ABA Family Legal Guide

Renting Residential Property

Maintaining Rental Property

What is a housing code?

A housing code is a municipal ordinance (sometimes a state statute) that sets standards for the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of buildings. To qualify for funding from the federal urban renewal program, about five thousand municipalities passed these codes between 1954 and 1965. They also hired inspectors to enforce the codes.

Housing codes govern new construction, energy conservation, fire regulations, fuel gas controls, private sewage disposal, mechanical equipment, plumbing, electrical, zoning, and general property maintenance.

Property owners must comply with these standards when constructing a new building, rehabbing or upgrading one, and making repairs as defects arise. A standard provision in these codes prohibits a landlord from renting a property that does not meet the code standards. The tenant will benefit by having decent housing if the landlord complies.