What Minnesota Requires for CO Detectors in Homes, Rentals, Lodging

Last verified: August 24, 2026

Coverage under Minnesota carbon monoxide detector laws stretches from owner-occupied homes through rental units to specified lodging scenarios, all of it under Minn. Stat. section 299F.51. The statute establishes alarm obligations, replacement duties, and enforcement consequences, while Minnesota rules such as 1309.0315 and 7511.0915 provide additional code-layer implementation detail.

The statute is stricter on lodging than on housing, which runs the opposite way to the usual pattern and is the thing a hotel operator most often gets wrong. Subdivision 1(a) puts an alarm within ten feet of each room lawfully used for sleeping in a dwelling. Subdivision 1(b) puts one inside each room lawfully used for sleeping in a hotel or lodging house. An operator who installs to the ten-foot rule has installed to the wrong subdivision, and a corridor alarm satisfies neither.

Three exceptions sit in subdivision 5 and they are the part most summaries drop. Paragraph (a) lets a multifamily building with a centralised alarm system place detectors 15 to 25 feet from a carbon monoxide producing central fixture, where responsible parties can hear them. Paragraph (b) lets the owner of a multifamily dwelling containing minimal or no sources of carbon monoxide be exempted from subdivision 1 altogether, on certifying to the commissioner of public safety that the building poses no foreseeable carbon monoxide risk. Paragraph (c) removes a whole class of building in one sentence, that "the requirements of this section do not apply to facilities owned or operated by the state of Minnesota". The State Fire Code still reaches those buildings through Minnesota Rules chapter 7511, so paragraph (c) changes which instrument answers rather than leaving nothing behind it.

Enforcement escalates from an initial warning to a petty-misdemeanour path with monetary penalties for repeated violations.

In 60 Seconds

CO detector requirements for Minnesota
Applies to homes?	Yes
Applies to rentals?	Yes
Applies to hotels/STRs?	Yes
Applies to schools?	Yes, under a condition
Applies to workplaces?	No

Schools and workplaces

Schools: it depends, and the test is one you can apply to the building itself. The statute that answers a Minnesota hotel without any trigger at all does not reach a classroom, and the fire code does. Minn. Stat. 299F.51 subd. 1(b) is written for guest rooms in a hotel or lodging house, and subd. 1(a) for dwellings; neither describes a school. The Minnesota State Fire Code at Minnesota Rules chapter 7511 adopts the 2018 International Fire Code, and 7511.0915 amends Section 915 without touching its occupancy list: subpart 1 ADDS an exception at 915.1.1 letting alarms in multifamily dwellings sit 15 to 25 feet from carbon monoxide producing central fixtures where a centralised system lets responsible parties hear them, and subpart 2 rewrites the placement text at 915.2, 915.2.1 and 915.2.2. So the model occupancy list stands and a classroom in a Group E occupancy is covered where a condition in Sections 915.1.2 through 915.1.6 exists. And the state rule settles the classroom limb of the placement text in four words of its own: after rewriting 915.2, 915.2.1 and 915.2.2, subpart 2 prints "(Section 915.2.3 remains unchanged.)" That is Minnesota saying on the record that the model Group E rule stands here, which is worth more than an inference from silence. What stands is a requirement that detectors go in classrooms in Group E occupancies and that their alarm signals be "automatically transmitted to an on-site location that is staffed by school personnel", excepting a Group E occupancy with an occupant load of 30 or less. So a Minnesota classroom over that load owes a monitored path to a staffed office, while the 15-to-25-foot relief Minnesota wrote into 915.1.1 belongs to multifamily dwellings and does not reach a school. One drafting detail is reproduced rather than corrected in the state text: Minnesota 915.2.2 exception says "attached bedroom" where the model says "attached bathroom".

Workplaces: Minnesota places no carbon monoxide detection duty on an office, shop or other workplace. Federal and state occupational rules set an exposure limit for carbon monoxide in air; they do not require a detector to be installed, and this row is about installation. Minn. Stat. 299F.51 has two tiers and both are residential: subd. 1(a) reaches dwellings and subd. 1(b) reaches every guest room in a hotel or lodging house. Neither reaches a place of work. The Minnesota State Fire Code at chapter 7511 adopts the 2018 International Fire Code, and 7511.0915 amends Section 915 by adding an exception at 915.1.1 and rewriting the placement text at 915.2, without altering the occupancy list, which is Group I-1, I-2, I-4 and R occupancies and classrooms in Group E occupancies and carries no Group B, F, M or S.

When Are CO Alarms Required?

