carbon monoxide

Tougher smoke and carbon monoxide detector penalties for Chicago Landlords

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detectProposed amendment closes detector compliance loophole

Chicago landlords who fail to comply with the City of Chicago smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector ordinances will face much stiffer penalties.  A proposed amendment to the municipal code for Chicago which passed out of committee this week will close a loophole that allowed landlords cited for failure to comply with the ordinance’s requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to avoid penalty by complying with the ordinance after being cited but before the building department hearing.

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Landlord responsibility for carbon monoxide

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The Toledo Blade reports that earlier this week, an Ohio landlord was indicted on charges of reckless homicide in the carbon monoxide deaths of four tenants in the landlord’s rental unit.  Allegedly the landlord supplied the tenants with a faulty space heater because the rental unit did not have an operating furnace.  The rental unit also supposedly lacked carbon monoxide detectors.  Unfortunately, stories like this are all too common.  In October, 2010, a New York landlord was sentenced to criminal charges in connection with the carbon monoxide deaths of three tenants resulting from the installation of a gas-powered generator in a rental unit.  In many cases, landlords might be criminally or civilly responsible for carbon monoxide related injuries.

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