All states have laws (statutes) that require landlords to install and maintain smoke detectors in leased residential premises (apartments, homes).

Some states such as Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Vermont require photoelectric or ionization sensors—at least in new construction. And Oregon requires smoke detectors with a HUSH mechanism that allows the alarm to be silenced or temporarily desensitized for 7 minutes while a known condition such as cooking is causing the alarm to activate.

Most states also require landlords to install and maintain carbon monoxide detectors in leased residential premises. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are widely available in the same device.

In Kansas, landlords are required by law to install and maintain smoke detectors in leased residential premises. The Kansas Fire Prevention Code mandates that smoke detectors be installed in all sleeping rooms, outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms, and on each additional story of the dwelling, including basements but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics. While Kansas law does not specify the type of smoke detector technology to be used (such as photoelectric or ionization), it does require that the devices be maintained in good working order. Additionally, Kansas statutes require the installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detectors in newly constructed one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories in height, as well as in existing dwellings that undergo alterations, repairs, or additions. Landlords must ensure that these devices are installed and operational to comply with safety regulations and to protect the occupants of the leased premises.