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2003 SESSION


CHAPTER 650
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 36-99, 36-103, 36-105, 36-114, and 36-119.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Uniform Statewide Building Code; rehabilitation and maintenance of existing buildings.
[H 2683]
Approved March 18, 2003

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 36-99, 36-103, 36-105, 36-114, and 36-119.1 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 36-99. Provisions of Code; modifications.

A. The Building Code shall prescribe building regulations to be complied with in the construction and maintenance rehabilitation of buildings and structures, and the equipment therein as defined in § 36-97, and shall prescribe regulations to ensure that such regulations buildings and structures are properly maintained, and shall also prescribe procedures for the administration and enforcement of such regulations, including procedures to be used by the local building department in the evaluation and granting of modifications for any provision of the Building Code. The provisions, provided the spirit and functional intent of the Building Code are observed and public health, welfare and safety are assured. The provisions of the Building Code and modifications thereof shall be such as to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Commonwealth, provided that buildings and structures should be permitted to be constructed and rehabilitated at the least possible cost consistent with recognized standards of health, safety, energy conservation and water conservation and barrier-free provisions for the physically handicapped and aged. Such regulations shall be reasonable and appropriate to the objectives of this chapter.

B. In formulating the Code provisions, the Board shall have due regard for generally accepted standards as recommended by nationally recognized organizations, including, but not limited to, the standards of the International Code Council and the National Fire Protection Association. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, farm buildings and structures shall be exempt from the provisions of the Building Code, except for a building or a portion of a building located on a farm that is operated as a restaurant as defined in § 35.1-1 and licensed as such by the Board of Health pursuant to Chapter 2 (§ 35.1-11 et seq.) of Title 35.1. However, farm buildings and structures lying within a flood plain or in a mudslide-prone area shall be subject to flood-proofing regulations or mudslide regulations, as applicable.

C. Where practical, the Code provisions shall be stated in terms of required level of performance, so as to facilitate the prompt acceptance of new building materials and methods. When generally recognized standards of performance are not available, such provisions shall provide for acceptance of materials and methods whose performance has been found by the Board local building department, on the basis of reliable test and evaluation data, presented by the proponent, to be substantially equal in safety to those specified.

§ 36-103. Buildings, etc., existing or projected before effective date of Code.

Any building or structure, for which a building permit has been issued or on which construction has commenced, or for which working drawings have been prepared in the year prior to the effective date of the Building Code, shall remain subject to the building regulations in effect at the time of such issuance or commencement of construction. However, the Board may adopt and promulgate as part of the Building Code, building regulations that facilitate the maintenance, rehabilitation, development and reuse of existing buildings at the least possible cost to ensure the protection of the public health, safety and welfare. Subsequent reconstruction, renovation, repair or demolition of such buildings or structures shall be subject to the pertinent maintenance construction and rehabilitation provisions of the Building Code. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to equipment. However, building owners may elect to install partial or full fire alarms or other safety equipment that was not required by the Building Code in effect at the time a building was constructed without meeting current Building Code requirements, provided the installation does not create a hazardous condition. Permits for installation shall be obtained in accordance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code.

§ 36-105. Enforcement of Code; appeals from decisions of local department; inspection of buildings; inspection warrants.

Enforcement of the provisions of the Building Code for construction and rehabilitation shall be the responsibility of the local building department. There shall be established within each local building department a local board of Building Code appeals whose composition, duties and responsibilities shall be prescribed in the Building Code. Appeals from the local building department concerning application of the Building Code or refusal to grant a modification to the provisions of the Building Code covering the manner of construction or materials to be used in the erection, alteration or repair of a building or structure shall first lie to the local board of Building Code appeals. No appeal to the State Building Code Technical Review Board shall lie prior to a final determination by the local board of Building Code appeals. Whenever a county or a municipality does not have such a building department or board of Building Code appeals, the local governing body shall enter into an agreement with the local governing body of another county or municipality or with some other agency, or a state agency approved by the Department for such enforcement and appeals resulting therefrom. For the purposes of this section, towns with a population of less than 3,500 may elect to administer and enforce the Building Code; however, where the town does not elect to administer and enforce the Building Code, the county in which the town is situated shall administer and enforce the Building Code for the town. In the event such town is situated in two or more counties, those counties shall administer and enforce the Building Code for that portion of the town which is situated within their respective boundaries. Fees may be levied by the local governing body in order to defray the cost of such enforcement and appeals.