Minn. Stat. 299F.51 establishes broad statutory alarm requirements for covered dwellings.
Minnesota code rules 1309.0315 and 7511.0915 provide additional technical and scope detail in building-code contexts.

Where to Install CO Alarms

Within 10 feet of each room lawfully used for sleeping as stated in Minn. Stat. 299F.51, subdivision 1(a).
A multifamily dwelling may take a different route. Minn. Stat. 299F.51, subdivision 5(a) allows detectors installed between 15 and 25 feet of carbon monoxide-producing central fixtures and equipment in lieu of the subdivision 1 rule, on condition that a centralized alarm system or other mechanism lets responsible parties hear the alarm at all times.
In each room lawfully used for sleeping in a hotel or lodging house guest room, under Minn. Stat. 299F.51, subdivision 1(b), which is stricter than the residential rule rather than a variation on it.
On each level containing sleeping areas or bedrooms, under Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 subpart 2, which amends IRC Section R315.3. Minnesota counts levels with sleeping areas rather than every storey, so a finished basement with no bedroom in it is outside the rule.
Inside a bedroom where a fuel-burning appliance sits in that bedroom or in its attached bathroom, under the same subpart and, for the fire code path, under Minnesota Rules 7511.0915 subpart 2 amending IFC Section 915.2.1.
In each sleeping unit under Minnesota Rules 7511.0915 subpart 2, amending IFC Section 915.2.2, which is the provision that reaches a hotel guest room. The alarm may sit outside the sleeping area within ten feet instead, but only where that unit and its attached bedroom hold no fuel-burning appliance and are not served by a forced air furnace.
Between fifteen and twenty-five feet of a carbon-monoxide-producing central fixture is permitted in a multifamily dwelling under Minnesota Rules 7511.0915 subpart 1, but only where a centralized alarm system or another approved mechanism lets responsible parties hear the alarm at all times.

For detailed placement guidance beyond legal requirements, see where to place carbon monoxide detectors.

Device Requirements

Approved and operational carbon monoxide alarms as required by Minn. Stat. 299F.51.
Interconnection is not required in existing areas where alterations or repairs do not remove interior wall or ceiling finishes and expose the structure, under Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 subpart 3, which narrows the model code exception at IRC R315.5.

Landlord and Tenant Responsibilities

Landlord: Landlords and multifamily owners must provide required alarms and maintain operability, including replacement obligations at turnover points. Provision: 299F.51.

Tenant: Occupants must maintain alarms in good repair during occupancy and avoid rendering devices inoperable. Provision: 299F.51.

Full Minnesota landlord and tenant carbon monoxide duties, with citations

Enforcement

Enforced by: Minnesota State Fire Marshal division and local authorities through statute and code-enforcement workflow.

Enforcement typically occurs:

During inspections and compliance checks where alarms are missing, disabled, or nonfunctional.
After notice, with escalation pathway for repeat violations under statutory penalty structure.

What a Tenant Can Do in Minnesota

When a carbon monoxide alarm stops working in a rented home in Minnesota, these are the five routes a tenant can take and where each one comes from.

"Via general law" means the Minnesota carbon monoxide statute itself is silent and the remedy comes from the state's landlord-tenant law instead. The remedy is available even though the alarm rule does not contain it.

"No provision found" is a finding rather than a gap in the research: the chapter that would carry that remedy was read and contains nothing either way. What was read is named beside the row.

Tenant remedies for a defective carbon monoxide alarm in Minnesota, with the citation or the body of law searched for each.
Rent withholding	Via general lawMinn. Stat. 504B.385. The tenant serves written notice specifying the violation, delivered personally or sent to the person or place where rent is normally paid, waits out the landlord's 14 days, then deposits the rent with the court administrator rather than keeping it. The deposit opens the action; it is not the remedy. What the tenant gains by it is standing to have a court order the repairs and abate the rent.
Repair and deduct	Via general lawMinn. Stat. 504B.425(c). Court-ordered rather than elected. Once the escrow action is under way the court may order the tenant to remedy the violations and deduct the cost from rent, which puts Minnesota alongside Michigan and Ohio in the court-supervised family and against Colorado, where the tenant decides and the landlord argues afterwards. No cap appears, because the amount is whatever the court approves.
Right to end the lease	No provision foundSearched: Minn. Stat. Chapter 504B, the rent escrow provisions at 504B.381 and 504B.385 and the remedies the court may order at 504B.425, paragraphs (b) through (g). The remedy list a court may order runs to repairs by the landlord, repairs by the tenant with deduction, an appointed administrator, rent abatement, ongoing code compliance and attorney fees. Termination is not among them. The catch-all in paragraph (g), any other relief the court deems just and proper, is a discretion rather than a named right, and Chapter 504B's express termination provisions are status based, for tenants facing domestic violence, not condition based.
Notice the tenant must give	Via general lawMinn. Stat. 504B.385. No waiting period runs against the tenant before serving, but the delivery rule is specific and worth following: personally, or to the person or place where rent is normally paid. Sending it somewhere else risks the 14 days never starting, which is the only clock in the Minnesota row.
Landlord cure period	Via general law, 14 daysMinn. Stat. 504B.385. Fourteen days from the notice before rent may be deposited. The statute sets one period for every violation, with no shorter tier for a hazard, so a dead carbon monoxide alarm waits the same fortnight as a broken cupboard. Minnesota's speed comes from the court date afterwards rather than from the notice period.

