, in which case the owner must still install the required devices but the tenant becomes responsible for maintaining an operable battery in the individual unit.

Installation must comply with rules and regulations promulgated by the Delaware State Fire Marshal's Office under § 6603C. Devices must be listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Factory Mutual, or another nationally recognized testing laboratory accredited through the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (AALA). Combination CO/smoke detectors are expressly permitted. For lodging establishments constructed or receiving final construction approval before January 1, 2019, single-station battery-operated devices are permitted provided they are properly listed and installed per manufacturer specifications. For post-2019 construction, devices must comply with the State Fire Marshal's current installation rules, which require consistency with ANSI standards, manufacturer recommendations, and applicable local building codes.

Operators must also ensure CO devices are not disabled or tampered with between tenancies. Active compliance is an ongoing obligation, the § 6605C penalty applies to each individual offense, making sustained non-compliance cumulative in cost. STR hosts bear the same installation and maintenance obligations as hotel operators under the same statutory framework.

Carbon monoxide detection devices must be installed in each dwelling unit or sleeping unit that contains a fossil-fuel burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, or any other CO-emitting feature, or that has an attached garage. Two statutory exemptions exist under § 6603C(b), and the statute opens them with "if any of the following apply", so either one on its own is enough. A device is not required in a unit located more than one story above or below any story containing a fuel-burning appliance or attached garage. Nor is one required in a unit that is not connected by duct work or ventilation shafts to any room containing a fuel-burning appliance, or to an attached garage. A unit meeting either test is exempt even where other units in the same building are not.

Devices must be listed by UL, Factory Mutual, or a nationally recognized testing lab accredited through AALA. Combination CO/smoke detectors are permitted. Installation must follow manufacturer specifications and State Fire Marshal rules. Pre-2019 buildings may use battery-operated single-station devices; post-2019 construction must follow current State Fire Marshal installation regulations consistent with ANSI standards and local building codes.

The Delaware State Fire Marshal's Office is the primary enforcement authority under § 6605C(d). The State Fire Marshal may promulgate implementing rules and regulations, investigate complaints that a required lodging establishment lacks CO devices or has inoperable or improperly maintained devices, and institute injunction, mandamus, abatement, or other proceedings to compel compliance. The Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction over all penalty violations under § 6605C(a). The Attorney General may also institute enforcement proceedings alongside the State Fire Marshal. Fines collected within the jurisdictions of Wilmington, Newark, Dover, or New Castle are remitted to the applicable political subdivision rather than the State Fire Marshal's Office.

Under § 6605C, failure by a lodging establishment owner or tenant to comply with Chapter 66C carries a civil fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500 for each offense. Tampering with, damaging, destroying, or rendering inoperative a required CO detection device also carries a civil fine of $100 to $500 per offense. Each instance of non-compliance constitutes a separate offense. Fines are collected by the Justice of the Peace Court and remitted to the State Fire Marshal's Office for public awareness programs, except within Wilmington, Newark, Dover, and New Castle where fines go to the applicable political subdivision.