THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504200493
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Landlords would have to install smoke detectors in most types of rental property under a bill that cleared its first hurdle in the legislature Wednesday.
But the measure, if approved, would exclude most beach homes, apartments and condominiums, according to the bill's sponsor.
The measure, approved by the Travel and Tourism Subcommittee of the House Business and Labor Committee, would require landlords to install a smoke detector in rental property built before 1975.
It would also require landlords to install new batteries in battery-operated smoke detectors any time the property is rented or leased unless the landlord has a written agreement that specifies that other arrangements have been made.
The bill was recommended to the legislature as part of a package of proposals designed to reduce child fatalities.
But it would exempt beach condominiums and other property often rented short-term to vacationers, because that property is not a primary residence, according to bill sponsor Rep. J. Russell Capps.
``What we've done is try to consider every comment we've had from every source,'' Capps said. ``I think what we've got is the right one.''
The bill was endorsed by Eugene Hafer, lobbyist for the Apartment Association of North Carolina. by CNB