CO Detector Rules in Tennessee: What Rentals and Hotels Must Do

Last verified: February 17, 2026

Tennessee carbon monoxide detector laws are occupancy-specific at the statewide level. The cited statutes make it unlawful to operate covered hotels and covered one-family or two-family rental units with carbon monoxide-emitting features, such as fossil-fuel equipment or fireplaces, without approved alarms installed within 10 feet of each sleeping room.

Tennessee sources also define accepted listing standards and power options, including hardwired, monitored battery, and plug-in pathways when statutory conditions are met. This creates clear statewide duties for rentals and lodging in covered scenarios, while broader all-home applicability remains dependent on occupancy and code context.

Tennessee operators should maintain unit-level installation, testing, and correction records with statute references before occupancy, renewal, or inspection events.

In 60 Seconds

CO detector requirements for Tennessee
Applies to homes?	Not confirmed — check local codes
Applies to rentals?	Yes
Applies to hotels/STRs?	Yes

When Are CO Alarms Required?

Buildings with fuel-burning appliances
New construction
Fireplace and other features emitting carbon monoxide as a byproduct of combustion are explicit statutory triggers in cited Tennessee materials.
Existing-building and effective-date language in cited bills distinguishes legacy and newer-building pathways.

Where to Install CO Alarms

Approved alarms must be installed within 10 feet of each room used for sleeping in covered Tennessee hotel and rental scenarios.

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

Device Requirements

Devices are listed to nationally recognized laboratory standards including ANSI UL 2034 or ANSI UL 2075 in cited Tennessee sources.
Combination smoke and carbon monoxide devices are allowed when applicable listing standards for both functions are satisfied.
Installation follows NFPA standards or manufacturer directions unless conflicting law language controls.
Allowed power pathways in cited Tennessee materials include hardwired, monitored battery, and qualifying plug-in approaches.

Landlord and Tenant Responsibilities

Landlord: Owners and operators of covered one-family and two-family rental units must provide required approved alarms in statutory trigger scenarios.

Tenant: Occupants must not tamper with or remove required smoke or carbon monoxide alarm devices.

Short-term rental treatment should be confirmed against the exact statutory definitions applicable to the specific property type.

Enforcement

Enforced by: Local code and fire officials plus statutory enforcement mechanisms for unlawful operation in covered Tennessee contexts.

Enforcement typically occurs:

During inspections and enforcement actions for covered rental and hotel occupancies.
During complaint, incident, or licensing-related review where required alarms are missing or non-operational.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Cited Tennessee statutes characterize covered noncompliance as unlawful; exact penalty classification should be confirmed in current codified sections used by the enforcing authority.

Tennessee statutory amendments to sections 68-120-112 and 68-102-151 in cited bill materials.

Additional Notes

Tennessee compliance should be run by occupancy category because statewide duties are not framed as one universal home rule.
Operators should verify current codified wording with local enforcing authorities before final policy publication.

Official Sources & References

Tennessee General Assembly HA0282 amending HB1308 and SB0647 — Amendments to Tennessee Code section 68-120-112 (state code, accessed 2026-02-17)
Hotel-oriented carbon monoxide alarm trigger, placement distance, installation, and power option language.
Tennessee General Assembly SB0525 — Amendments to Tennessee Code section 68-102-151 (state code, accessed 2026-02-17)
One-family and two-family rental unit carbon monoxide alarm requirements and definitions.
Tennessee General Assembly HB1020 — Amendments affecting short-term rental treatment in related fire-safety framework (state code, accessed 2026-02-17)
Source used to evaluate how short-term rental units are addressed in applicable Tennessee pathways.
Tennessee Code Annotated — official publisher portal (§ 68-120-112) — 68-120-112 (secondary index, accessed 2026-02-17)
Tennessee contracts exclusively with LexisNexis for official statute publication; no .gov domain hosts codified text. This .gov page links to the state-designated publisher portal.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general guidance and is not legal advice. Requirements may vary by city, county, and building type. Always verify current rules with local authorities and official sources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are carbon monoxide alarms statewide mandatory in Tennessee rentals?

For covered rental scenarios, yes. Tennessee statutory amendments in section 68-102-151 make operation unlawful when one-family or two-family rental units with qualifying carbon monoxide source conditions lack approved alarms within required sleeping-room distance. The compliance control is occupancy and trigger analysis before lease-up, not a generic checklist copied across all building types. Tennessee property files should keep statute citations, installation records, and maintenance actions for each unit. Operators should also retain tenant notice and correction timelines for every documented deficiency.

Where must covered Tennessee alarms be installed?

The cited Tennessee framework for covered hotel and rental scenarios uses a 10-foot placement distance from each room used for sleeping. Installation must follow statutory language together with NFPA or manufacturer directions where applicable. Operators should verify bedroom-by-bedroom placement and record exact device locations in inspection packets. Tennessee teams that keep room-level placement evidence and section references are better positioned for enforcement review and post-incident documentation. This approach supports smoother audit response during turnover.

What penalty posture should Tennessee operators assume?

Cited Tennessee statutes characterize covered noncompliance as unlawful, which creates direct enforcement risk even when one simple statewide fine table is not stated in the bill materials used here. Operators should treat violations as high priority and correct deficiencies quickly. The safest approach is section-linked remediation records, inspection follow-up notes, and legal review of current codified language for each jurisdiction. Tennessee compliance notices should cite sections 68-120-112 and 68-102-151 when relevant.

How should Tennessee hotel managers run ongoing compliance?

Managers should maintain a recurring process for installation verification, testing cadence, deficiency correction, and documentation of alarm operability in covered guestrooms and sleeping contexts. Tennessee sources emphasize approved alarms, required distance placement, and accepted power pathways in statutory language. A property-level log should connect each device to room number, test date, and corrective action history. This workflow reduces enforcement risk and strengthens defensibility during complaints or incident investigations. Teams should keep these logs aligned with section-level citation references.

For Tennessee all-electric units, what trigger review is still required before exemption?

Not always. Tennessee applicability is occupancy-specific and tied to statutory trigger features, so exemption conclusions should be made only after reviewing the exact covered condition language for the property class. Owners should avoid blanket assumptions and request local interpretation where occupancy definitions or source conditions are unclear. Tennessee records should preserve written rationale for exemption decisions and identify the section used to support that outcome. Keep exemption determinations with inspection and turnover documentation.

How does Tennessee compare with Kentucky compliance workflows?

Tennessee in this dataset uses occupancy-specific statutory pathways for rentals and hotels, while Kentucky operators may follow a different statewide and local implementation mix depending on building class. Regional teams should not merge the two into one default policy template. For cross-state process mapping, review Kentucky CO detector laws and compare trigger conditions, role allocation, and enforcement checkpoints. Tennessee teams should preserve statutory citations separately from Kentucky code notes in all regional SOP documentation.

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