Applies to every row above:Minnesota is not a URLTA state. Chapter 504B is the state's own recodification of its landlord-tenant law and its remedies run through a single procedure, the rent escrow action, rather than through the model act's menu of self-help options. 299F.51 puts the alarm duty on the owner and backs it with a petty misdemeanour rather than a tenant remedy, so the route into Chapter 504B is the landlord's obligation to comply with health and safety codes, which carries 299F.51 in with it. The consequence shapes every cell below: a Minnesota tenant does not act alone. Even the deduction is something a judge orders, not something the tenant elects.

Remedies last checked 2026-08-03. Compare Minnesota with the other states.

What Minnesota Requires in Lodging

The Minnesota carbon monoxide requirement reaches hotels and short-term rentals.

Hotels already standing: covered too. The Minnesota requirement reaches an existing hotel and not only one being built.

Operator duty: Minnesota answers this by statute and the statute is unconditional. Minn. Stat. 299F.51 subd. 1(b): "Every guest room in a hotel or lodging house must have an approved and operational carbon monoxide alarm installed in each room lawfully used for sleeping purposes." No fuel-burning trigger, no attached-garage trigger, no exception and no corridor option, and subd. 2(b) puts the installation on the owner along with a duty to replace any alarm stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable during a prior occupancy before the next guest arrives. Compare subd. 1(a), which gives dwellings the softer rule of an alarm within ten feet of each sleeping room; the lodging tier is the stricter of the two. The state fire code reaches the same rooms through Minnesota Rules 7511.0915 and IFC 915, on the ordinary fuel and garage conditions and with a ten-foot exception, so where the two differ the statute governs because it admits no exception.

Full Minnesota hotel and short-term rental requirements

Penalties for Non-Compliance

First violation carries a warning-focused response under Minn. Stat. 299F.51, subd. 6, which states no amount; a second or subsequent violation is a petty misdemeanor, capped at $300 by Minn. Stat. 609.02, subd. 4a.

Minn. Stat. 299F.51, subdivision 6.

Additional Notes

Minnesota statute and code layers should be read together for complete operational compliance.
Lodging is covered by a named provision rather than by inference. Minnesota Rules 7511.0915 subpart 2 amends IFC Section 915.2.2 to read "carbon monoxide detection shall be installed in sleeping units", and a guest room is a sleeping unit. The exception is the useful half: detection may sit outside the sleeping area within ten feet instead, but only where the unit and its attached bedroom contain no fuel-burning appliance and are not served by a forced air furnace. A guest room on a forced air system therefore needs its own detector even with nothing burning inside it, which is a wider reach than the appliance-in-the-room test most states apply.

Local Rules That Differ From State Law

At least one Minnesota municipality sets CO requirements that go beyond the statewide rule. Where your property sits decides which applies, and the stricter one governs.

Saint Paul

Saint Paul gives the alarm a whole chapter, a deadline and an annual signature, and it reaches guest rooms as well as flats. Chapter 39 of the Legislative Code, added by Ordinance 16-33 in September 2016, covers lodginghouses, apartment houses, hotels and rented dwellings. Section 39.02(a) makes the owner deliver to the occupant of each dwelling unit or guest room a written explanation of the location and operation of every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, together with instructions on what to do when an alarm sounds, how to test the alarms, and how to reach the owner when a low-battery tone sounds or a power light fails. Paragraph (b) then sets the clock: any defective or non-operative alarm must be repaired or replaced within twenty-four hours of notification. Paragraph (c) closes the loop annually, requiring an owner whose property needs a certificate of occupancy to file with every renewal application an affidavit that all alarms are inspected, serviced when needed and operational. Section 39.03 completes the exchange by making the occupant notify the owner when a low-battery tone or power light failure appears. Two provisions elsewhere in the code are worth knowing. Sections 34.11 and 34.35 let the enforcement officer require the owner to produce current proof that any heating or space heating facility has been serviced by a licensed contractor, and that proof "must include a carbon monoxide reading". That is the only place in this dataset where a city asks for a measured reading from the appliance rather than the presence of an alarm. And Section 379.07(d) makes a short-term rental host ensure working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms in every bedroom and on all habitable floors, plus a maintained and charged fire extinguisher; the statute measures ten feet from each room lawfully used for sleeping, so the short-let rule asks for a device in the bedroom rather than near it.

