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A. Yes. The owner of any rental dwelling unit or the owners authorized agent shall be responsible for supplying, installing, and maintaining the required smoke alarms or smoke detectors and shall provide a written notice containing instructions for testing of the devices. The notice shall be given to the tenant at the time the tenant first takes possession of the premises. (ORS 479.270)
If a smoke alarm is battery-operated or has a battery-operated backup system, the landlord shall supply working batteries for the alarm at the beginning of a new tenancy.
Q. What are my obligations as a tenant?
A. It shall be the responsibility of the tenant of any rental dwelling unit to perform such tests on the smoke alarms or smoke detectors located in a part of the dwelling unit that the tenant is entitled to occupy to the exclusion of others as are recommended by the manufacturer’s instructions and immediately notify, in writing, the owner or authorized agent of any deficiencies. Testing intervals shall not exceed six months. It shall also be the responsibility of the tenant during the tenancy to replace any dead batteries, as needed.
A tenant must test, at least once every six months, and replace batteries as needed in any smoke alarm provided by the landlord and notify the landlord in writing of any operating deficiencies. (ORS 479.275)
A tenant may not remove or tamper with a smoke alarm. Tampering includes removal of working batteries. (ORS 479.300)
