Opinion ID: 1917391
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Smoke Detectors

Text: Finally, we address the smoke detector provision of the Rental Licensing Ordinance. The ordinance provides that [a]ny room used for sleeping purposes shall be provided with smoke detectors. Morris, Minn., Rental Licensing Ordinance § 4.32, subd. 21(c) (Section 2.01). [6] The State Building Code also requires the installation of smoke detectors [i]n each sleeping room and in other locations throughout the structure. 2000 International Residential Code § R317.1; see Minn. R. 1309.0010, subp. 3 (2005) (incorporating by reference the 2000 International Residential Code Section R317 Smoke Alarms into the State Building Code). Like the provisions discussed above, however, the State Building Code's smoke detector requirements are not specifically applicable to existing residential structures. See Minn. R. 1300.0220, subp. 2. But the State Building Code also requires that all dwellings must comply with Minn.Stat. § 299F.362 (2006), which addresses smoke detector requirements. Minn.Stat. § 16B.61, subd. 3(b) (2006). Section 299F.362 requires that all dwellings be outfitted with smoke detectors as required by the State Fire Code, id., subds. 3-3a, and generally prohibits a municipality from adopting smoke detector requirements that are different from the State Fire Code, id., subd. 7. See also Minn. R. ch. 7511 (2007) (the Minnesota State Fire Code). Local governing bodies, however, are specifically authorized to adopt more restrictive smoke detector requirements for single-family homes: Notwithstanding subdivision 7, or other law, a local governing body may adopt, by ordinance, rules for the installation of a smoke detector in single-family homes in the city that are more restrictive than the standards provided by this section. Minn. Stat. § 299F.362, subd. 9 (emphasis added). If the building at issue in this case is a single-family home, the smoke detector provision of the Rental Licensing Ordinance would be expressly permitted by section 299F.362, subdivision 9, and would therefore not be different than the State Building Code. But because the record in this case does not reveal whether the building owned by Sax is a single-family home, we cannot determine whether the ordinance provision requiring the installation of smoke detectors in each sleeping room is invalid under state law. Accordingly, we remand this issue to the district court for further proceedings.