Saint Paul Legislative Code Chapter 39, Sections 39.01 to 39.03 (Ord 16-33, 28 September 2016), with Sections 34.11, 34.15(3), 34.35 and 379.07(d) Checked 2026-08-10.

Rochester

Rochester adopted the fire code's own carbon monoxide sections into its city code in April 2022, which Minn. Stat. 299F.011 subdivision 4 lets it do and which supplies two things the statute does not. The first is placement inside the room. Section 7-8-49 puts detection outside each separate area within ten feet of the bedrooms, matching the statute, and then adds that where a fuel-burning appliance sits in a bedroom or its attached bathroom the detection goes inside that bedroom. Section 7-8-50 extends the same logic to sleeping units, which is the lodging case, requiring detection in the unit unless the unit holds no fuel-burning appliance and is not served by a fuel-burning forced-air furnace. The second is a duty that continues after installation. Section 7-8-51 requires alarms and detection systems to be maintained in accordance with NFPA 720 and requires replacement of any alarm or detector that becomes inoperable or starts producing an end-of-life signal. Minnesota's statute obliges an owner to keep an approved and operational alarm but says nothing about end-of-life signalling, so in Rochester a ten-year-old device chirping its way out of service is a code violation in terms.

Rochester Code of Ordinances Sections 7-8-48 to 7-8-51, Title 7 Chapter 7-8 Fire Safety Requirements, Ord. No. 4466 section 8 (18 April 2022) Checked 2026-08-10.

What was checked:Minnesota splits the question in two and the split decides where every local rule is found. Minn. Stat. 326B.121 subdivision 1 provides that the State Building Code supersedes the building code of any municipality, and subdivision 2(c) forbids a municipality requiring building code provisions regulating components or systems different from it. Minn. Stat. 299F.011 subdivision 4 runs the other way for fire: a local government may adopt fire safety ordinances equal to, in addition to, or more stringent than the State Fire Code, provided they are directly related to fire safety and uniform for each class of building. The carbon monoxide statute itself, Minn. Stat. 299F.51, carries no pre-emption clause. So a Minnesota city may not touch the building code and may add freely on the fire and housing side, and both entries below sit exactly there, one in a fire safety chapter and one in a building and housing title. Four cities read on 2026-08-10: Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Duluth and Rochester. Saint Paul and Rochester are below. Minneapolis is the interesting negative and is deliberately not in the table: its Chapter 244 maintenance code contains Article XVII, headed Carbon Monoxide, and Section 244.2100 is one sentence long, adopting Minnesota Statutes Sections 299F.50 to 299F.51 as an ordinance of the city. That adds no standard at all. What it adds is a forum, because the state statute becomes enforceable through the city's own housing maintenance machinery, and that is worth knowing without being a divergence. Duluth is clean but the reading needs a caveat. Its publisher record answers full text, and the control terms prove it: 43 for "building", 39 for "police", 30 for "housing", 20 for "rental", 12 for "smoke" and zero for the phrase "smoke detector", with fragments returning real section bodies. Carbon monoxide returns nothing. The chapter bodies themselves cannot be pulled from that publisher, which serves a 495-character stub for Chapter 29A, the Housing, Property Maintenance and Rental Code, so the negative rests on the search index rather than on a read of the chapter. Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Saint Cloud, Mankato and the North Shore and lake country rental towns were not searched.

Local sweep last reviewed 2026-08-10.

