My only rental failed on a smoke alarm — a small owner's story

It happens constantly: a small owner's single rental fails its voucher inspection over a missing or dead smoke alarm — a life-threatening item with a 24-hour correction and a re-inspection before rent flows. If it has happened to you, tell the story. If it has not, the checklist in this thread is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.

This fail is so common because the alarm is out of sight between tenants — the unit sits, the battery fades or a resident takes the alarm down, and the first person to test it is the inspector. The between-tenants visit is the whole defense: test every alarm, check every date, replace on schedule instead of on failure, and photograph the wall with the new unit mounted. It is the cheapest re-inspection avoidance there is. Has a single alarm ever failed one of your rentals — and what's on your between-tenants alarm checklist now?