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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky bill requires smoke detectors in all homes and mandates seller affidavits by December 2026
Last action · January 30, 2026: to Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H)Sponsor: Nancy Tate
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What This Bill Proposed
Starting December 31, 2026, all single-family and multifamily residential units in Kentucky must have at least one working hardwired or 10-year lithium battery-powered smoke detector. Property owners, sellers, or s are responsible for testing, providing the detectors, and supplying a signed affidavit at closing or prior to tenancy. Additionally, the measure shields real estate licensees from liability and requires local fire officials to report fire- and carbon monoxide-related injuries and fatalities to the .
Property owners and landlords face new legal requirements to install specific types of smoke detectors and provide signed compliance affidavits upon selling or leasing residential real estate, while real estate agents are explicitly exempted from liability for owner noncompliance.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Property owners, sellers, and lessors
Must install approved smoke detectors, test them, and provide a signed compliance affidavit upon selling or leasing residential property.
Real estate licensees
Are explicitly protected from liability regarding property owner compliance under the measure.
Local fire department officers
Must promptly notify the state fire marshal of any fire- or carbon monoxide-related injuries or fatalities.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of smoke detectors are required under this measure?
Who is responsible for providing the smoke detector and affidavit?
Are real estate agents held liable if a property owner fails to install a smoke detector?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 30, 2026HouseCommitteeto Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H)
- Jan 22, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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