Official Sources & References

Minnesota Statutes section 299F.51 , 299F.51 (state code, accessed 2026-02-16)
Primary statewide statute for carbon monoxide alarm requirements and penalty structure.
Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 , 1309.0315 (building code, accessed 2026-02-16)
Building-code context tied to IRC-style carbon monoxide alarm pathways.
Minnesota Rules 7511.0915, Section 915 Carbon Monoxide Detection, Minnesota State Fire Code , Subpart 1 amending IFC 915.1.1; Subpart 2 amending IFC 915.2, 915.2.1 and 915.2.2 (fire code, accessed 2026-08-10)
Read verbatim on 2026-08-10. Minnesota rewrites the model placement text rather than adopting it. Subpart 2 replaces "in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms" at 915.2.1 with "within 10 feet of the bedrooms", and rewrites the 915.2.2 exception to allow detection "outside of each separate sleeping area within 10 feet of the sleeping unit where the sleeping unit or its attached bedroom does not contain a fuel-burning appliance and is not served by a forced air furnace". The word "bedroom" there is Minnesota's own text where the model says "bathroom", and is reproduced rather than corrected. Subpart 1 adds an exception at 915.1.1 letting alarms in multifamily dwellings sit between 15 and 25 feet of carbon monoxide producing central fixtures where a centralised alarm system lets responsible parties hear them at all times. None of this loosens the hotel duty, because Minn. Stat. 299F.51 subd. 1(b) has no trigger and no exception.
Minnesota State Fire Marshal carbon monoxide detection guidance , Residential occupancy guidance (agency guidance, accessed 2026-02-16)
Agency-level implementation support for statute and code interpretation.

Disclaimer: This page explains the law as it stood on August 24, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice, and reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. Requirements vary by city, county and building type, and statutes and codes are amended: confirm the current text with the issuing authority before acting on it. Each requirement here cites the instrument it comes from, so you can check it at source.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Minnesota statute is the lead source for carbon monoxide alarms?

Minn. Stat. section 299F.51 is the central statewide source for Minnesota carbon monoxide alarm duties, including installation obligations, occupancy coverage, and enforcement escalation language. Operators should start from this statute and then apply supporting code rules for technical implementation. Reviewing only one summary page is not enough for defensible compliance. Minnesota teams should cite section 299F.51 directly in policy, training, and inspection documents. In Minnesota, cite section 299F.51 and Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 in each property compliance record.

Which Minnesota properties have to have a carbon monoxide alarm?

Minnesota's statutory framework reaches covered homes, rental contexts, and specified lodging scenarios, which means owner-occupants, landlords, and hospitality operators can each carry obligations. Applicability should be mapped by occupancy type and statutory language before turnover or inspection deadlines. Operators managing mixed portfolios should avoid assumptions based on one building class. Minnesota records should document why each property falls inside the section 299F.51 scope. In Minnesota, cite section 299F.51 and Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 in each property compliance record.

Where must a carbon monoxide alarm go in a Minnesota home?

Minnesota statute requires approved and operational alarms within 10 feet of rooms used for sleeping, with additional implementation detail supported by Minnesota rules 1309.0315 and 7511.0915 in code-applicability contexts. The practical method is room-by-room planning and as-built documentation before occupancy. Teams should capture device model details and exact locations in inspection files. Minnesota enforcement outcomes are generally better when placement decisions are documented with statute and rule references. In Minnesota, cite section 299F.51 and Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 in each property compliance record.

What happens after a Minnesota correction deadline is missed?

Under Minn. Stat. 299F.51, subd. 6, the first violation follows a warning-oriented path, and repeated violations escalate to petty-misdemeanor treatment. That subdivision sets no figure; the $300 ceiling comes from Minn. Stat. 609.02, subd. 4a, which defines a petty misdemeanor. Even with this graduated structure, delayed correction can still increase inspection, legal, and liability risk after incidents. Owners should correct deficiencies quickly and keep dated proof of remediation. Minnesota compliance notices should explicitly reference subdivision-level enforcement language. In Minnesota, cite section 299F.51 and Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 in each property compliance record.

Who keeps the record of alarm checks in a Minnesota tenancy, the owner or the tenant?

Minnesota framework expects owners and landlords to provide required alarms and maintain operability at key occupancy points, while tenants must keep devices in working condition and avoid disabling them during tenancy. This split should be reflected in lease language, move-in checklists, and maintenance ticket procedures. Property managers should keep written records for notices, repairs, and replacements. Minnesota files with clear role documentation are easier to defend during disputes and inspections. In Minnesota, cite section 299F.51 and Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 in each property compliance record.

How do Minnesota carbon monoxide rules differ from Wisconsin?

Minnesota relies on a broad statutory baseline in section 299F.51 plus supporting code-rule pathways, while Wisconsin operators may face a different mix of statute and local implementation requirements. Regional teams should keep separate compliance matrices and avoid applying one default process across both states. For nearby benchmarking before finalizing Upper Midwest SOPs, review Wisconsin CO detector laws and compare triggers, penalties, and documentation controls. In Minnesota, cite section 299F.51 and Minnesota Rules 1309.0315 in each property compliance record.

Practical CO Detector Guides

Beyond legal requirements, these guides help you choose, install, and maintain CO alarms:

Where to place carbon monoxide detectors, room-by-room placement recommendations
CO detector beeping patterns, what different alarms mean
What to do if your detector goes off, emergency response checklist
CO resources and links, official agencies and safety information