Any building or structure may be inspected at any time before completion, and shall not be deemed in compliance until approved by the inspecting authority. Where the construction cost is less than $2,500, however, the inspection may, in the discretion of the inspecting authority, be waived. The building official shall coordinate all reports of inspections for compliance with the Building Code, with inspections of fire and health officials delegated such authority, prior to issuance of an occupancy permit.

The local governing body may also inspect, and enforce the provisions of the Building Code for, existing buildings and structures, whether occupied or not. The local governing body, however, shall inspect and enforce the Building Code for elevators except for elevators in single and two-family homes and townhouses. Such inspection and enforcement shall be carried out by an agency or department designated by the local governing body. However, upon a finding by the local building department, following a complaint by a tenant of a residential rental unit that is the subject of such complaint, that there may be a violation of the unsafe structures provisions of the Building Code, the local building department shall enforce such provisions. If the local building department receives a complaint that a violation of the Building Code exists that is an immediate and imminent threat to the health or safety of the owner or tenant of a residential dwelling unit or a nearby residential dwelling unit, and the owner or tenant of the residential dwelling unit that is the subject of the complaint has refused to allow the local building official or his agent to have access to the subject dwelling, the local building official or his agent may present sworn testimony to a court of competent jurisdiction and request that the court grant the local building official or his agent an inspection warrant to enable the building official or his agent to enter the subject dwelling for the purpose of determining whether violations of the Building Code exist. The local building official or his agent shall make a reasonable effort to obtain consent from the owner or tenant of the subject dwelling prior to seeking the issuance of an inspection warrant under this section.

The local governing body may, upon an affirmative finding of the need to protect the public health, safety and welfare, require the issuance of certificates of compliance with current building regulations for existing residential buildings located in conservation and rehabilitation districts designated by the local governing body, or in other areas designated as blighted pursuant to § 36-49.1:1, after inspections of such buildings upon termination of the rental tenancies or when such rental property is sold, or at specific time intervals, for a specific property, but not more than once each calendar year upon a separate finding that such additional inspections are necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare. If, however, an inspection has been conducted within the last twelve 12-month period, no inspection shall occur upon the termination of a rental tenancy or upon a change in ownership. The provisions of this section shall not in any way alter the rights and responsibilities of landlords or tenants pursuant to applicable provisions of Chapters 13 (§ 55-217 et seq.) or 13.2 (§ 55-248.2 et seq.) of Title 55. Such certificate of compliance shall be issued in accordance with the administrative provisions of the Building Code.

§ 36-114. Board to hear appeals.

The Review Board shall have the power and duty to hear all appeals from decisions arising under application of the Building Code, the amusement device regulations, the Fire Prevention Code adopted under the Statewide Fire Prevention Code Act (§ 27-94 et seq.), the Industrialized Building Safety Law (§ 36-70 et seq.), the Virginia Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Law (§ 36-85.2 et seq.), and the Virginia Certification Standards adopted by the Board of Housing and Community Development, and to render its decision on any such appeal, which decision shall be final if no appeal is made therefrom. Proceedings of the Review Board shall be governed by the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.), except that an informal conference pursuant to § 2.2-4019 shall not be required.

§ 36-119.1. Existing buildings.

This chapter shall not supersede provisions of the Fire Prevention Code promulgated by the Board under § 27-97, that prescribe standards to be complied with in existing buildings or structures, provided that such regulations shall not impose requirements that are more restrictive than those of the Uniform Statewide Building Code under which the buildings or structures were constructed. Subsequent alteration, enlargement, rehabilitation, repair, or conversion of the occupancy classification of such buildings and structures shall be subject to the maintenance construction and rehabilitation provisions of the Building Code.